As stated in Section 11 of a tenancy agreement, plumbing in a rented property is generally the responsibility of a landlord to maintain and repair. Defective plumbing can have a catastrophic impact towards both the property and the tenant's possessions, and therefore, a plumber should be scrambled at the earliest opportunity to resolve any issues. In this article we discuss 4 types of plumbing issues which if unresolved, could be considered as a form of housing disrepair. We also investigate how to get these issues fixed and what to do if your landlord is has failed to repair defective plumbing.
Damaged or defective piping within a rental property can cause sizeable amounts of damage to a tenants possessions and often significantly reduces the tenant's ability to enjoy their property.
Generally, a leak from water supply piping will be as a result of a split in the tube, solder joint faliure, or due to the pipe physically bursting. It is most common for leaks to occur in piping during winter when the water can freeze within the pipes and expand. This expansion is often enough to cause the pipe to burst.
Defective piping can be picked up through hearing a gurgling sound within the walls, ceiling or flooring, as well as through penetrative damp which will leave water marks in the location of the burst.
It is imperative that water supply leaks are fixed with urgency for the following reasons:
A toilet will generally leak from the cistern or from the U-bend, and can cause an immense amount of damage to woodwork through rot, flooring damage and to the celling in the room below.
A leak can start fairly innocuously with a gentle drip, but this should not be ignored. It is important that as a tenant, you report this to your landlord as this can escalate into a catastrophic leak very quickly!
Within the cistern, a defective toilet float or damaged fill tube are common occurrences as is a leaky flapper. If your toilet is making a hissing or gurgling sound when this isn't in use, this could be a tell-tale sign that your toilet has sprung a leak.
A leaky kitchen or bathroom sink could result in a un unnecessary waste of water and as a result, higher than necessary water bills. Whilst it is unlikely that a leaky tap will cause much physical damage to tenant's property, we would advise that in order to prevent the financial impact of higher water bills, you should report this fault to your landlord.
The water heating system of a property can become the cause of unnecessary leaks within a rented home
A modern combi-boiler generally has an overflow valve which vents hot water from the system to prevent catastrophic faliure due to over-pressurisation. The most common fault within this type of boiler is a faulty pressure-release valve. Generally, a well maintained and regularly serviced gas boiler should work and run reliably, however, if this is faulty, this can be a form of disrepair, especially if the annual gas safety check is overdue. Remember, it is a legal requirement for your landlord to complete this inspection.
These tanks are generally used in properties which are electric only and often run on economy 7 night storage heaters. An immersion tank, otherwise known as a hot-water cylinder, effectively operates like a giant kettle, is often positioned in the loft of a property and will generally store between 120-300 litres of water. Due to amount of water contained and being positioned at the highest point in the property, a leaky immersion tank has the potential to cause huge amounts of damage for the tenants.
A radiator will generally leak through the valves. If the radiator has corroded this can be pretty terminal, and therefore the landlord will generally need to replace the entire unit.
The drains and plug hole connected to your bath and shower can develop into a leak. Once this type of leak starts, it is imperative to get this resolved as prolonged damp can cause rot to the floorboards and damage the plaster in the ceiling below. This is a significant safety risk, and therefore, we'd expect a landlord to deploy a plumber with immediate effect.
The simplest and absolute 1st method of resolving a plumbing leak should be to start by reporting this to your landlord. You can report this in person, through email, via your landlord's report-a-repair portal on their website, and by the phone.
But what happens if you have reported the leaks but your landlord has failed to fix the fault?
Whilst most landlord's will take water damage to their property extremely seriously, there are some who fail in their duty. Whether this is due to apathy, general incompetence, poor organisation or a penny pinching culture, the result is that this can have a serious impact on you; the tenant.
If your landlord has failed to resolve the leak within an appropriate timeframe or has completed a repair to a very poor standard, they may be in breach of their duty as a landlord. If this is the case, your landlord may require firm negotiation to get this repair completed, and you could also be entitled to a degree of compensation.
This is where we can help. We'll negotiate a settlement on your behalf and will arrange compulsory repairs to get completed within a reasonable timeframe.
To start, simply complete the form on this page, and one of our team will be in touch to explain the process in further details.