As an estate agent, do you have the low-down on maintenance contracts?
What with managing hundreds or properties, you probably already have enough on your plate without having to worry about arranging call-outs for faulty boilers, so maintenance contracts are one way to take off some of the pressure – especially in the depths of winter when heating engineers are super busy.
But what if your client’s boiler has just been installed – won’t it be under warranty?
It’s a question I’m often asked by estate agents and letting agents across Edinburgh, and below I’m going to try and answer that question as best I can, along with some other considerations you should bear in mind.
The legal bit
Firstly, there are absolutely no specific legal requirements that say a landlord must have a maintenance contract for ANY boiler – be it old or new.
However, your clients ARE responsible for organising a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out annual inspections of all gas appliances. A gasengineer must also provide a CP12 certificate (also known as a landlord’s safety certificate) for these appliances.
Landlords must keep hold of their CP12 for a minimum of two years, and issue copies to new and existing tenants. A copy of the latest certificate must also be given to any new tenants when they move in.
Why have a maintenance contract?
There are some benefits when your clients have a maintenance contract in place, and no doubt the biggest is that you (and your client) will have ultimate peace of mind if anything goes wrong with the boiler, as the contract will not only cover your boiler but also your radiators and pipework, too.
This is all taken care of for one simple, monthly charge and the company who is providing the maintenance contract has to respond ASAP to any call-outs – after all, that’s what you’re paying for. I
However, there is the argument that if a boiler is brand new and from a fairly reputable brand, it should be covered under warranty for the first few years. There’s also much less chance that it will run into problems in those first couple of years, so your client could be spending money unnecessarily.
TIP: For more information, read my blog post ‘Landlords: Service VS Maintenance Contracts: What You’re Actually Paying For’.
Which leads on to my next piece of advice if your client is considering purchasing a new boiler…
Get a good guarantee
These days, most modern boilers come with guarantees that typically last at least 3 to 5 years – and sometimes your clients be covered for as long as 10 years, as long as their boiler is serviced annually (depending on the model and brand, of course)
TIP: One of the best examples of this is Worcester Bosch’s no quibble guarantee – it’s currently the market leader and definitely worth a nosey.
During the warranty period, your client should not necessarily require a maintenance contract for their boiler – despite this, they WILL still need to arrange their annual service and safety check/CP12 certificate, which can cost around £90 per year or £7.50 per month.
Another option your clients could go for is to choose to have their boiler boiler serviced, with a Landlords’ Safety Certificate provided, and radiators valves and pipework covered for a little bit extra – totalling around £120 per year, or £11 per month.
This means they’ll be covered for every eventuality, and it’d probably still be cheaper than taking out a maintenance contract from the likes of Scottish Power.
I’ve personally been contacted by a couple of estate agents whose clients were having constant trouble with old, faulty boilers. We advised replacing these with modern, high efficiency boilers with 10-year guarantees. Now, all we have to do is service and issue their annual CP12 – it worked out as by far the best option.
Conclusion
If your client is unsure whether they need a maintenance contract, talk them through some of the pros and cons above. Of course, it will give them ultimate peace of mind that their boiler will be seen to straight away – and it’ll also be less hassle for you – but it could mean spending money unnecessarily if the boiler is under warranty.
I hope you’ve found this blog useful, and remember, there are more flexible options out there that will only cover your client for what they actually need.
Any questions, please feel free to leave a comment on this blog post, and I’ll answer as soon as I can!
