Would depend why they burst (and this would apply whether you are in the property or away). Poor installation, defective hardware, general wear and tear - then it's the landlord's responsibility. Your own negligence, e.g. you bang a nail through a pipe or ignore common sense advice to prevent a burst due to freezing - your responsibility.
Would this letter stand up in court (from landlords)
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Would depend why they burst (and this would apply whether you are in the property or away). Poor installation, defective hardware, general wear and tear - then it's the landlord's responsibility. Your own negligence, e.g. you bang a nail through a pipe or ignore common sense advice to prevent a burst due to freezing - your responsibility.
i dont think there is any law stating you HAVE to have the heating on is there ?
you might be a person who dose not need the heating on,or the flat is warm enough not to warrant the heating on.
hes just covering himself in-case they do burst.
you might be a person who dose not need the heating on,or the flat is warm enough not to warrant the heating on.
hes just covering himself in-case they do burst.
Indeed, but the thermostat in the boiler will always turn the heating on if the temperature of the water in the system drops below 5oC. This is an emergency mode to stop pipes freezing. All modern boilers certainly have it.
No, and thats not really at issue here. What is at issue is that tenancy agreements virtually always have clauses in requiring the tenants to take good care of the house. This includes, funnily enough, not allowing pipes to freeze and then burst. You don't have to "have the heating on" to have the boiler in emergency mode.
If it's down to negligence by you then yes. Ie you allow the house to go sub zero.
You have a duty of care to the house, you can't just allow things to break. If a foreseeable evident damages something and you haven't done anything, it's your fault.
The common one people get caught out with. Is things like damp, which they don't report. Only to be charged when it damages large sections of wall/plaster.
Soldato
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There isn't a law which says he needs to keep the heating on, but if the pipes were to burst due to lack of heating, the tenant would be responsible.
The landlord isn't so much covering himself as he is just trying to save himself the hassle of a broken pipe.
The landlord wouldn't be liable anyway unless the burst pipe could be proven to be from a fault in the property rather than from becoming frozen.
As others have said, if you're leaving on holiday during the winter, leave the thermostat on the lowest setting. It won't cost much, if anything as it won't kick in unless it's really cold.
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