Freezing cold, outdated heating and draughty insulation

[Jon66]

Blankets, hot water bottles, sweaters, uggs indoors, heated blankets, sausages along the bottom of doors, heavy curtains at the windows and doors, plastic rolls of draught excluder fitted everywhere there is a leak. Curtains can be bought cheaply in charity shops and are very effective. Can tell I lived in an old house 🤔

[boletus]

Unfortunately, moving is not really an option as the housing market in Nottingham is a mess right now

Landlord licensing...

[Canning18]

Heaters seem to have sorted themselves out by now. Insulation is the much bigger issue though.

I've noticed a 1 by 4cm cutout in the drywall under the windowsill that lets in so much air it makes the curtains move by themselves.

Similarly, there is a nearly 1 cm gap between the skirting board the floor (carpet does not go in the niche but rather tops before that lets in a steady stream of cold air from the outside alongside the entire length of it.

Not to mention I noticed one of the sash windows does not properly close and the window frames don't align when I tried to seal it with gapseal.

[NaomiB]

A long time ago we lived in a house with sash windows. We used to stuff folded up bits of newspaper in the gaps.

You can get brush draught excluders to screw to the bottom of your door.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/STORMGUARD-...f=sr_1_25?th=1

As for the night storage heater you could try doing a factory reset on it. I've just proved that can work.

In your situation I'd be beavering around blocking all the gaps myself as royw says.

[royw]

You can use decorators Cork to fill the gaps round the skirting boards. Gapseal make insulation for sash windows. Draught proofing is relatively cheap and well worth doing. You can get thermal curtains but I haven't used them so don't know how good they are.

[JK0]

[/LIST]Flashback1966 I just didn’t end up using the heaters over summer. Two of the three do not put out any heat whatsoever when I tried to use them

Yeah, they won't put out heat in the summer. They have these new inventions called 'Thermostats'. Give me strength!

[Canning18]

Thank you for all of the responses!

Insulation is definitely the biggest issue by far by the looks of it. I’ve picked up 20m of gap seal and an under door draught excluder for now. Some electric heaters to follow (and keeping bills). Unfortunately, moving is not really an option as the housing market in Nottingham is a mess right now and I am likely to move overseas permanently come spring/summertime.


ash72 I only looked the EPC up earlier today. Was never made aware of it when I moved in.

Hudson01 involving the MP definitely sounds like a good avenue at this stage.

theartfullodger Thank you for the links! I already had to file three complaints with a fourth one on the way:

• One about windows being painted shut and not being unstuck for months
• One about repairs to the internal windows not being carried out for a year
• One about flooding (with a second one coming as soon as flooring repairs are finished in January

Flashback1966 I just didn’t end up using the heaters over summer. Two of the three do not put out any heat whatsoever when I tried to use them

Stew I am pretty sure that EPC rating is naff. The internal walls all sound hollow when you knock on them. There is about 1cm worth of insulation in between the dry wall and the brick wall to the outside. The Windows are insanely draughty around the frame, with extra draft coming through cracks in the window frame itself where they used something akin to a screwdriver and a hammer to get the windows loose after they painted them shut from the outside before.

mokka don’t even have a thermostat anywhere. There are also issues with dampness from rainwater ingress from the roof and drainage on at least 10 occasions

[mokka]

If you get yourself £20,000 deposit (plus buyers fees) by saving up its possible to get yourself a cheap property at the beginners end of the market and upgrade the property , sell again and move on from there.

[mokka]

Tenants at the very bottom end of the market don't have that luxury.

Cheapskates fueling the rogue landlord market are part of the problem.

Very true. They bring decent landlords down.

[boletus]

Lol I rented a property apt worse than that rating. Walls and roof was very poor rated penetrating damp and a thermostat with no adjustable heat setting just on and off mode. Black oniony smell on walls mould in other words and gaps at front door 🚪 where you could feel bitter cold air seeping through.

long story short I bought my own property

Tenants at the bottom of the market can't afford to buy.

Cheapeskates fueling the rogue landlord market are part of the problem.

[mokka]

Lol I rented a property apt worse than that rating. Walls and roof was very poor rated penetrating damp and a thermostat with no adjustable heat setting just on and off mode. Black oniony smell on walls mould in other words and gaps at front door 🚪 where you could feel bitter cold air seeping through.

long story short I bought my own property now reported to landlord first then environmental health department. People don’t report things purely out of fear of eviction in some cases or want the hassle but end of the day you are a paying tenant not free.

to the OP in most cases it’s better just to leave or put up with it and save up to buy or remain where you are in reality.

[Stew]

I would be checking point 1. Solid wall insulation assumed. Look outside and inside and see if you can detect any form of cladding or foam attached and rendered. Worth checking epc on neighbouring properties. I would imagine only recourse might be if the epc is wrong as the provider was commissioned by the housing association I assume.

If I were you I would try adding draft excluder on front door. Get some felt pipe lagging from DIY store comes in a small roll and stuff that into the floor board / skirting gap.

Take professional advice before acting on anything I say!

[theartfullodger]

Follow the Housing association complaints procedure which is usually on their web site. e.g.
https://www.octaviahousing.org.uk/fo...ion/complaints

- after first reporting any repair issues using draft letter here..
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...ivate_landlord


- all calm & polite usually gets best results..

& see...
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...ng_association

[Flashback1966]

Storage heaters smell due to the build up of dust. Sounds like you aren't using them, doesn't it? No wonder your bills are high, if you're just relying on the direct heating.

Yes correct. They will only smell in the beginning of the season, when they are turned on after summer. After the dust has burned off, there is no smell. Also, if the property has been painted (e.g. sanding walls) or other things which release chemicals dust.... All of it should dissipate, when turned on for a couple of weeks and open the windows. It will get better.


However, sometimes, the smell can be from electric switch or a component (it can be a fish type smell but it may be something else).

[Hudson01]

If the flat is too cold, vote with your feet. That's the beauty of renting.

Totally agree with this, as far as i can see this is one of the major advantages of not owning your own home..... use it.