Jyotsna, London

17 January 2011

My partner and I rented a north-facing, single-aspect flat with three external walls, by the canal.  Due to its location and orientation the flat needed extra insulation to protect against cold winters. 

But it only had single glazing and night storage electric heaters rather than central heating, which meant we couldn't control the level of heat in the flat.

Due to the way night storage electric heating works, the flat was warmest between 4am and 8am. It was extremely cold in the evenings (when we were home) as all the heat had been emitted during the day.

The average temperature in the flat, with all heaters working, was about 17 degrees. But it frequently fell below that. Once it was 11 degrees inside our home.

We lived in this flat for two years, and both years needed to use the heating from September to May. In my opinion, this is excessive in a temperate climate like the UK's and reflects the poor build quality of the flat.

We harassed my landlord's agent a lot. Finally, the agent sent an engineer to check out the flat. This occurred towards the end of the two years. He was so cold he didn't take off his coat while inspecting the house. He expressed great sympathy towards our situation and said the only way to ensure a warm house was to have higher building codes and more stringent regulations. 

With his help, we managed to get secondary glazing put in. This is cheaper than double glazing but less effective for insulating as opposed to sound proofing.

We also managed to get an extra night storage heater but the difference was minimal. We used to sleep with three duvets at night.

Despite all this, the rent was not cheap. We always paid our rent on time. This was my greatest frustration - that there was no law to protect people like us who rent privately (because home ownership is out of reach), pay taxes, abide by the law, and work hard.

All we want is a warm house! I don't think that is too much to ask for.