My niece moved in to a new property on the 26th February, and since then had no heat or hot water.
She spoke to her landlord about a refund for the days without, but he’s reluctant to do this. How does my niece stand legally. Can she insist on a refund of rent
Thanks in advance
call the council (environmental health) to get the landlord to fulfil
his responsibility
she cant insist on a refund
Thank you for your response, I would have thought that it was a landlords legal responsibility to make sure that heat and water would be working at point of tenancy, does not seem fair that she’s had to pay rent for a property where there’s been no hot water or heat since the 1st day of the tenancy.
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You are correct
If the property was empty before you moved in he should have run the taps and showers for 10 minutes in front of you under Legionella regulations ( that is mandatory where water has been stagnant). Then you would have known.
Did he not show you how to use the boiler and where all utility points are?
Regarding water, is there water to the house?
Where is the stop tap. Can you not turn it on? It is usually in the kitchen or bathroom ( if downsatirs). It may be in a cabinet.
Call the water board for the area and ask them to turn on the water. It is not legal to have no water in a house.
Call national grid and ask if there is gas to the house. Is there a gas meter? Make sure the gas is turned on at the property.
What kind of boiler do you have?
What time of meter is it -prepayment or normal?
Have you got to top up the meter to get gas?
Is the heating gas or electric?
My niece picked up the keys, from the agents, she had asked if any manuals were available, none were available. There was no power to the boiler, though lights and other sockets were working.
Both electricians and plumbers have been but still no actual date for the problem to be fixed.
That’s why I thought that she should be able to ask for a refund of the rent she’s paid for a property has this should all have been checked and in working order from Day 1.
she never said there was no water. But that there was no HOT water
You won’t get a refund but call the council first thing tomorrow so this is dealt with ASAP
Call Environmental health
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Sorry. It’s Sunday …
Sounds unreasonable on the landlords part. If I were the LL I’d be so embarrassed I’d refund.
If the landlord is not fixing the problem, call in Environmental Health as suggested or follow the Shelter procedure here: Shelter Legal England - Tenant deducts from rent or offsets rent arrears because of disrepair
While on holiday abroad my tenants boiler broke. I still managed to get someone to temporarily repair it then arranged for a new one to be installed. They was without hot water including heating for 5 days. I did send electric heaters and she had some of her own. My understanding is that a landlord needs to show urgency in resolving the problem which at the end of the day is all anyone even if its your own home can do. My tenants were fantastic so did give them £50 to go out for a meal as a thank you.
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If your neice couldn’t move in because of a problem, then a full rent rebate would probably be in order. But if she’s moved in anyway and is living there, may be a discount, but a full refund would seen excessive.
It sounds like the landlord has tried to get it fixed too. If I were the landlord, I would have offered the loan of electric heaters and a rebate towards the cost of the extra electricity.
If there is no power to the boiler look for a power switch. My flat has one by the timer which got turned off by my tenants friend. Managed to get the boiler back on without needing to call out a plumber to press a switch.
Looks like a light switch with a fuse.
Just seen the reply about the electrician & plumber having a look so not holding out much hope for the isolation switch being off but worth noting for the future.
There is a little replaceable fuse in the lower pull out slot
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Turn power off at consumer unit before checking the fuse 
You cannot get a shock by just pulling the holder out and replacing the fuse. as the live conectors are further into the body of the unit . But always best to be safe… It does need to be the correct rating, but i cannot remember what that is
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People are shocked when they discover I’m an amateur electrician 
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Btw the timer may be nowhere near the boiler. Mine was put in by the housing association I rented from.
The boiler is in the utility room off the kitchen.
The thermostat is in the hall.
The timer & isolation switch are in the front room on the chimney breast.
I never used the timer so the only person to see it on a regular basis was the window cleaner.