Updating post from Reddit.
Me and my flatmate have moved into a 2 bed tenancy in November and have been shocked by how high the gas bills are in this property.
A few weeks ago we discovered that the kitchen window doesn’t shut tightly in one corner and we believe that this the reason for the high gas bills (you can feel a draught when you put your hand to it).
We’ve messaged the landlord and she has said this was a known issue but doesn’t think it has affected gas bills previously. She says she will get it fixed but hasn’t in the two weeks since we’ve notified her and the handyman never arrived today.
I’m wondering if anyone knows if she is legally obliged to get this sorted as quickly as possible, and would we be entitled to any sort of compensation since this was a known issue, and has been ongoing despite being brought to her attention.
We have moved the thermostat but will likely help with the gas bills but this has led to the kitchen always being a lot colder than the rest of the flat which isn’t ideal.
I would personally speak to the landlord and say if they are happy to arrange a window repair person to swap out the hinges. They're basically gone and need replacing.
If you think this is the main cause of high bills then get it repaired soon. However I'd say don't expect for your bills to drop by over 50 percent because energy prices are generally high.
This is a one house job for someone to come and swap it. Most of your local window suppliers will have a contact.
Yeah I think the consensus is we need the hinged replaced. Will mention to the landlord so hopefully they start being a bit more urgent with fixing it.
According to our smart meter our bills have dropped by a third since we’ve moved the thermostat to another room.
Do you have curtains. I'd keep them closed to reduce heat loss.
It shouldn't affect the heating unduly, pretty much the same as having trickle vents fitted.
This. All that's going to happen is now tenants will create a mould problem
Landlords when you ask them to provide functioning windows 🤣
Literally the most common cause of mould but okay 😂
Yeah poor ventilation resulting in high humidity with insufficient airflow can cause mould. Sure. Takes a scum landlord to use that as a reason to not repair a basic function of a house though, doesn't it?
Obviously it needs repairing but it's not losing them much heating.
If the tenants idea is they can save heat by keeping windows shut 24/7 and they don't have trickle vents it will likely lead to mould.
I believe the issue they were raising is that the house was being overheated because the thermostat was in a breeze, so was coming on prematurely and staying on longer than required.
And the landlord then offered to move it (sounds like it is wireless anyway).
>Takes a scum landlord to use that as a reason to not repair a basic function of a house though, doesn't it?
Do you know what a trickle vent is?
Hinges have buckled, very common in pvc windows, less than an hour for a decent fitter to repair. Especially common in larger opening sashes like that, there's about 20kg+ of glass hanging from it
A draught like that won't lead to excessive gas bills, that's down to the utility companies taking the piss on pricing. I can do the sums for you but would have to charge as it is quite involved.
Ours have dropped on every single LH window weirdly. We don't open those windows now because getting them shut again is an absolute ball ache. We're housing association, but getting someone to take us seriously and come out and fix them is a joke. They just tell us not to open the windows. Like, really??
You could always do it yourself if you get fed up waiting. Parts on UPVC windows are really easy to swap out.
What is an LH window?
You can usually jiggle the windows closed , if you open one, go outside and look at the hinges you will see they are buckled. If it's ground floor it's an easy enough fix, just do one side at a time. Screwfix sell the hinges they aren't expensive, though I'd recommend going elsewhere and getting brand name ones as I've had to replace a few shortly after replacing them. G
‘I could do sums for you but would have to charge’ 😂😂😂😂 your life is a joke
Engineer here.
I charge to do sums.
Windows should close properly I agree and you need to get this fixed. However the fact that the window is next to the thermostat probably won't make that much difference because heat ends up being reasonably uniformly distributed across the property - but yes it is likely that the house would have been kept at a slightly higher temperature overall than the thermostat was suggesting. Houses do need some ventilation however - we leave one of our windows open a tiny crack 24/7 all year round. You are supposed to get at least two or three complete air exchanges for the whole house every day.
A gas bill of £125 pounds in a peak winter month is hardly remarkable and probably a lot lower than average for say a three-bedroom property which will typically run at least five pounds a day in peak winter if it is being properly heated and ventilated.
A tiny gap like that is not going to cause high bills. It's basically a trickle vent, which you should have anyway.
Sure, nothing wrong with pushing to get it fixed - but temper your expectations re the bills, and I wouldn't use that as an argument personally. Sounds a bit ridiculous.
