Real estate has left us without hot water and now wants us to pay for gas bottles.
Hey everyone, looking for some advice on what our options are here.
We moved into our rental being told that the property had solar hot water and would come with two full gas bottles (We are semi-rural and not connected to natural gas). We only received one bottle when we moved in.
The solar hot water system hasn't been working properly, so we've been relying entirely on the instantaneous gas system for our hot water. We've been following this up with the real estate for over two months now. We've been told by the plumbers that there is no fix other than replacing the HWS, and the agent has said the owner is getting quotes for a replacement.
The problem is that relying on the gas has obviously used a lot more than we normally would. The bottle lasted around 6 weeks, and a replacement bottle is around $250.
We're now out of gas, so we currently have no hot water. We have a baby in the house, so being without hot water is obviously becoming a pretty serious issue.
We contacted the agent again today asking for a solution, and they've now asked us to check whether both gas bottles are turned on. We've confirmed they are, and both indicators are red, meaning we are out of gas.
We're also now being told that we need to pay for the replacement gas bottle ourselves, despite the fact that we were supposed to have solar hot water and two full bottles included when we moved in.
So:
Is the rental provider responsible for providing the gas in this situation, given the solar HWS hasn't been working.
Even if I don't have any gas? Wouldn't the repair of the HWS be urgent as I have no hot water?
Can we ask for reimbursement for the additional gas we've had to use because of the faulty HWS.
Should I be escalating this formally with the real estate, or going straight to Consumer Affairs Victoria?
I'm not looking to screw anyone over, I just don't think it's reasonable for us to be paying hundreds of dollars in gas because a system that was meant to provide our hot water hasn't been working for months.
Any advice would be appreciated.