If your boiler is not working, in the first instance please check whether the boiler is turned on, and does not need to be re-pressurised (see video clip below on this).
Please also check that the failure is not due to unpaid bills/credit meter, or issues with the supply of gas/electric in your area. If the boiler cannot be turned on, or if there is no hot water/heating after the boiler has been turned on and enough time has passed to heat the water/radiators, then please report your issue to your agent.
Radiators need bleeding when they have air trapped inside them. This trapped air stops warm water circulating around your radiator. That can make the radiator cold at the top, but warm at the bottom.
It means your central heating system isn’t working efficiently and it can take longer to warm up your room. It can also cost you money, as your bills will be higher.
You might also need to let out trapped air if you have noisy radiators which are making banging, clanking or gurgling noises.
It’s recommended that you bleed your radiators once a year, even if they are working properly.
How to bleed your radiator
What you’ll need:
A radiator key – you can get one from a DIY store (see image below)
A cloth or rag to catch any water.
Turn off your heating. You can’t bleed a radiator when the heating is on, as it may be too hot to touch. You could also get hot water spraying out of the radiator.
Use your radiator key to turn the valve at the top of the radiator. Attach the key to the square groove in the centre of the valve as shown in the diagram and turn it slowly anticlockwise. You should hear a hissing sound. This is the trapped air escaping. Use your cloth to catch any water that comes out.
Retighten the valve once the hissing stops and only liquid comes out. Do this quickly to stop too much water escaping.
Turn your central heating system back on.
Check the pressure by looking at the gauge on your boiler. Bleeding your radiators can cause the pressure to drop. If the pressure is too low, you’ll need to top it up. Use the lever or tap on your boiler, known as the filling loop.
Check if your radiator is now heating up properly. If the heat is evenly spread through the radiator, you’ve fixed the problem.
When leaving one of our properties it is important that it is left in the same state as it was when you moved in, we call this ‘rentable’ – so the property should be in a rentable state.
If it is not left in a rentable state you may lose part or all of your deposit, and there may be further costs involved.
Some handy points are below:
Ensure the property is fully emptied (including cupboards, lofts, gardens etc)
Fully clean the property including appliances such as ovens, stains on carpets and any smells etc
Put any damage back to how it was, this includes holes in the walls used to hang mirrors and pictures, damage to flooring, doors etc
Ensure the house is properly decorated (like it was when you moved in)
Do not dump rubbish in the garden or bins (i.e. the bins should have the correct items in them, for example don’t dump general waste in the paper bin)
The above should be done and ready for the end of tenancy date, when you will hand back the keys to the property and we will assess the property with you present.
We never like taking anyone’s deposit, so any concerns should be discussed with enough notice before the end of tenancy, if you wish we can arrange to visit the property beforehand to go through anything that will need done (i.e. make a list which you can follow).
The government has introduced some measures to protect renters and Landlords affected by COVID-19.
Holloway Residential Limited is continually working with Local Councils and within Government guidelines to ensure we follow their advice, guidance and law.
For renters you still need to pay your rent as normal, if you are having trouble meeting the payments please speak to your Holloway Residential agent.
Landlords remain obliged to ensure that homes remain legally compliant and health and safety repairs should still be made.
Our tradesmen including plumbers, electricians and maintenance are available if needed, and social distancing guidelines will be followed (where possible) when they visit your home, please contact your Holloway Residential agent if you have any issue to report as normal.
A standing charge is a fixed amount you pay every day you are connected to a gas or electricity network. You pay this regardless if you are on a prepayment meter or a monthly bill.
Standing charges are used to cover costs like meter reading, maintenance and the cost of keeping you connected to the network, as well as in the case of gas, the gas emergency service.
As prepayment meters apply the standing charge on a daily basis to you need to regularly top up your credit, even if you aren’t using much energy e.g. using less gas during the summer months due to not using central heating. If you run out of credit the standing charge will continue to be applied and will build up a debt which you must repay.
House mice can live and breed in houses, buildings and other structures such as garden sheds, which give them protection from cold and wet weather, and where they can access food, water and harbourage.
Although an abundant supply of food is preferable, house mice can survive on relatively poor diets, eating between 3 to 4 grams of food a day and can survive without access to free water, obtaining their daily needs from their food.
The ideal environments for house mice are buildings with dead spaces and harbourages free from disturbance and close to food and water. They are extremely good climbers, and can climb walls, pipes, cavities and ducting. They have very hard front teeth (incisors), which can penetrate materials as hard as concrete, lead and aluminium. This can result in expensive damage and even fires when electric cables are damaged.
House mice like to know the area where they live and like to familiarise themselves with their home surroundings; but dependent upon other physical factors, this activity is often restricted to a radius of up to 10m. They use the same familiar pathways and therefore produce ‘smear marks’ by the continual rubbing of their fur against surfaces.
They can live for more than two years, though the average life span is about 10 months. House mice are inquisitive and have sporadic and unpredictable feeding habits, feeding from many different sites each night, rather than 1 or 2 sites close to their nest. They can feed on almost anything, but generally prefer cereal-based foods such as grass and canary seed.
How to Prevent Infestations
Don’t leave any open food out in the kitchen overnight
Remove all food and waste spillages as they occur
Empty food waste bins often
Empty bins regularly & ensure that spillages/refuse does not accumulate in the yard/garden
Repair structural defects in the house to prevent mice gaining access to your home (mice can squeeze through gaps in excess of 5mm.)
If you notice you have mice in your house please follow the above advice, and call your Holloway Residential agent who will inspect the property to look for any structural defects such as holes where they may be coming from. We can also provide mouse traps.
Damp is a common issue within homes, but most of the time it can easily be prevented by ensuring your house is properly vented and air is allowed to circulate.
This article will explain what you can do to prevent damp in your home. Important – please notify us if you spot any damp in your house so we can rule out any more serious (rising or penetrative) first.
What causes damp
The majority of our homes are 1900 terraced houses. When these houses were first built, they had open fire-places, single glazed windows and open vents – all of which allowed the house to ‘breathe’ and air circulate in and out of property.
Today, many houses have the fire-places blocked up, double glazed windows and blocked vents (to keep the heat in). This causes issues with moisture and doesn’t allow the house to ‘breathe’.
So for example, if you have a shower or dry clothes on a radiator, the moisture in the air does not leave the house, instead hitting the walls or the windows and causing damp.
Condensation on an internal window due to moist air not being allowed to leave thus hitting the window.
The above image shows a window with condensation on it, but when this same air hits a wall, it makes the wall wet thus damp. This typically manifests in a wet wall, and resulting mould growth.
This picture shows classic damp and subsequent mould, caused by poor air circulation in the room.
You may also see this in your bathroom or kitchen on the tiles themselves.
Typical mould in the bathroom due to water dampness.
Preventing damp in your home
Damp can be minimised by following a few simple steps:
Try to open your windows in your house as often as you can, this allows the house to breathe and air moisture to escape through the window.
When you are taking a bath or a shower, open your bathroom window to allow the moisture to leave the house.
Don’t try your clothes on radiators in the house, dry your clothes outside where you can and if you can’t, open your windows to allow the resulting moisture to leave the house.
Further information or help
If you spot any damp in your home, in the first instance please let your Holloway Residential agent know, and we will assess it. If you have any questions or queries about damp and/or preventing damp in your home please contact your agent or contact us here.
