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It’s stressful enough when your own boiler stops working, but what about when it’s the boiler in your rented accommodation? When a boiler breaks down in a rented property you’re also facing concerns about how the landlord will deal with the situation. It’s useful for both you and your landlord to know about tenant boiler rights, how to organise emergency boiler repairs in the Poole area, and what is involved in a boiler repair service.
Immediate Boiler Help for Tenants
If your boiler has suddenly stopped working completely, there is often a simple explanation. You can troubleshoot a few of the obvious problems by using our guide here for when your boiler has stopped working. If it’s a case that you don’t have any hot water then you may find this no hot water from boiler article useful. However, a quick word of warning: never try and sort out the problem if it involves removing the boiler cover. This is illegal. Also consider the relationship with your landlord and whether it would be best to call them straight away.
Let’s look at your rights and how you can ensure your landlord organises a boiler repair service.
Tenants Boiler and Heating Rights
As a tenant, the good news is that you have formal rights to request repairs concerning certain elements of your property. A properly working boiler is included within this. So if your boiler isn’t working you can rest assured that the buck doesn’t stop with you – you can ask your landlord to fix it and expect this to happen.
It is sensible to talk to your landlord or letting agent as soon as it becomes apparent that there’s an issue with your boiler. At this point, landlords typically will do one of two things: come and see for themselves, or arrange for a Gas Safe engineer to come out on your say so. Both of these are obviously sensible first steps, so it would be appropriate to give access to the property and the boiler for this purpose.
The law that is relevant to you when it comes to tenants boiler rights is Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Hopefully, you won’t need to quote it to your landlord, but it’s good to understand this part of the law for your own benefit. This is because it is within this section of renting law that you are entitled to your landlord carrying out repairs within a reasonable time. Many emergency boiler repairs that we see in Poole and Bournemouth and the surrounding areas would classify for ‘reasonable time’ being within 24 hours. Examples of this include no heating in the depths of winter, or no hot water.
So, realistically, you can expect a speedy response and the law backs you up on this. Therefore, if you don’t hear anything from your landlord, quickly, in response to notifying them feel free to drop them a line in writing. The Tenants Voice provides free letter templates which you can use for exactly this purpose.
We know from working with many landlords that the majority are quick and responsive. Therefore hopefully your landlord will arrange for a boiler repair service quickly for you. If you want to point them towards a reputable local firm offering emergency boiler repairs in Poole and nearby then we can respond quickly. Just give them our number – 0333 939 0161.
If You’re Having Any Problems
If you’re still getting no joy from your landlord then you can speak to the environmental health team in your area. They have further powers to ensure your landlord takes action to arrange for your boiler to be fixed.
Non-working boilers scare landlords because we associate boiler problems with big bills. However, they aren’t always aware that they could get a landlord grant towards replacing the boiler if you, the tenant, are claiming certain benefits. A new boiler will help reduce your utility bills and prevent future breakdowns. Your landlord can find out more about getting a landlord grant for a replacement boiler in your property, here.
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