Top 6 Central Heating System Maintenance Tips for Landlords

A gas boiler is one of the vital appliances when running a household. If you are a landlord renting out your property, please familiarise yourself with these 6 tips on maintaining a central heating system. Having your has boiler inspected annually is your legal responsibility when renting. If you want to avoid costly repairs and keep your tenants warm and happy, follow our advice.

1. Boiler Service

We highly recommend having your boiler serviced every 12 months. Talk to your tenants before a Gas Safe engineer shows up. If you happen to change tenancies more often, you can sometimes fit a yearly service during the breaks. Annual services include several checks. An engineer will confirm whether the boiler is safe and if everything is working at top performance.

2. Organise Repairs Quickly

We guess you wouldn’t want to get a call from an unhappy tenant who just had a cold shower? Well, that’s a good reason to have any issues resolved as quickly as possible. If a Gas Safe engineer detects a problem, they will suggest going a step further. If you fix a minor problem on time, you will stop it from turning into a major (and often very expensive) one.

Let your tenants know you are looking after their comfort, health and safety. Also, you can ask them about any issues with the boiler every once in a while, just in case they forget to notify you that something has changed.

3. Clean the Boiler

Boilers tend to gather buildups inside and outside, which affects their efficiency in the long run and shortens their lifespan. If you want, you can clean the boiler yourself. Still, we recommend hiring a professional to do so. A Gas Safe engineer will remove rust, dirt and sludge in the blink of an eye.

The area around the boiler should be well-vented, clean and tidy as well. Make sure there are no items in a cupboard and tell your tenants about this, too.

4. Bleed the Radiators

Your tenants might be comfortable with bleeding the radiators themselves. However, if they are not overly keen to do this, then it’s your responsibility to do so. How do you know you should bleed them? If the radiators are warm at the top and cold at the bottom, that means there’s air in the system and you should give them some extra love by letting the air out. Either way, you can ask a professional to check them during periodic inspections.

5. Check the Pressure Gauge

A boiler that loses pressure won’t perform as it should. The pressure is a variable category and you can top up the boiler yourself or ask your tenants to do so. On the other hand, your boiler may be overpressurised. You can unscrew one of the valves on your radiators to reduce the accumulated pressure. If nothing helps, ask a qualified engineer to inspect and solve the problem.

6. Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector

It is the law for private sector landlords  to have at least one carbon monoxide detector installed on every floor of the property.. You can hire one of our Gas Safe engineers for this task. They will make sure the detector is installed in line with the law and the highest safety standards.

Summary

You probably already know about your duties and responsibilities when renting a property. Be proactive and make sure to deal with minor issues in order to prevent serious damages. Being careless about your central heating system can cost you a lot of money, break the law and even endanger the lives of your tenants. Your Heat can help you maintain your central heating system. Book a job or contact us today if you have any questions about maintaining your rental property.