Cooker Hood Not Working in Lowestoft Rental Properties - Common Faults and Who Pays

Published August 2026 | Cooker Hood Not Working Common Faults

Landlord Obligations Under Current Regulations

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords to keep appliances they supply in proper working order throughout a tenancy. That includes cooker hoods. If a Hotpoint, Bosch, or Beko hood was fitted when the tenant moved in and it stops working through normal wear or age-related failure, the landlord is typically on the hook for getting it repaired or replaced.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is also relevant here. Poor kitchen ventilation can be classed as a hazard under this framework - particularly in older Lowestoft terraced properties where kitchens may have no windows and rely entirely on mechanical extraction. A non-functioning hood in that situation isn't just an inconvenience; it could be treated as a formal health issue.

In practical terms, landlords are expected to:

• Ensure the cooker hood is in working order at the start of the tenancy
• Carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe once notified in writing
• Replace the unit if it cannot be economically repaired
• Retain records of maintenance and any work carried out

The Deregulation Act 2015 adds another layer of protection for tenants. If a repair has been reported in writing and the landlord fails to act, the tenant may have grounds to escalate - and in some circumstances, the landlord could be prevented from serving a Section 21 notice until the issue is resolved.

Most landlords in Lowestoft want to deal with this kind of fault quickly, and not just for legal reasons. A broken cooker hood left unattended leads to grease buildup on kitchen surfaces, poor air quality, and eventually a far more expensive redecoration job or structural damp problem. Fixing it promptly is nearly always cheaper than ignoring it.

What Tenants Are Expected to Handle

Tenant responsibilities around a cooker hood centre almost entirely on day-to-day maintenance. Cleaning the grease filters is the main one. Most hoods - whether they duct outside or recirculate air through carbon filters - need their grease filters cleaned every four to six weeks depending on how often the hob is used. If a tenant lets those filters become completely blocked with baked-on grease, that's typically classed as tenant neglect, and the cost of any resulting repair could come out of their deposit.

Carbon filters on recirculating models are not reusable. They absorb cooking odours and once they're saturated, they simply stop working. These need replacing every three to six months. Replacement filters for common models from brands like Bosch or LG typically cost between 15 and 40 pounds - it's a minor expense that's easy to overlook until the kitchen smells like every meal cooked in the last six months.

Tenants are also generally expected to:

• Report faults promptly and in writing - waiting three months before mentioning the hood has stopped working will not help your case
• Avoid attempting DIY repairs on wiring or the motor unit
• Use the hood as intended - stacking things on top of it or blocking the vents causes airflow problems
• Replace standard light bulbs where the fitting takes a conventional GU10 or similar

The general rule our engineers apply when diagnosing a fault in a tenanted property is this: if the fault happened because of how the tenant used or maintained the appliance, it's likely their responsibility. If it failed through age, component wear, or a manufacturing defect, it falls to the landlord.

Grey Areas - Where Disputes Happen

The grey areas are where most landlord-tenant arguments about cooker hoods actually occur. Here are the flashpoints we see most often.

Carbon filter replacement costs

Some tenancy agreements explicitly state that filter replacement is the tenant's responsibility. Many others are completely silent on the matter. When it's not specified, both parties sometimes dig in over a 25 to 30 pound filter for far longer than makes any sense. The time to clarify this is before the tenancy starts, not mid-dispute.

Older units that fail mid-tenancy

A cooker hood that was already 10 or 12 years old when the tenancy started will often develop faults through age alone. Motor bearings wear out. Capacitors fail. If the unit fails and there's evidence it was already showing its age at move-in, that's not the tenant's responsibility. This is exactly why a thorough inventory report matters - without one, proving the condition of the appliance at the start of the tenancy is very difficult for either party.

Integrated LED strip failures

Standard GU10 bulbs are usually treated as a tenant responsibility. But newer hoods from brands like Samsung or Bosch often use sealed LED modules that require specific parts and partial disassembly to replace. Most dispute resolution services and small claims judges would treat those as a landlord repair, since they're not a consumable item a tenant could reasonably replace themselves. Even so, this is a common point of friction.

How to Report This Issue - A Guide for Tenants

If you're a tenant and your cooker hood has stopped working, here's how to handle it in a way that protects you if the situation escalates.

Step 1: Do some basic checks before reporting. Test whether the hood has power by checking the socket or dedicated spur with another appliance. Look at your consumer unit for a tripped MCB - a motor surge can trip one, and this is surprisingly common, particularly in older properties with ageing consumer units. If the hood is plug-in rather than hardwired, check the fuse in the plug.

Step 2: Check the filters. If the motor is running but extraction is poor or non-existent, blocked grease filters are by far the most common cause. Remove and inspect them. If they're saturated with grease, clean them before reporting a fault - otherwise you may end up paying for an engineer call-out that wasn't necessary.

Step 3: If basic checks don't resolve it, report it to your landlord or letting agent in writing. Email is ideal because it creates a clear timestamp and a record you can't lose. Be specific about what's happened and when - "the extraction fan stopped on 3rd August and the lights failed the following day" is far more useful than a vague message saying the hood isn't working.

