Thanks for that, Rayd. As the water was from LL's private supply (his reservoir, out in one of his fields) I don't know if there would have been an isolator? In the flood the water all poured in from the pipe in the loft, ie it came through the ceilings. And even if there had been a valve, I wouldn't have turned the water off if I had been in residence for the w/e, so why would I turn it off when going away for 48 hrs and leaving the house heated?

Sorry. I still don't understand. The pipe burst in the loft, before it reached the house system. There is no valve that I had access to (that I am aware of) that isolates the reservoir supply from water coming into the tank.

Mariner, as the pipe was up in the loft, and fed water from outside into the tank before it came down the pipes into the house, how is it related to switching the water supply off in the house?

He has plenty of money, trust me . Maybe more money than sense. Thanks for your good wishes.

Rayd: Yes, as soon as I was told I was expected to pay for the removal of the compost I wrote to the agent saying I would rather arrange to get the job done myself, thank you very much, but I objected to having to do it in any case seeing as LL had originally said he would let me know if it needed removing (and I pasted in the original email terms regarding LL would let me know IF he wanted it removed at end of tenancy). Agent replied that 'unfortunately the landlord has already had the heap removed'. Perhaps I need to reply to that, reiterating the 'terms'? Mariner: It was the cold water feed pipe - or so I was told by the LL at the outset. The water comes from his reservoir out in a field somewhere. 20,000 litres of it. No the property was not unoccupied, I was resident, and away for the weekend (fortunately - as having 20',00 L of water rushing into the property while I was there would have been horrendous). Because freezing weather was forecast I left the boiler timed to have the heating on for 7 hours of each day I was away, at a higher temp than I would have had it on if I had been at home. If I had been at home I would have had the heating on for less time than that. I also left a couple of electric oil radiators on in the coldest rooms (I am a responsible tenant, I think).

Laughing Girl: I am looking for a new place to live. I don't want to give in my notice till I have somewhere secured, and actually I don't think I am allowed to until the 6 months are up anyway, tho I may be wrongabout that. Previous tenant did tell the agent about the problems, many times, but nothing was done except that a contractor came to look at the wall,and she never heard any more about it. The leaking roof was 'fixed'….. buto bviously not properly as the door frame the water seeps through is sodden, asis the ceiling above it, and I almost slipped on the floor last night because of puddles. I am not prepared to fight for the repairs to get done. I willbe moving. There is no way I will subject myself to winter here.

Ta

No, it's two issues - two seperate houses, two seperate LL's. Can you please seperate the threads again?

I have it in an email from the agent, that LL would let me know if he wanted me to remove it.

Laughing Girl, thanks for your thoughts. I am 4 months into the 6 month initial contract. I don't want to call EH, or make any more complaints to the agent, as I am but anxious about getting evicted before I have somewhere else to live. Rayd, the boiler is fuelled by oil, not gas.

As he says he has had the offending pipe inspected and the contractor (probably the guy who did the lagging in the first place) has informed him that it was adequately lagged, I am not sure of the claim, no. Re compost, are you saying that even though LL had said at the beginning of the tenancy that HE would let me know if he wanted me to remove it when I left, that it was still my responsibility to ask him, when I left, if he wanted me to remove it? That doesn't make sense to me!

Hi again It's definately not my year for good landlords! Whilst still having to deal with the situation with my previous LL (see post 'landlord's fault not mine' if interested), my current LL turns out to be similarly unco-operative. There are multiple repairs that need doing, including a leak dripping through the bathroom ceiling onto the floor from the roof whenever it rains, windows that don't close (extremely draughty and a security risk), flooding up to 18" in the garden because no drainage exists, an internal wall that has a serious damp problem (rising from the wet ground perhaps?) - mould, fungus, lifted plaster on both sides (and it's a stone wall about 18" thick). Other things are that the boiler packs up every day or two, the toilet flush doesn't work, two panels of (rotten) fencing have blown down, the bedroom doors have no closing devices, woodburner door is stuck on wide open and logs fall out sometimes (fire risk). I won't carry on, you get the gist. Agent said, when I first viewed the property, that the internal wall would 'probably' get repaired in the summer, and that the previous tenant had not wanted the upheaval of having the work done while she was there. (I have spoken with the ex tenant and she said that was nonsense; like me, she complained ad nauseam to the agent and nothing was done) I have made numerous complaints to the agent from a couple of days after I moved in, both face to face, over the phone, and by email. When the water was flooding the garden I took photos and asked the agent to send them to the LL. (No other gdn on the street floods because they all have adequate drainage). Once the agent came out to inspect and I gave her a list of everything that needed doing. Apparently the LL has advised the agent that no repairs can be done that cost over £75. Is that legal???? Autumn and winter will be horrible, draughty, cold, damp. Ugh. I am looking for somewhere to move to..... again. Any advice in the meantime?

Update: I wrote to LL, outlining my costs and losses etc and asking him to pass the info on to his insurers. As a result he now says the burst pipe has been inspected and deemed suitably lagged (although he had previously said it was not lagged, but that it relied on other lagged pipes nearby to protect it), and that he has therefore not been negligent. His insurers will not compensate me because of this. As for the doors, he is still insisting that I have to pay for new ones. The rental agency tell me they have referred the matter to the Rent Deposit scheme. Additionally he has informed me that I am to pay his costs for removing a compost heap. When I moved into the property I asked whether I could build a compost heap and the reply was that I could, and LL would let me know if he wanted it removed when I left the property. If I had known he wanted it removed I would have removed it. As he did not tell me after I handed in my notice that he wanted it removed I don't see how he can now ask me to pay for it retrospectively. Any advice?

Thanks, I will consider doing that if I don't hear from him in the next week or so.

Yes I moved out because the house was uninhabitable. I moved in with a friend temporarily whilst looking for somewhere new to rent. Two days after the flood the landlord told me I had to have all my belongings out within the next two days because the driers had to come in. His insurers insisted the drying could not start while my possessions were in situ. Obviously I had nowhere to put them and they ended up in a damp unsecured garage for two weeks. I have sent him a letter stating the costs of my losses and expenses and asking him to inform his insurers and to let me know he has done this (within 21 days). The 21 days are up and I have not heard yet.

It began in January 2011. I handed in my letter of notice approx two months ago. Yes the deposit is protected.

He wants me to pay the full cost of buying new doors and locks, and labour to fit them, including sanding, primer, woodstain. No he is not approachable. I will not be moving back in, and I no longer have keys for the property. Where would I find the sort of expert you suggest? I haven't got a clue!

Yes I have seen it, and I have photos. As far as I can tell it is water that has done it.

Hello My house flooded due to the landlord not having lagged a pipe in the loft, which then burst in freezing weather. Not my fault in any way. I moved house as the place was going to be uninhabitable for approx 8 months. The landlord has informed me that he will not re-pay the full deposit as he says that there is damage to the veneer on two internal doors under which i had run a cable for a free-standing electric heater. I don't dispute that the heater cable went under the doors, but when I was living there there was absolutely NO damage to the doors whatsoever, and my position is that having 20,000 litres of flood water going through the house has lifted the veneer. They were NOT damaged prior to the flood. Any advice? Thank you.