No hot water in kitchen

[justjoe86]

How's that any different just because you've moved to a village house, JJ?? ;-)

Because it gives me an excuse

[kimwy66]

Had workmen in fixing a leak in the wall in the bathroom (was salt water so assumed it was the pipe going into the toilet cistern).

The fix has now involved replacing all the taps, doing some shit-looking plastic piping to take water from the hot water tank directly into the shower hot water tap, and removing hot water from very other tap in the flat, including the kitchen. Which is perplexing because there was no issue with the normal water supply anywhere.

The workmen sent by the landlord don't speak any English, so my 'No, you put hot water back in kitchen' is falling on deaf ears.

I won't live in a place that has no running hot water from any tap.

[kimwy66]

So coming back to this after a running battle with the landlord, who thought having the only source of hot water as the shower head (not even a tap) was a fine solution, and the back-street idiot excuse for a plumber who says is the only solution is to have a plastic pipe coming out of the bottom of the hot water tank and going into the top of the shower hot water tap is ticketty-boo.

Where do I stand on my tenancy contract, which we just renewed at a 25% increase, which doesn't specifically mention you get hot running water? Surely it is a given but you can never take anything for granted in this country.

[iliketurtles]

As can be clearly demonstrated by the many posters in this very thread, hot water in kitchens are certainly not a given in HK.

The three options I see are:

1. Sue your landlord because 'hot water should be a given' - you will lose.
2. Suck it up and boil the kettle more frequently - more practical solution.
3. Bring your own contractor in to pipe from the water heater to your sink - less practical and more costly solution.

[kimwy66]

We had hot water to the kitchen and the bathroom sink, we wouldn't have rented a place without hot water in any tap in the apartment, so I expect that situation to continue.

Boiling a kettle is not an option. We don't use a big kettle here so we would have to buy one which will use more electricity than an efficient hot water cylinder, and I do a lot of cooking which requires continuous washing. I like hot water for cleaning, it is more efficient. My husband and I like to wash with warm water in the bathroom, especially in winter. I don't expect to have to lean over the shower and get it running just to wash my face at night.

So I guess we will employ someone who actually knows what they are doing and take the cost out of the rent if he continues to refuse to put the flat back in the condition it was in prior to the leak, with functioning hot water supply to all sinks.

[iliketurtles]

So I guess we will employ someone who actually knows what they are doing and take the cost out of the rent if he continues to refuse to put the flat back in the condition it was in prior to the leak, with functioning hot water supply to all sinks.

Sure, you can do that, but don't say you weren't warned when the landlord legitimately deducts the exact same amounts from your deposit.

Unless you can prove some element of misrepresentation, you just need to suck it up or pay to fix it yourself.

[usehername]

If it had hot running water when the contract was signed and now it doesn't, I would argue that's a fairly major difference. I would imagine you are legally entitled to rent a flat in the condition it was in when you signed. Tenancy agreements don't mention electrical wiring but if your LL stripped them out all out and left you with one plug, I would imagine you would have a case against him.

Withhold rent til it's resolved.

[iliketurtles]

I would imagine you are legally entitled to rent a flat in the condition it was in when you signed

Incorrect. The contract Kim signed will clarify where the balance of responsibility lies for repairs.

Withhold rent til it's resolved.

Again, this is an option, but Kim would be in breach of the same contract. She needs to bear in mind the ramifications by doing this.

[usehername]

Incorrect. The contract Kim signed will clarify where the balance of responsibility lies for repairs.


Again, this is an option, but Kim would be in breach of the same contract. She needs to bear in mind the ramifications by doing this.

It's not about repairs. When she signed the contract there was hot water in the kitchen. The ll has subsequently removed the hot water from the kitchen without informing her and without her consent.

[iliketurtles]

It's not about repairs. When she signed the contract there was hot water in the kitchen. The ll has subsequently removed the hot water from the kitchen without informing her and without her consent.

Am I typing to a brick wall?

What the landlord promised her for the rent she pays is as set out in the contract. If it doesn't specifically say that she is entitled to hot running water in her kitchen, then, simply, there is no basis for her to force him into making the repairs other than by being incredibly annoying.

Yes, you might think she's hard done by, but she can either (1) get on with it and sort it out herself (what most others do), or (2) cry scream and shout and generally cause a scene, which might make the landlord go above and beyond what they are contractually obligated to do.