A landlord has a duty to provide his or her tenant with hot water and heating when he or she rents out a property to someone else, but many landlords fail to do so in several different ways.
Landlords should be held accountable when they don’t maintain their gas boilers, and you can hold them accountable too if they don’t fix a broken or faulty gas boiler.
A gas boiler is a device that extracts energy from natural gas, and heats water in order to produce hot water and heat your home.
Tenants have certain rights and responsibilities that they can enforce against landlords if needed. For example, if a gas boiler is broken in a rented property, it’s very likely that a tenant will attempt to hold the landlord responsible for not providing adequate heating in their home. And while a common issue, broken boilers aren’t always something that can be avoided or predicted.
If the boiler is broken or not working in your rented property, or if it has been broken for more than 24 hours, you could be eligible for compensation. Your landlord may also have legal responsibilities under Section 11 of The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to carry out any necessary repairs, after carrying out an emergency safety inspection, upon notification by you, of unsafe conditions. These are known as ‘statutory repairs’, because they are required by law.
If you have a gas boiler in a property you are renting, your landlord is responsible for its maintenance. That means, any time it needs repairs or servicing, or if there’s an issue with it, the landlord is liable to pay.
It's not unusual for landlords to drag their feet when it comes to making repairs. After all, you pay rent every month, and if your landlord has been charging you for heat without providing it, there could be quite a bit of money at stake.
Start by talking to your landlord about their legal obligation to provide hot water and space heating. If issues remain unresolved, contact Tenant Rescue as you may be entitled to compensation.
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