Knocking the chill off..........

Thanks @ricky101 - I think it might be easier to go for the more smoke outside and see what comes in, rather than the other way about. There aren't any unknown air bricks as far as I am aware - there are two in the kitchen, both of which were sealed when the cavity insulation was installed.

Our water meter sits in an underground cavity - only just underground, as we can lift the lid which is level with the patio and turn the water on/off at the meter very easily. I am wondering if the cold air is coming in through the conduit/duct that carries the water pipe in; cue another naff drawing:

 

Not yet - in fairness, our landlady is fantastic and I know that I only need to say the word and she will be all over it, and have something done. But, she has a tendency to spend WAY more money than she needs to (one fence panel needed replaced, she re-fenced the entire garden!), and we are long term tenants for her (good for both of us), so my preference is to work out what the problem is and either sort it (properly of course) as long as it is relatively easy/inexpensive to do so, or to at least go to her armed with the right information as to what the problem is and what we have researched as potential cures.

Whilst I pay rent and have rights as a tenant, I am also aware that I am responsible for someone elses property, and I take that responsibility seriously.

Please don't think we are sitting here freezing our bits off, because that is not the case at all - all I am looking to do is to iron out a little wrinkle that should make things that wee bit more comfortable and potentially save us a couple of quid in heating costs.

 

We try our best @zilly - the one thing we did find when we were looking, before finding this place, is that there are a hell of a lot of letting agents that couldn't give a toss about the tenants or the landlords, and there were a hell of a lot of properties in poor condition where it was clear (to us at least) that it was due to the tenants actions or even lack thereof, and it made for a pretty soul destroying search to be honest.

This is the third place we have rented, and I can hand on heart say that each property has been in as good a condition, or in better condition, when we have handed the keys back. Our last landlady actually telephoned the letting agent for this property to give an on the spot reference, as she was gutted that she had to sell the house; indeed, she came to visit us here to collect the keys to the old house - that, to me, means a lot.

We are paying more a month than we would pay in a mortgage, but because we do not have £80k deposit, we will never get a mortgage - - that, coupled with my health problems means that it is almost a cert that we will never own property. So, we need to make the most of what we have, and make sure that our landlords are happy to let us stay.

 

Thanks again @ricky101

As for draught exit, I reckon that it will be going out via the attic hatch, and possibly somewhere under the staircase as there is occasionally a cold pall hanging around the bottom of the stairs. I do need to replace the draught excluder strips that I put around the attic hatch, as they are coming unstuck now - been on there for six years, so I have no complaints.

We have no gas fire, but we do have a gas hob which is checked and certificated every year. Toilet overflow goes into the toilet pan, and the bathroom is generally quite warm (as bathrooms go), hence me isolating the problem to the kitchen.

We are careful to make sure we ventilate the place, even in winter, to prevent damp - we also have air conditioning units that we can run as dehumidifiers if the need arises

 

Well, our inspection a few weeks back went without issue, and we intend to keep it that way; landlords like you are hard to find, and from a tenants point of view it is worth putting a wee bit of effort in to make sure that everyone is happy. Besides anything else, this is our home - we might not have a lot, but we do have a nice home, and we are the sort of people that want to make it as nice and as comfortable as we can.

 

Oddly enough, that was the first thing that I tried and it didn't have that much of an effect