• If you have mechanical ventilation in your house, you must never turn it off.
• Leave air vents open day and night, also in winter. Do not cover them and keep them clean.
• Keep extraction valves and the extractor hood in the kitchen clean. Keep the discharge valves and filters clean, this also applies to the air supply valves.
• Open the windows regularly, for about fifteen minutes at a time. Outside air always contains less moisture than inside air. Turn the heating down in that case, but never below 13 °C.
• After using the bathroom, dry the floor and walls, open a window or switch on the mechanical ventilation. Keep the bathroom door closed while ventilating to prevent moisture from spreading through the house. No window or mechanical ventilation? Open the door as much as possible after use.
• Is there mould in the house? Remove it immediately to prevent it from spreading. Mould killer is for sale at any hardware store or drugstore.
• Dry your laundry outside when the weather is nice. Use a good spin cycle for your laundry if you are drying your clothes indoors.
• No air vents in the house? Open the top windows.

• When the flame in the gas appliance is orange instead of blue, or when the flame is higher than normal. The windows fog up because the released water vapour does not escape through the vents.

• Mild carbon monoxide poisoning can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, an accelerated heartbeat and fatigue. Severe carbon monoxide poisoning is fatal.

• Immediately open all windows and doors, turn off the gas appliance and call our emergency number 020 218 2255.

• Immediately open all windows and doors, switch off the gas appliance, make sure all people and pets vacate the property and call 112.

• Ventilate the house properly. Whereas houses used to have more natural ventilation through cracks and holes, nowadays we often have to rely on windows, air vents or a central ventilation system: make sure that something is always open or on.
• Have your stove and water heater checked annually by a certified installer.
• Buy a carbon monoxide detector from a DIY store and install it in your home. Installation, maintenance and replacement are your own responsibility.
• Check the CO Alarm (and battery) regularly by pressing the test button. Check the manual of your alarm to see how to do this.

• Lieven de Stad checks the central heating boiler once every two years, a water heater once a year.
• Carbon monoxide is mainly released by so-called open combustion appliances such as water heaters and stoves. If the installer determines that the appliance needs to be replaced, it is always replaced by a central heating boiler.

• Every renovation or refurbishment must meet the quality requirements of the Dutch Buildings Decree (Bouwbesluit), the requirements of the utility companies (gas, water and light) and the requirements of the Fire Service.
• The materials and installations must comply with European standards and quality marks.
• Changes to gas and electrical installations must be carried out by a recognised installer. If you move house, you must be able to show an inspection report.
• The changes to the house may not cause any (noise) nuisance or disturbance to people living in the vicinity.
• The house must remain easily accessible.
• The changes may not have any negative consequences for the energy label.

For major renovations or refurbishments, you must ask permission from Lieven de Stad in advance. It is also compulsory to have an inspection carried out when the renovation or refurbishment is finished. An employee of Lieven de Stad will inspect whether the change meets all quality requirements. You must apply for this inspection within four weeks after the renovation or refurbishment has been finished. After approval, you will receive a confirmation within two weeks.

• As long as you rent the house, you are responsible for the maintenance, repairs and replacement of changes you have made to the house yourself. You pay the costs yourself. We recommend you insure the changes through your household insurance as a “tenant’s interest”, as they are not covered by our building insurance for damage caused by fire or storm.
• You are liable for any damage caused by making changes to the house. This can be financial or structural damage. That is why we recommend using certified contractors and installers. For major changes, it may be wise to take out Construction All Risk (CAR) insurance.
• Some adaptations and changes in the house must be removed when you move, or offered for sale to the new occupant. In other cases, these may remain in place.
• You must always ask permission beforehand for we accept any changes. If the change to the house is allowed to remain unchanged, we will become the owner of it after your departure. For example, installing double glazing or insulating the roof.
• When you move, you will usually not receive any compensation for changes you have made yourself.

A clogged sewer can have many causes. One of the causes is the flushing of solids, such as baby wipes, hair, sanitary towels, too much toilet paper, plastic, grease and oil. All these ingredients (combined) cause a blockage. In addition, a clogged sewer releases an unpleasant odour.

• Never pour deep-frying fat into the toilet or the sink. Fat is liquid when hot but solidifies when cold. Never pour it down the sink or into the toilet or other drains.
• Once a month, rinse the drains with hot water and some soda (non-chemical soda).
• Only flush water, detergent, urine and ordinary toilet paper down the drain.
• Place a strainer in your kitchen sink.

