Hi All,
Just a quick question without any background as dont want to taint your replies, and please respond with a pre covid/not generally working from home outlook.
How many hours per day do you usually have your central heating on for, weekday and weekend if different.
Many thanks in advance.
Dean.
I would respectfully suggest that this is probably not the question you need answered. It doesnt help you. If you are looking to construct a fair usage policy for a bills included tenancy, dont base it on hours. If you think the central heating in your rental property is on for longer or shorter than necessary then tell us the story.
Ok David, heres the whole story.
I rent out a large 4 bed flat, top floor with well insulated pitched roof loft. Ive had the flat for almost 10 years and never had issues until the latest tenants moved in 18 months ago.
They are quite eco friendly and only have the heating on for 3.5hrs a day, split into one stint early morning and one in the evening, but each winter they have suffered with condensation but dont want to have the heating on anymore, even if i offer to support the uplift in cost.
so I just wanted to know what is an average for the amount of time people use their heating each day, I personally have mine on for about 8 hours but even more when Im working from home.
Hi
We have heating 24 hours a day, controlled by a wall thermostat
This regulates heating; it comes on when the temperature drops and goes off when it’s too hot.
Temperature at 18 degrees on thermostat
Temperature in house remains steady
It’s also the most cost effective way to heat a home
Your tenants have got condensation issues as they are not heating their home properly
Bursts of heat (heating via timers ) causes condensation and is actually a more expensive way to heat your home .
https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/damp-condensation
We have a clause in contract telling them to do this
Their issues are down to lifestyle and that’s not your fault
Don’t pay for their heating
You could provide them with a dehumidifier
We have humidity sensors fans in the bathroom and kitchen and a PiV unit in the loft
Despite that they’ll get mould if they don’t heat the house ( it doesn’t matter what companies tell you)
Heating insulation and ventilation are the key
Remove one element and mould will occur no matter what
Firstly I would ask do you have extractor fans working in the bathroom and the kitchen vented to an outside location secondly do you have trickle vents in your windows and are these being used, thirdly do you allow clothes to be dried in the property, are the windows opened regularly to vent the property. If none of these are being done and there is no heat in the property they will get condensation.I suggest you speak to the new tenants about their lifestyle and refer them to the AST should you have any conditions in there to help prevent condensation through the above.
Have a new boiler with Hive thermostat, Humidistat extractor in the bathroom and extractor in kitchen. Tumble dryer, trickle vents and passive air vents in the walls of most rooms.
Not sure tenants are being honest with me when they say that they dont dry clothes on the airers that they have bought!
As I have visibility of the Hive system through the App I can see that the heating is set to 19.5 for 3.5 hours a day and 15 at all other times, the thermostat is located in the hall way and most days drops below 16c for many hours.
thank you, very helpful.
You have done the best you can. The rest is in their hands.
Advise them not to dry clothes on radiators. We designate an area for drying the clothes ( it has a radiator and humidistat fan) to reduce problems around the house.
If it’s cold and they are breathing you will generate condensation ( you can’t stop respiration ;-))
If you have smart meters you can see from the display how much the house is heated on a daily basis
Good luck
If you need help in this matter the council housing team are good at assessing and advising tenants on their lifestyle
You could have a clause in future tenancy agreements, but it would have to be well constructed and I have no idea whether it would be enforceable. It would be for a judge to decide.
If the tenant is having problems with mould due to excess humidity, then send them some information on how to reduce this and insist that they don’t dry clothes and that they ventilate each room for a couple of hours a day at least.
Inspect at least every 3 months and if they still have issues with mould you will have to think about whether you can keep them long term as there are health and safety considerations.
I have already done all the above and am at the point in your last paragraph.
We had tenants like this.
Did not heat or ventilate and dried clothes indoors. We too had new boiler, fans and windows which were obviously not being utilised.
Ended up with a bathroom full of mould which they didn’t bother to mention until it was everywhere. (With two sets of previous tenants there was no such issues).
Agree with David, you could end up with significant damage.
Think you need to set out in writing in strong, clear terms what you expect from them and if it’s not implemented they will be liable. The council sent me a leaflet to give them (so good of them to include this in their licencing fee) which I am sure was not read, but give it to them anyway and document it.
Thank you all for your advice and feedback, much appreciated.
Id say I have mine on 7-10 hours a day at the moment