Step 4: Keep copies of everything. If you don't receive a response or an acknowledgement within about 14 days, follow up in writing again and note that you've done so.

Step 5: If repairs are being ignored after repeated written requests, escalate to Suffolk County Council's environmental health team or raise the issue through your tenancy deposit scheme's dispute resolution service. Both are free to use and carry weight.

Getting It Fixed Quickly in Lowestoft Rental Properties

For landlords managing properties in Lowestoft, the practical challenge is getting a reliable repair done without paying over the odds or waiting weeks for availability. The most common faults our engineers diagnose in this area are:

• Motor failure - the fan runs intermittently or not at all, often accompanied by a burning smell or unusual noise. Motor replacement typically costs between 80 and 180 pounds including parts and labour, depending on the brand and model.
• Blocked or restricted ducting - common in older properties where ductwork runs through walls and hasn't been checked in years. The motor runs fine but can't extract properly because airflow is restricted. A duct clean typically costs between 60 and 100 pounds.
• Electrical faults - failed capacitors, blown fuses, or connection issues. Usually repairable for between 60 and 120 pounds depending on the complexity.
• Control board failure - more common on newer integrated models from Bosch or Samsung. Parts availability varies, and sometimes a like-for-like replacement is more economical than sourcing a control board for an older model.
• Blocked grease filters causing apparent motor failure - the motor is fine, the filters are simply clogged. We still get called out for this regularly in tenanted properties.

Before booking an engineer, it's worth running a fault through the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool. Describe what's happening - no extraction, no power, strange noise, lights working but fan dead - and GoFIX will help narrow down the likely cause and give you a realistic sense of what the repair might involve before anyone needs to visit the property.

For context on replacement costs: a mid-range 60cm cooker hood from Hotpoint, Beko, or Bosch typically costs between 100 and 300 pounds, with installation labour of around 60 to 100 pounds on top. For an older or obscure model where parts are difficult to source, replacement is often the more sensible route financially.

Documentation You Should Keep

Whether you're a landlord or a tenant in a Suffolk rental property, keeping good records around appliance issues is what protects you if a dispute comes to arbitration or court.

Landlords should retain:

• The signed inventory report from the start of the tenancy, including the condition of all white goods and fitted appliances
• All correspondence related to repair requests, including dates received
• Receipts and invoices for all repair and replacement work
• Any written reports from engineers attending the property
• Photographs of appliances at the start and end of each tenancy

Tenants should keep:

• Copies of all repair requests sent to the landlord or letting agent, with dates clearly visible
• Any responses or acknowledgements received
• Photographs of the fault where this is practical - a visibly seized fan or corroded connections, for example
• Receipts if you've bought replacement filters yourself and want to seek reimbursement

The move-in inventory is probably the single most important document in any appliance dispute. If there's no inventory, or if the cooker hood's condition wasn't recorded in it, both parties face an uphill battle trying to prove their case. If you moved into a rented property without receiving a signed inventory, it's worth raising that with your landlord now - before any fault or disagreement arises.

Landlord and Tenant Questions About Cooker Hood Faults

Is my landlord legally required to fix a broken cooker hood?

If the cooker hood was provided by the landlord as part of the let, then yes - under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord is required to keep supplied appliances in proper working order. That said, if the fault was caused by the tenant failing to clean filters or misusing the appliance, the landlord may be entitled to recover the cost of repair from the tenancy deposit. The cause of the fault is what matters.

How long does a landlord have to fix a cooker hood before I can escalate?

There's no fixed statutory deadline for non-emergency repairs, but 14 to 28 days is generally considered reasonable. If the broken hood is creating a health concern - for example in a kitchen with no other ventilation - it could be treated with more urgency. If you're a tenant in Lowestoft and nothing has happened after four weeks of written requests, your next step is typically contacting the local council's environmental health team or your deposit scheme's dispute resolution service.

Can I withhold rent if my landlord won't repair the cooker hood?

Withholding rent is risky and not a route our engineers would ever recommend based on what we see on the ground. Even when a landlord is clearly in breach, withholding rent can put the tenant in breach of the tenancy agreement and complicate any future deposit dispute or possession proceedings. The better approach is to document everything, keep pushing in writing, and escalate through official channels if needed.

Who pays for replacement carbon filters in a rented property in Suffolk?

This depends on your tenancy agreement. If it explicitly states that filter maintenance is the tenant's responsibility, the cost falls to you. If the agreement is silent on the matter, it's genuinely unclear and varies by landlord. Many property owners in Suffolk cover routine filter replacement as part of keeping the property maintained - particularly on higher-spec lets - but it's worth checking your agreement and having the conversation directly rather than assuming either way.

What are the most common reasons a cooker hood completely stops working?

The faults our engineers see most often are: heavily blocked grease filters restricting airflow to the point the motor can't draw through them, motor failure through age or sustained overheating, a tripped MCB in the consumer unit caused by a motor surge, and control board failure on newer integrated models. In some older Lowestoft properties, the issue is deteriorated or blocked external ducting - the motor runs perfectly well but the extracted air has nowhere to go, so the hood appears useless even though the appliance itself is fine.