Thanks and very glad to have come across such a comprehensive forum since the last place you really want to be is taking matters to court but without any guidance/ discussion that doesnt involve heavy lawyers fees it can end up seeming unavoidable. Looking forward to using this site more.

Since the consensus seems to be I do not have a leg to stand on the next question would be - what about compensation for the condition or lack of these basic needs such as cold water/heating - if they can be independently established as inadequate can we claim to pay a lower rent until they are fixed and also for the intrusion by builders that will inevitably necessary to resolve this? Does anyone have any experience of this?

I have been renting on and off for 20 years and have never encountered issues like this- I guess I have been exceptionally lucky or maybe I overlooked them previously...the rent here is 1000pw for a 2 bed and I do feel strongly that basic things like hot and cold water should have been checked at the start by the landlord. If I were to go to every viewing and run the taps in every bathroom before I decided whether that flat was right or not I think agents would quickly tire of it and yet this is what it seems necessary to do to play it safe. Its possible I may have reacted alot to the intrusion but it is quite a frightening experience to hear footsteps in your home when no one but you is there just coming out of the shower and not having heard anyone come in.. I read on the forum that I am allowed to change locks provided I change them back at the end of the tenancy. Do you know - can I do this after a single breach already? It would give me alot of peace of mind when Im here alone as the landlady said that she did not regard entering part of the flat as a real entry- meaning (at least to me) that she may do it again if it suited her- especially since now there are linked works/ repairs issues (even though these also require 24 hr notice). An engineer came yesterday and fixed this a little by closing the valve of the hot water (pressure was too high so was coming back down) and long term measure is to put a non return valve in. I say a little because the 'cold' taps are now giving lukewarm water which when it is run for more than 5 minutes starts to get hot again... sorry I am now rambling into the detail of the plumbing but maybe it helps towards getting an idea of how serious it remains. Whilst the 'cold' water tap water is no longer scalding it is also by no means cold....

My tenancy (london) began 7 days ago and the day we moved in we raised issues regarding the inadequacy of the heating in the living area/ kitchen. We offered to share the electric bill in case extra heaters would be necessary. It was decided that we would wait for a few more days to see if the flat would heat up to sufficient levels as she advised that it felt cold due to the fact that it had been empty for a number of weeks and would get warmer over the next few days. L also said a release would be possible but that she would check with agent what release terms would be. On the 3rd day of the tenancy she entered w/o notice and claimed it was necessary in order to drop off the Inventory. I was in my bath towel and did feel shocked at the time since in my 20 years of living in london nothing like this has ever happened. Because of the ongoing heating problem and the way in which she made excuses for her entry and did not acknowledge this as a breach on her part (raising the liklihood that it could happen again since she didn't respect this right) we decided that we wanted to leave the tenancy. After we informed her of this she required that we move out within 24 hours and pay 10% of the 6 months rent upfront that we paid. We packed all our stuff and said that we would move in 24 hours (even though it was her breach) provided the 10% fee was waived. She did not agree so we have not moved out and want to get directions from the county court to approve the early release without any penalty due to landlords breach. Also there is no cold water in the flat - it is the same temperature as the hot water. The L has made it clear that we can not leave w/o her taking a 10% fee (for the agent) but in our view she should pay this. Whats the best way to approach this and is there any ADR service that might be useful here? Or can anyone advise the best way to approach this?