Winter Advice 2024
Winter Advice 2024

Winter Advice 2024:

With winter well and truly set in now it is vitally important that your landlord carries out basic winter maintenance and it is equally essential that you, as the tenant, are well informed as to what you can do to keep your rented property safe. Please find below some useful information that will help you keep your property safe this winter.

Stopcock – check where the stopcock is located – if there is a burst pipe or other emergency related to plumbing you should be aware of where to turn off the mains water supply.

Heating – You may already know that the heating comes on and goes off at certain times but make sure you know exactly how the heating system functions. It is best to leave the heating on low to maintain a consistent heat.

Timed Lighting – If you are going to be absent from the property during the night due to work, or at any other time, lighting timers are an excellent way to deter burglars.

Fuse Box – Whilst you may know where the fuse box is, keep a torch somewhere handy so that if there is a blown fuse or a tripped switch, you can find your way to it easily.

Condensation – Condensation occurs usually in rooms that do not have sufficient ventilation or heating and in poorly insulated properties. In the winter condensation problems are worse and cause mould to form, which in turn damages the paintwork, fixtures and fittings. Maintaining an even temperature in the property will greatly assist in reducing condensation.

Please find below some advice in relation to reducing condensation levels in your property:

  1. Cover saucepans.
  2. Dry clothing outside rather than on radiators, or in the bathroom with windows open and radiator on low.
  3. Wipe away condensation as soon as you notice it.
  4. Keep window trickle vents open constantly or leave windows on ‘night lock’ and open windows as much as possible (especially after cooking or showering) to allow a flow of air whilst maintaining a heat balance, ensure windows remain open around 20 minutes after a room has been exposed to excessive moisture (even in winter).
  5. Ensure extractor fans are operational (if applicable), you can test pull by holding a sheet of tissue paper against it and seeing if it sticks.
  6. Turn on the cold tap of the bath first so that when the hot water hits it doesn’t produce as much steam into the immediate atmosphere.
  7. Close doors in wet areas (bathroom) to stop the spread of moisture to other rooms.
  8. Where possible position cupboards and drawers etc. against internal walls and leave a gap around to allow air to circulate.
  9. Ensure all gutters are clear.

Burst pipes – one way to reduce the event of a burst pipe ensure the heating comes on at regular intervals or is left on at a low temperature this will reduce the potential of the pipes becoming frozen, also you may find that your condensate pipes become frozen at this time of year. Before reporting that you have no heating or hot water please look over the following link to see if this is something easily resolved https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/heating-advice/frozen-condensate

Help for Households - help with your energy bills - find out more about the Government's energy bill discount payment for UK households as well as cost of living payments

There are also lots of free or low-cost ways to save money on your energy bills. You can contact the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234.

As always, we thank you for your patience whilst we deal with any faults and repairs. Please treat our staff with respect – they will do their utmost to get an engineer to you as quickly as possible but please bear in mind we do not manage contractors’ diaries and there are high volumes of callouts in the winter period. If you continue to call this will prevent others from getting through.

Our emergency phone will be operational between the hours of 5.30pm Friday to 6.00pm Sunday each week. If you have an emergency during the week, please leave a voicemail on our normal landline number or send an email. Alternatively, you can report issues through Property File (please ask if you need to be sent the activation link for this). We are generally unable to get contractors out pre-9.00am and in the evenings, and so would ask you to take a common-sense approach to any urgent repairs. We will deal with this upon our return to the office as soon as practically possible.

If you are unsure of any of the above and would like some further guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

The Maintenance Team at Stevens Property Management Ltd.