Do UK Landlords Have To Provide Central Heating?

 

Photographer

Whether you’re looking into becoming a UK landlord or thinking about renting your first property, you should know that when it comes to ensuring a home has central heating, it doesn’t just come down to a principle of morality and ethics, providing tenants with central heating is legally enforceable.

I’m collaborating with Lincolnshire Radiators Direct, to discuss what you can expect from your landlord in terms of keeping your home warm during the cooler months. Landlords are required to provide a working radiator or heater in every occupied room in the house.

It is also your landlord’s responsibility to ensure you have hot water in your bathroom and kitchen. Whilst you will pay your own heating bill unless it’s in your tenancy agreement that bills are included in your rent. (Often the case for student-shared housing). Your landlord has to ensure you have access to working central heating and hot water.

You are legally within your rights to request to see a gas safety certificate before signing the lease on a property. Having an up-to-date gas safety certificate is the bare minimum a landlord should have obtained.

If you rent privately you will be able to contact your landlord directly if your boiler, radiator, or heater breaks. They can then arrange to visit and assess the situation or call someone to come and fix the problem.

Photographer

If something breaks and you know it’s in warranty you may wish to call the manufacturer directly before contacting your landlord, this could help to speed up the process, especially if your landlord has multiple tenancies to look after.

Alternatively, you may have to contact the housing agency you rent through or submit an online form. However, boilers should be repaired within 24 hours, especially during the winter months. This is stated in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It is an implied obligation for landlords to ensure their properties are kept in a good state of repair.

If it is going to take more than 24 hours, landlords are obligated to provide other means of heating your home such as electric heaters. The requirement is that you’re able to heat a room to a minimum of 18 degrees.

If you’re privately renting it is unlikely that your landlord will provide you with alternative housing whilst your home is being repaired, even if you’re having a new boiler and radiators in every room. It may cause disruption but unless it is stated in your contract it will be your responsibility to find somewhere else to stay or work around the disruption.

However, some landlords do have insurance that includes alternative housing for their tenants, so if you’re renting a property that’s going to be getting a lot of work done to it, it’s always worth asking about. Housing associations may have different policies than private landlords.

Although it is the landlord’s responsibility to repair central heating or provide a certified tradesman to do the work if the damage is obviously down to the tenant’s negligence landlords

are within their rights to not foot the bill themselves, or they may opt to deduct the fee from tenants security deposit if they’re unable to pay at the time.

Photographer

If the boiler, radiator, heater, or hot water has broken for no apparent reason apart from age and expected wear and tear it is the landlord’s responsibility unless otherwise stated in the contract.

Some landlords prohibit the use of personal gas items that have not been through sufficient checks. However, if your landlord does allow you to use your own gas items such as portable gas heaters, these are your own responsibility.

It is a legal obligation for landlords to have gas appliances checked annually, so make sure you have this aspect of safety covered.

If you’re a UK landlord and one of your properties is overdue new radiators take a look at Lincolnshire Radiators Direct range of column radiators and make your properties more desirable. They’re available to contact on 01522 620190 if you have any further questions.