Heating..

if its that cold the landlord should do something about it. have you spoken to him? - its not in his best interests to have a house that damp.
otherwise we have a gas heater and i used to sometimes heat the babies room (which was mine tho) with an oil heater - but they are prob only good for smaller spaces.

Edited by gandt

maybe you should start letting the prospective tenants know how cold it gets...walk areound shivering brrrrr or letting all the condensation show.

You could always heat the babies room with the oil heater and turn it off when she is in the room. thats what i did. or heat the bed with a wheat sack but take it out of the bed when you put bub in it.

i think if you have a gas heater you should make sure there is adequate ventilation and you shouldnt have a problem.

Awww Kylah is a gorgeous name!!! When we were discharged from hospital we were told not to use a gas heater around Ashleigh - because of the gas fumes I guess, can't really remember what they told us! We are using one now though but didn't last winter. If it is that cold in your bubs room then you will need a heater in there. You can turn it on at night though and back off during the day or use a timer. I think oil heaters are the best for bedrooms although they can be a bit costly. I run a dehumidifier in Ashleigh's bedroom during the day (turing off during naps) and its nice and warm and dry when she goes to bed. Then her oil heater comes on at 3 until 7. For the lounge - Target did a study and said the radiant heaters (I think) were the best - most cost effective and heated well.

we use an oil heater in the kids rooms on thermostat. didn't notice much difference in the power bill with having it on in charli's room, but haven't had a bill yet since running one in jack's

I use a oil heater in Rhyleys room - our house isn't as cold as yours but it does cool down quite a bit during the night.
Betterhomes.co.nz is a site you should look up as thatis the one where if you have a community card you can get 'retrofitting' free - instalation,in roof, un floors, draft stoping etc... BUT. I wouldn't bother in your present home as it does take a while to get it to come thru (we are still waiting) and probably the house will sell before it happens and you won't be able to get your new home done. Sooo wait for that one and perhaps think about it when you move (also I am unsure if you have a CS card but if you don't have one they can discount it- thats prob not worth it though unless you own your home)
I use a gas heater in the morning when gets the kids are getting ready for school.. I would say make sure the area is a large area with a gas heater - it can actually create more wet air after its turned off so not helping with dampness.

gas heaters are expensive to run, cost us $100/mth
but, it is our only option at the moment til we can afford a heatpump

hi guys

iv spoken to the tenancy tribunal, i have to pay $20 to start off with for an "application fee" (another government service bludging money i think) to have my tenancy reduced. As for the doctors letter i think thats a marvelous idea thanks, im gunna do that. Stating that its not healthy for me and the baby blah blah.
The landlord said i can break it early i just have to find someone to rent this house, pay the bond, the letting fee, AND the fact the house is on the market and that they dont know if the lease will be renewed in oct, i dought if someone will move in for 3 months!
I rent through Harcourts, and they said they will not advertise the property either.
I mentioned to harcourts that the house is too cold, it doesnt heat, wet etc but all he said was all houses are cold, cost heaps to heat and shoved it under the carpet pretty much.

I hope you get it sorted out! It is not healthy for you or baby to live in a house like that. I was in ChCh the other week visiting friends and was scanning through the paper looking at flats.. there are many good quality homes in there for rent and the price is much better than here in Wgtn. I think a log fire would be the best way to go, you just need to pay for firewood.. so if you can get out of your tenancy, look around.. winter is a good time to move as you can see how well houses retain their heat. Make sure the house gets sun too, it will make a difference! We don't get any here yet and it's cold.

Good luck, I've been reading this with interest, I can't believe Harcourts, that's shocking.
I'm not sure if this suggestion would work or not, but could you not buy a heat pump and then take it with you when you leave? Not all heat pumps need to be ducted, you can get the ones that are standing and/or the wall ones?? Probably not a cost that you want to fork out before baby comes.....

i am 21 and my partner is 24 but we also have my 17yr old cousin as he has nowhere to live so we look after him.
Mind you we are EXTREMELY tidy people and harcourts have said so ourselves.
I just wrote an email to my property manager advising that i am requesting with the tenancy tribunal to lower our fixed term. Hopefully he just offers to let us go.

We cant really afford to buy a heatpump.. we are only getting by as it is.

Last night we had condensation running down the walls! I spent all day removing mould from all the windows and i even noticed condensation settling on the tv screen!!!