In message 4f424864.223808031@localhost, at 13:27:56 on Mon, 20 Feb
2012, Cynic remarked:
Six months wasn't enough at a house I rented in 2005. The landlord was
living in Italy and the agent would do nothing without contacting him,
which appeared to be impossible.

IIUC, after allowing a reasonable time for the landlord to do
something, the tenant is lawfully permitted to get the job done
himself and take the cost out of the rent.

I got quite close to that after the boiler had been out of action for
three weeks in February. But we must pick our battles, and there were
worse things going on.
--
Roland Perry