With temperatures dropping below 0, many tenants and residents across Glasgow are experiencing issues with their pipes. Here’s some information on what your rights are and what to do/expect if your pipes are frozen or burst.
Repairing standards (private tenants)
- Your home must be wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for people to live in
- The structure and exterior (including drains, gutters and external pipes) must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.
- Space heating and heating water must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order
- Your home must meet the Tolerable Standards https://www.mygov.scot/landlord-repairs/tolerable-standard
What to do if you have frozen pipes
- Turn off the water supply straightaway, central heating and water heating appliances
- Contact your landlord via email and ask them to send a plumber, remind them of the repairing standard and set a clear deadline for them to have the repairs made.
- Follow up your email to the landlord with a phone call
What to do if you have burst pipes
- Turn off the water supply straightaway, the central heating , water heating appliances and drain the system to reduce pressure on the leaking pipes
- If the water from the leak is likely to come into contact with electrical wiring, switch off the electricity at the mains (call an electrician before turning it back home)
- Turn off the water supply straightaway, central heating and water heating appliances
- Contact your landlord via email and ask them to send a plumber, remind them of the repairing standard and set a clear deadline for them to have the repairs made.
- Follow up your email to the landlord with a phone call
REMEMBER
It is your landlord’s responsibility to address frozen or burst pipes.
If your landlord does not act on it and you are not able to heat your home, you should ask for a rent rebate (tenants should not be paying full rent for a home not up to standards).
Burst pipes or boilers that do not work are emergency repairs. While there is no clear timeline of when they should be addressed (the law unfortunately does not define what ‘reasonable time’) - these should be treated as emergencies and dealt with as fast as possible.
If your landlord doesn’t arrange for repairs to be made, get in touch with Living Rent and consider withholding rent. You can read the following for more information on withholding rent: https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/money_help/withholding_rent
DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU NEED YOUR UNION
It’s only by people coming and taking action together that we can build the power we need to win greater protections for tenants and to support each other with housing issues so Join Living Rent today. And get involved with your local branch and member defence team in the new year!