• To clear the drain of all kinds of debris, you can use a plunger. This will loosen the debris so you can easily flush it away.
• If that does not work, you can clean the siphon. Place a bucket under the siphon to catch all the water and debris once it is unscrewed. Unscrew the siphon with water pump pliers and empty it completely. Remove the debris from the siphon and the drainpipe leading to the siphon. Once you have done this, screw the siphon back onto the drainpipe and check that everything is secure. Then turn on the tap to see if the water flows through properly.
• Rinse the drains with hot water and some soda.

If you cannot clear the blockage and you are paying a service charge for sewer unblocking, you can contact the drain unblocking service directly. You do not need to contact Lieven de Stad first. You have received the contact details of the drain unblocking service from us. If you can’t find the contact details for the company, please contact us.

• when the radiator is leaking;
• when the radiator makes a noise;
• when the radiator does not heat up properly;
• when the central heating boiler indicates a fault code,

there may be a problem with your central heating system.

First reset the central heating boiler in accordance with the instructions of the maintenance manual that comes with the boiler.

Contact the maintenance company that carries out the work on the heating in your house directly. You do not need to contact Lieven de Stad first. If you can’t find the contact details for the company, please contact us.

You can solve this yourself. We do not carry out any maintenance on these.

• Leave the heating on at a low setting in winter to keep the pipes frost-free.
• You can paint your central heating pipes and/or radiator yourself to prevent rusting. We do not repair rust.
• A radiator will rust in a damp environment (for instance in the bathroom). Good ventilation is therefore very important.

The central heating system should not make any noise in the radiators and pipes. If you hear the water flowing or if you hear tapping, you must vent the radiators. If the entire radiator does not warm up, you should also vent. If you do not know how to vent the system, check YouTube to see how to do it.

Check the water pressure on the boiler. If it is below 1 bar, the system must be filled with water. You fill up until the water pressure reaches 1.5 to 2 bars. Make sure you stay below 2 bar. If the pressure drops again quickly after filling, there may be a leak in the system. Contact the company of the central heating system if this is the case.

• Unplug the boiler and wait until the system has cooled down. This takes about half an hour.
• Set the thermostat to the lowest position and open all the radiators.
• Find the cold water filling tap. This is often located near the boiler (you can also use the washing machine tap). Connect the filling hose to the tap and close it.
• Next, connect the filling hose to the filling tap of the central heating boiler, but do not close it completely so that air can still escape.
• Open the (washing machine) tap carefully, and close it if the filling hose starts to leak at the central heating connection. The air is out of the hose, you can now screw the connection on completely.
• Then turn the (washing machine) tap fully open.
• Turn the central heating filling tap a quarter turn. Fill up the boiler until the pressure gauge reads between 1.5 and 2 Bar. Caution! The pressure may never exceed 2 bar.
• First close the central heating filling tap and then the (washing machine) tap, and remove the filling hose.
• After filling, the system must be vented.

• Remove the plug from the central heating boiler. Wait at least 10 minutes before starting. You can skip this step if you have just refilled the boiler.
• Take the bleed key and a cloth. Start with the radiator at the lowest point in your house. Then work upwards and finish with the radiator at the highest point.
• Place the bleed key on the air vent located at the top of the radiator.
• Turn it a little to the left. Hold the cloth in front of the spout of the air vent.
• As soon as water comes out of the valve, you can close it.
• Repeat this with all radiators.
• Put the plug of the central heating boiler back into the wall socket.

The alarm button in the lift is connected to the maintenance company. You can report the malfunction to the company.

Caution: electricity is dangerous
You can do the plug test to check whether one of your appliances is causing a short circuit. To do this, please follow the steps below:

• Switch off all circuits in your meter cupboard (switches down);
• Unplug all the plugs in your house (including the central heating and extension cords);
• If the earth leakage switch has tripped, switch it back on;
• Switch the circuits in your meter cupboard back on;
• Now put all the plugs back into the socket one by one and switch the appliances on one by one. Wait until the appliance automatically switches on before you continue with the next one.
• Does the earth leakage switch trip again when you put a plug in the socket or switch on an appliance? This will be the cause of the fault. Have this appliance repaired or replaced.
• Are none of your appliances causing problems, but the power keeps going out? Check whether one of the following is causing the failure.

If you have too many appliances connected to one circuit at the same time, the circuit may burn out due to overloading. The wiring (of the wall socket, for example) could burn out or melt. Make sure you do not switch on too many appliances that use a lot of electricity at the same time.

Have you first checked whether there is a short circuit, an overload, a problem with the installation or a general power failure? If one of these do cause the malfunction, you will be charged for the costs. You agree to this when making an appointment.