UK heatwave leaves renters boiling as 1m private rent homes fail basic standards
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/uk-heatwave-leaves-renters-boiling-35431166
Posted by DisableSubredditCSS
UK heatwave leaves renters boiling as 1m private rent homes fail basic standards
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/uk-heatwave-leaves-renters-boiling-35431166
Posted by DisableSubredditCSS
15 Comments
I can understand private rented homes can sometimes be problematic but the Mirror trying to make the heatwave appear most problematic for private renters is ridiculous. Please tell me if you think I’m wrong.
Our country is mainly cold so a lot of us wouldn’t get aircon at home. When it gets hot run a cold bath, have a cold shower, go swimming, open windows and buy fans, just like everybody else. We’re all melting.
Failing basic standards is not heavily connected to heat in this country. Yes, there are rogue landlords but the article lost me with this headline. Irritating.
Air conditioning is banned because of climate change concerns btw.
Unlike the USA, the UK has almost no established ways of reducing loft† super-heading which increases house temperature†† despite “good” insuration it it gets to a higher temp in there than the upper floors of the house itself.
See https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/seal_insulate/do-it-yourself-guide/about-attic-ventilation and many other US-centric resources.
† unconverted loft/attics.
†† good insulation only slows winter heatloss (and the reverse in the summer in excess situations).
Cant say I’m surprised by this, The recent heatwave made my home almost unbearable and in lucky enough to have ac (all be it a small one)
Ventilate the house overnight then shut all the windows and close the blinds/curtains.
We did this yesterday; it was 32 outside and a very pleasant 21 inside.
Wow talk about leftwing gaslighting…FFS you’ll be saying landlords have to cook and clean for em next..
The issue is a complete lack of decent insulation. That, combined with *the* oldest housing stock in the world, let alone Europe, it’s any wonder even slightly warmer temperatures are unbearable, and winters so expensive.
Not sure what the message is here. We have the same issue in our new build, great in the winter can be boiling in the summer. We have a portable air con and nothing stopping tenants doing the same.
I’m all for the government mandating a minimum EPC (current is min of E), but it won’t help newer properties that are an A/B because once the heats in it holds it.
Basically every home in the UK will fail these standards, houses here are not made for heat. It’s not an issue specific to renters, weird spin.
Landlords selling AST contracts have zero incentive to install A/C, what’s the point, it’s not like the renter has much power here, it only becomes an incentive if all other landlords in the area offer it as a feature of the property, which would be unlikely unless the A/C becomes a legal requirement
The UK doesnt get enough unbearable heat – couple weeks max – to make it worth installing aircon
One thing i do is have a fan on, and/or get a hot water bottle, fill it with water and stick it in the freezer. Sleep with that and it cools you down in an instant
Also work if you can or go to cafes at peak times in the day to take advantage of their air con
All the houses I have rented are freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer. No insulation, badly fitting doors and windows, not maintained. They don’t want to cut into their profit so tenants suffer.
Why are all the replies to this about air conditioning? That’s not what the article is about and it’s not the issue.
My private rental years were miserable because landlords would happily leave us without functioning windows for months on end, and the buildings were usually unsuitable for habitation because of the way they’d been built without concern for temperature control, or built fine and then split into units that no longer worked. The one flat I could keep comfortable in summer had me spending vast amounts of time and brain space to do so, and in the winter it was dangerously cold.
Air conditioning is not a magic solution. It pumps out your heat into the environment for your neighbours to enjoy, with extra added. It heats up cities and then people install more air conditioning. There is no government conspiracy trying to keep you from enjoying your AC: there is simply the reality of thermodynamics and a changing climate.
You can say that we’re not used to the heat so there’s no point building things to escape it, but my 1900 terrace is fine because it has thick walls and is surrounded by mature trees, and my Grade Two listed property with foundations from the 1400’s that we rent out is built into a moat of an old castle with more of both.
Modern builds skip both the greenery and the good materials, and it’s less to do with renters than the house-builders. Broadly there hasn’t been a single well-built building in England since before the 60’s. All the big companies are publicly traded which means you get nothing better than the minimal viable product. They’re barely functional and I privately think that your dwelling-place slowly affects your mental health and personality.
We’ve improved technology, but anything without a power supply in this country is pretty shit. I’ve not experienced anything else improving at all in my 40 years so it seems the height of stupidity to buy or rent a modern house. And it’s not like this is a randomly found opinion. I’ve worked in planning for local authorities and central government, both regionally and for the inspectorate. I’ve done LDF’s, spatial strategies, urban extensions, compulsory purchase orders, council tax grading of properties, and my dad was on the board of one of the largest housing authorities in the country. I have seen the entire housing stock of at least my region, and I’ve seen the pathfinders for various prestige developments and ran consultations on them. It’s the latter especially that provides this conviction; even the best new builds for wealthy people are worse in nearly every metric than the tenements originally meant for miners and mill workers a hundred years ago.
Renters just like everyone else can open a window, get a fan, go to the beach, seek shade, get a portable air conditioning unit etc.
As a landlord, these options are available to me; don’t see why renters can’t seek the same rather than expect landlords to provide a solution for every “problem”.