Tenant Guide: What to Do If Your Boiler Breaks Down

When you rent, a cold radiator raises two questions at once: can I fix this myself, and whose job is it? The short answer is that a few basic checks are fine, the repair is your landlord's responsibility, and how you report it matters. Here is how to handle it properly as the colder evenings start.

What should you check first when the boiler stops?

Start with the checks that need no tools and no access inside the boiler. Many breakdowns turn out to be a switched-off supply, a timer change or low pressure. Work through these in order, and stop if anything looks or smells wrong.

1. Power: is the display lit? Check the fused spur switch near the boiler and your consumer unit.
2. Gas: does the hob light? On a prepayment meter, check you have credit, including emergency credit.
3. Controls: is the thermostat set above room temperature and the programmer calling for heat? A power cut can reset timers.
4. Pressure: most boilers want around 1 to 1.5 bar when cold. If it is near zero, check your tenancy guidance or ask your landlord before topping it up.
5. Reset: press the reset button once, following the manual. If it locks out again, leave it.
6. Frozen condensate pipe: in freezing weather, a gurgling boiler that locks out may have a frozen outside pipe. Our guide to thawing a frozen condensate pipe explains how to do it with warm, never boiling, water.

Never remove the boiler casing. If you see an error code, write it down or take a photo of the display, as it helps the engineer arrive with the right parts.

How should you report a broken boiler to your landlord?

Report it in writing as soon as the basic checks have failed, even if you also phone. Email, text or the agent's repair portal all work. Writing creates a dated record of when your landlord was told, which is the point from which their duty to repair within a reasonable time runs.

Include enough detail for the engineer to arrive prepared:

• What has stopped: heating, hot water or both.
• Any error code, and a photo of the display and pressure gauge.
• The boiler make and model if you can see it on the front.
• What you have already checked.
• When you can give access, and a phone number.
• Anyone in the household who is especially at risk from the cold, such as a baby, an elderly relative or someone who is unwell.

Keep copies of everything, including replies and the dates engineers visited.

Can you call your own gas engineer?

Not without your landlord's agreement. The boiler belongs to the landlord, who is responsible for its repair and for its annual gas safety check. If you book and pay for work yourself, you may not be reimbursed, and unauthorised work can cause disputes over the deposit or the boiler warranty.

Some landlords will say, "get someone out and send me the bill." If so, get that confirmed in writing, including a spending limit, and make sure whoever attends is a Gas Safe registered engineer. You can check any engineer's card on the Gas Safe Register.

How long does a landlord have to fix a boiler?

There is no fixed number of hours in law. For most private tenancies in England, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the landlord to keep heating and hot water installations working and to repair them within a reasonable time after being told. With no heating in cold weather, a reasonable time is short.

If parts are on order, it is fair to expect your landlord to keep you updated and to consider providing temporary electric heaters in the meantime. Your tenancy agreement or the agent's terms may also set out target response times.

How can you keep warm and safe while you wait?

Use electric heaters if you have them, heat one room and keep its door closed, and use a kettle for washing water. Keep the boiler's power and gas on so its frost protection can work, unless an engineer has told you otherwise.

Never use a gas cooker, oven or hob to heat the room, and never bring a barbecue or outdoor gas heater indoors. Both can produce carbon monoxide. For more general tips on getting through a cold spell, see what to do while you wait for a boiler repair.

What if your landlord does not respond?

Chase in writing, referring to your first report and its date. If you rent through an agent and they are not acting, write to the landlord directly too. If there is still no action, contact your local council's private sector housing or environmental health team. Councils can inspect homes and require repairs where hazards such as excess cold are found.

Housing association and council tenants should use their landlord's complaints process first. Do not stop paying rent to force a repair without getting advice, as it can put your tenancy at risk. Citizens Advice can talk you through your options.

Landlords and agents in Stoke-on-Trent

If you manage rental homes, we work with landlords and letting agents across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire on repairs and landlord gas safety certificates. For a tenant with no heating, our emergency boiler repair service can help once you have authorised the visit. Call 07896 677083.