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French · Home & repairs · Elementary

How to tell your landlord the boiler is broken in French

Call, say who you are (“Bonjour, je suis votre locataire”), then the problem: “La chaudière est en panne” or “Il n'y a pas d'eau chaude”. Ask “Vous pouvez envoyer quelqu'un pour regarder ?” and agree a time: “Je serai là entre neuf heures et midi”. Send a photo and confirm in writing.

Try it · about two minutes

There’s no hot water or heating, so you call your landlord to explain and get someone sent round.

Sound on: the landlord speaks French. You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

The conversation

  1. Landlord

    Allô, qui est à l'appareil ?

    Hello, who’s speaking?

    You

    Bonjour, je suis votre locataire.

    Hello, I’m your tenant.

  2. Landlord

    C'est à quel sujet ?

    What is it about?

    You

    La chaudière est en panne.

    The boiler is broken.

  3. Landlord

    Vous pouvez m'envoyer une photo du problème ?

    Can you send me a photo of the problem?

    You

    Oui, je vous l'envoie tout de suite.

    Yes, I’ll send it right away.

  4. Landlord

    Je regarde ça.

    I’ll look into it.

    You

    Vous pouvez envoyer quelqu'un pour regarder ?

    Can you send someone to take a look?

  5. Landlord

    Le réparateur passera jeudi matin.

    The repairman will come on Thursday morning.

    You

    Je serai là entre neuf heures et midi.

    I’ll be in between nine and noon.

  6. Landlord

    Pas de souci.

    No problem.

    You

    Merci pour votre aide.

    Thank you for your help.

Key phrases

  • Bonjour, je suis votre locataire.

    Hello, I’m your tenant.

  • La chaudière est en panne.

    The boiler is broken.

  • Il n'y a pas d'eau chaude.

    There’s no hot water.

  • Le chauffage ne marche pas.

    The heating isn’t working.

  • Vous pouvez envoyer quelqu'un pour regarder ?

    Can you send someone to take a look?

  • Quand quelqu'un peut-il passer ?

    When can someone come?

  • Le réparateur passera jeudi matin.

    The repairman will come on Thursday morning.

  • Je serai là entre neuf heures et midi.

    I’ll be in between nine and noon.

  • Je vous ai envoyé une photo du problème.

    I’ve sent you a photo of the problem.

  • Pouvez-vous confirmer la visite par écrit, s'il vous plaît ?

    Can you confirm the visit in writing, please?

Good to know in France

How to report a repair

  1. 1

    Call, say who you are, and describe what isn’t working.

  2. 2

    Follow up in writing, with a photo, so there’s a record.

    I’ve sent you a photo of the problem.
  3. 3

    Agree a time for the repairer to come round.

    I’ll be in between nine and noon.

Shared heating

Many apartment buildings have collective heating (chauffage collectif). If the whole building is cold, it’s usually a matter for the caretaker (le gardien) or the building’s managing agent (le syndic).

The yearly service

In France the yearly boiler service is usually the tenant’s to arrange, while repairs to the boiler itself usually fall to the landlord. Check your lease for the details.

More situations in French

All situations in French

Keep these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

AI-generated. May be inaccurate.