It's literally a £10 failing hinge, Screwfix sell them your landlord really should be fixing that asap it's not a hard fix.
Your correspondence to the landlord is not very direct and clear. Tell them what is wrong and what you want to be done. Not "maybe feel that perhaps this could be causing possibly an issue".
"Dear Landlord, the window is not closing properly and needs to be adjusted by a professional window fitter. Please advise of when this will be fixed."
you can say that it is a security risk as well as letting in cold air
It is probably not going to make a massive difference to your gas bills.
You have been there only in winter so far, the gas consumption for summer will be lower so it will average out a bit better hopefullly.
I am confused. The landlord isn’t refusing to repair and the conversation is ends with a date for the repair (Friday, presumably yesterday) being agreed. This is not exactly a “struggle”.
As others have said, a small draft will not on its own lead to high gas bills and if the problem was with the thermostat coming on when it thought it was colder than it was surely the answer would have been to adjust the thermostat temperature down.
Am I missing something or is this thread just Karma farming/excuse for the usual suspects (maybe commie bots?) to diss landlords without actually reading anything.
Buy a sealing strip and stick it on the inside of the window.
Also some windows have a summer and winter mode (apparently), and you can set them to close more flush.
Also £125 on gas depends on the size of the house - which we don't know.
This isn’t one of those windows. It’s completely sealed tight in one corner but the other there’s a clear gap. You can close it tighter but not fully by pushing it from the outside, but it has come loose again on its own since we tried this.
And the flat is a 2 bed ground floor flat.
Lube all the runners and stuff up, ours used to do the same and needed a bit of a slam to make it jolt shut. Soon as I lubed it all up it shut flush. Also there's normally a triangular ramp type thing within the frames that slide along it, I think they keep the windows from sagging. check that's not causing an obstruction.
I'm not a window fitter by any means so probably don't know the terms and what things are actually there for but fiddling with them bits sorted this issue for me.
Hinge is buckled. Temporary fix:
Open the window. Grab the bottom of the window in the middle.
Pull towards you lightly.
Shut the window.
It should seal.
Like other commenters have said, this is a very simple fix. Your landlord should do it but if they don't it's a £10 hinge replacement and an easy DIY job, especially if you're on the ground floor. I lived with windows like this for a very cold winter and was actually looking into getting whole new windows fitted before I watched some tutorials on YouTube and saw how easy this is to sort.
Your landlord is a dickhead and it sounds like you'll wait for a long time for them to accept this needs doing. Honestly, although you shouldn't have to take responsibility for this just watch a YouTube video, measure your hinge and order a replacement from Amazon then fit it yourself. Job done, problem solved.
Go outside, push that side of the window where the gap is, pushing the frame inwards, whilst the window is closed. The gap inside will close flush.
We’ve tried this but it still doesn’t close flush and came loose again after a while unfortunately
Needs new hinges in that case
I had this just got some weather proofing strip for a few quid
Surely it can’t be letting in that much of a draft otherwise you would’ve noticed it a lot sooner.
I had a similar thing in my house and just put gaffer tape over it in the meantime.
Can confirm it’s £12 for a new hinge, had the same problem
get some agreement to do a temporary fix - e,g ducktape, o
It’s a simple fix. The hinges just need replacing. They can be bought from screwfix.
The landlord is a bit crap I think
Do you know anyone with a thermography camera? I have a Flir it plugs into my iPhone (about £160 on amazon) and can accurately take photos of temperature differences, so you could compare that window to another in the property to prove the air leak to strengthen your case that it’s causing a serious problem.
for now you can push the window closed from outside, just give the side a shove. but it's the hinges that really need replacing (I have an upstairs window with that issue and that's not so easy to do this too!)
Put bubble wrap over the window as a temporary fix?
It shouldn’t be contributing that high to the gas consumption regardless unless you’ve got heating on for extended periods of time. What temperature have you got it set to?
Its the hinge. simple job to replace.
In the meantime you may find the window sits better if you close it quicker than you normally would....not quite slam it.... but just give it a bit of momentum to carry it shut. Ive done this when Ive had similar issues and I didnt have the time to replace the hinge.
Also... I doubt it does a thing to your bill...energy is just more expensive than it was.
The property should be wind and water tight. Yor landlord has no excuse.