Students in X1 Liverpool accommodation block left without hot water for a week

Students living in a private accommodation block managed by X1 Lettings have been left without hot water for over a week.

Students living at X1 The Edge on Seymour Street complained directly to their property management team following a disruption to the water supply on December 6th.

Residents have publicly expressed feelings of neglect and ignorance, with some tenants insisting that they are “not paying for a week’s rent with no hot water”.

The issue remained ongoing as of Saturday 21st, with X1 explaining it has “consistently followed up with Inspired Property Management (IPM) to resolve the issue”.

This incident occurs in the wake of local police forces investigating a “suspicious” contamination of the water supply in another student property managed by X1 Lettings, Borden Court. Student residents were allocated temporary accommodation due to an inability to cook, clean and use the bathroom facilities in their original location on London Road.

Eleanor*, a resident at X1 The Edge, told The Liverpool Tab about her concern about the lack of hot water in her shared flat on Seymour Street. She claimed that she has “reason to believe that financial considerations are driving this delay, prioritising savings over tenant welfare”.

Explaining the timeline of events, the 22-year-old criminology and sociology student at the University of Liverpool explained how students have been met with no solution from X1 Lettings or Inspired Property Management, despite persistent complaints by the building’s residents.

She said: “We have been without hot water for a week, and despite repeated efforts to contact the management, no clear resolution has been provided”.

On December 6th, students living at The Edge became aware of the lack of hot water in their buildings, both in the communal kitchen and living areas and their personal bedroom and bathroom spaces.

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The incident “has left [students] unable to carry out essential daily tasks such as washing, cleaning and doing laundry”.

According to Eleanor, X1 then contacted the residents on behalf of IPM, explaining that there was a “reported leak into an apartment” which was investigated by onsite contractors and subsequently organised to be fixed on 9th December, five days after the initial issue was reported.

Eleanor told The Liverpool Tab that she “rang and asked and they said they had no timeline for when it would be fixed, to which I asked why they had given us the date for Monday and they had no response to my question, other than that they understood my frustration”.

The students were then told that X1 could not provide an exact date for when the building’s hot water supply would be repaired and back to normal. The letting agents instead made arrangements with Liverpool John Moores University to allow tenants to use the shower facilities in the Sports Building on campus.

When asked about her current living situation, and how the incident is taking a toll on both her mental and physical wellbeing, Eleanor said: “I haven’t personally been using the LJMU showers as being a University of Liverpool student, I don’t know my way around…

“Me and my flatmates find it a bit uncomfortable and it’s not something that we’d want to do every day until January.

“I have mostly been using my friend’s shower in a different accommodation and braving the cold showers which have been horrible”.

Fellow residents and students took to the X1 The Edge WhatsApp group chat to discuss the issue and ask questions about the rent situation – with many individuals claiming that they are refusing to pay rent if the water issue isn’t resolved soon enough.

In conversation with The Liverpool Tab, Eleanor explained that “despite requesting landlord contact details, IPM has failed to provide them, leaving us without a direct way to escalate the matter”.

“Additionally, we have not been offered any details about potential compensation for the inconvenience caused. Staff have informed us that IPM and the landlords are known for being extremely budget-conscious. Security personnel at the accommodation have suggested that cost-cutting measures, such as removing security staff and reducing budgets, might be influencing their reluctance to pay for repairs.

“Given that January coincides with the next rent payment deadline, I have reason to believe that financial considerations are driving this delay, prioritising savings over tenant welfare.

“As students, we feel neglected and unsupported in this situation. We are seeking to raise awareness about the issue in the hope of holding the responsible parties accountable and ensuring that urgent repairs are carried out”.

A spokesperson for X1 Lettings told The Liverpool Tab: “As the lettings agent, the welfare of our tenants is of utmost importance and our priority is to ensure that residents have access to essential services, such as hot water.

“We have consistently followed up with IPM to resolve this issue – however the responsibility for resolving the matter lies outside of our control.”

*Names have been changed to protect anonymity

Featured image via Google Maps