Renting With No Heating or Hot Water? What Tenants Should Do

Coming home to a cold flat or a cold shower is miserable, and when you rent it’s easy to feel stuck. The good news is that in most private and social tenancies in England, keeping the boiler, radiators, hot water and pipework working is generally your landlord’s job, not yours. Here’s what you can safely check yourself, how to report the problem properly, and what not to touch.

First: is it an emergency?

• Smell gas or think there’s carbon monoxide? Leave the property, open doors and windows if it’s safe, don’t use light switches, phones near the meter or naked flames, turn the gas off at the meter only if it’s safe, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Get medical advice if anyone has headaches, dizziness, sickness or breathlessness. Then tell your landlord.
• Water pouring from the boiler or a pipe? Turn off the inside stopcock (see stopcock problems and what to do), keep clear of anything electrical, and contact your landlord or agent straight away.
• Someone vulnerable at home? If a baby, an older person or someone unwell is in a cold home, tell your landlord that clearly when you report it, as it makes the repair more urgent.

Quick checks a tenant can safely do

These are the same simple checks in any boiler user manual. They don’t involve opening anything up.

1. Check the power and credit. Is there electricity in the rest of the home? If you have a prepayment meter, is there credit on both gas and electric?
2. Check the controls. Make sure the programmer or timer is set to “on”, the room thermostat is turned up above the room temperature, and any smart control app hasn’t been left in holiday or off mode.
3. Look at the boiler display. Write down or photograph any fault code or flashing light. Our guide to boiler fault codes explains what they usually mean.
4. Check the pressure gauge. Most combi boilers sit around 1 to 1.5 bar when cold. If it’s low and your landlord or the user manual has shown you how to top it up with the filling loop, you can do that once. See boiler pressure too low. If you’ve never been shown, leave it and report it.
5. Press reset once. If the manual says the boiler has a reset button, you can press it once. If it locks out again, stop: a reset isn’t a repair.
6. In freezing weather, check the plastic condensate pipe outside. If it’s frozen, pour warm (not boiling) water over it. Our frozen condensate pipe guide shows how.

If the heating simply won’t start, our heating won’t come on checklist goes through the same steps in more detail.

What tenants must never do

• Don’t take the boiler or fire casing off, touch the gas valve or burner, or try to relight anything beyond what the user manual allows.
• Don’t move, fit or disconnect a gas appliance, or block or alter a flue or air vent.
• Don’t call in a handyman for gas work. Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, only a Gas Safe registered engineer may work on gas pipework or appliances. You can check an engineer on the Gas Safe Register.
• Don’t use a boiler or gas fire you believe is unsafe. Turn it off and report it.
• If a trip switch has gone off, you can reset it once with dry hands. If it trips again, leave it off: that needs a registered electrician.

How to report it to your landlord

1. Report it promptly, by phone if it’s urgent, then follow up in writing (email or text) the same day so there’s a record.
2. Say exactly what’s wrong: no heating, no hot water or both, when it started, any fault code, the pressure reading, and anything you’ve already checked.
3. Mention anyone vulnerable in the home and any temporary heating you’re having to use.
4. Keep copies of messages, photos and dates of any visits.
5. Give access for the engineer at reasonable times. Your landlord should normally give notice, but you can agree to an earlier visit in an emergency.

If the repair isn’t being dealt with, Citizens Advice explains who’s responsible for repairs and what you can do next, including contacting your local council. Their guide to getting a broken boiler repaired is also worth a read. Don’t stop paying rent or arrange repairs yourself and deduct the cost without getting advice first.

Staying warm while you wait

• Use a portable electric heater only if it’s in good condition, kept clear of curtains and bedding, and plugged straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead.
• Never use a gas cooker, oven, barbecue or patio heater to heat a room, as that can cause carbon monoxide.
• Close curtains at dusk, shut doors to keep heat in one room, and wear layers.

When to stop and call us

• The boiler locks out again after one reset, or keeps losing pressure.
• There’s water leaking from the boiler, pipework or a radiator.
• You hear banging or see scorch marks or sooty staining around the boiler.
• Your landlord or letting agent has asked you to arrange a Gas Safe engineer.

Landlords and agents in and around Sudbury, Clare and Haverhill can book us directly for boiler repair and heating faults. Our Gas Safe registered engineers will diagnose the fault and keep the landlord in the loop.

This is general safety guidance. If you’re unsure, stop and call a qualified engineer.