Are your tenants complaining about their old, faulty boiler?
You’re not alone. In fact, according to Property Wire, faulty boilers are the number one source of complaints for tenants in the UK, with nearly a third suffering from no heating or hot water at some point whilst staying in a rented property.
No-one likes dealing with a faulty boiler, so imagine how your tenants must feel. Having come to the aid of many landlords and suffering tenants over the years, I know the importance of keeping your tenants safe and happy.
Below, I’m going to explain why it’s best to repair or replace your tenants’ faulty boiler now rather than later.
New regulations
Changing regulations mean you could soon be forced to carry out energy saving measures recommended on your energy performance certificate (EPC), if your tenants request it. In fact, it will be your legal obligation as of April 2016.
And from April 2018, it will be illegal to let a property which has an EPC rating below E. This means that if you have an old, inefficient boiler, you must upgrade this for your tenant, or before you let out the property to new tenants.
Your tenants are your customers
If you’re renting out a property (or multiple properties), then you are running a business and your tenants are your customers.
And just like any business, if you don’t keep your customers happy, someone else will. They’ll move on and take their money elsewhere.
As a heating engineer, I have personally visited many properties where we get called month after month to carry out repairs and patch up jobs. Every few months the tenants seem to change. Sometimes, we even tell the landlord that it’s not worth our time going back.
Despite this, there are plenty of other landlords who are happy to take our advice and do timely upgrades, repairs and replacements and seem to have tenants who stay long-term.
Call a Gas Safe registered engineer
If your tenants are regularly complaining about their faulty boiler, you should get it checked out ASAP. Call a Gas Safe registered engineer, who will have experience dealing with these faults.
Remember, I’d recommend your tenants should have to reset their boiler no more than twice – anything more than that, call for help as the boiler may have multiple failing parts and components – especially if it’s an older model.
Take out a service contract
If you have an older boiler that is no longer under guarantee, it might even be worth your while taking out a service or maintenance contract with a number displayed on the boiler that your tenants can call if there are any problems.
Doing this will let your tenants know you are serious about their welfare and safety. Just bear in mind that every boiler has a shelf life, and they won’t be happy if it cuts out every month or so.
Sometimes it may be less stressful and most cost-effective all-round to just replace the boiler for a high efficiency condensing boiler with a 10-year no-quibble guarantee.
Conclusion
If you feel like your tenants are always on your case about their faulty boiler, there’s probably a good reason. This is the most common complaint from tenants, and from April 2016 you will not be able to unreasonably refuse consent to a tenant’s request for energy efficiency improvements.
Because of these changing regulations, you should be proactive in thinking about repairing or replacing your boiler now, rather than later. It may even be worthwhile taking out a service contract for your old boiler.
Remember, all boilers have a shelf life. Your tenants are your customers and it’s important to ensure they know you care, and that they are safe and happy in their home.
Use the Gas Safe Register to find a qualified heating engineer in your area.
