Central Heating Not Working What to Check First in Your Arundel Rental Property

Published September 2026 | Central Heating Not Working

Landlord Obligations Under Current Regulations

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, places a clear legal duty on landlords to keep the central heating installation in repair and proper working order. This covers the boiler, pipework, radiators, controls, and associated components. It does not matter whether the property is privately let or managed through a letting agent - the legal obligation sits with the landlord.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 strengthened this further. A property without functioning central heating can be deemed unfit for human habitation, giving tenants direct legal grounds to pursue repairs through the courts if a landlord fails to act. In practice, if the heating fails in winter and nothing happens within 24 to 48 hours, the tenant is entitled to escalate to the local council or apply for a court order requiring the work to be done.

Gas appliances, including boilers, must only be serviced or repaired by a Gas Safe registered engineer. This is a legal requirement, not guidance. A landlord who uses an unregistered person to carry out gas work faces criminal prosecution. Our engineers at Voltrade carry their Gas Safe registration details on every job, and landlords should always ask to see this before any gas work begins.

Annual gas safety checks are a landlord obligation with no opt-out. The Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) must be renewed every 12 months, and a copy given to the tenant within 28 days of the check or before a new tenancy starts. A landlord who cannot produce a current CP12 for an Arundel rental property is already in breach of their duties.

Energy efficiency rules are also tightening. From 2025, new tenancies in England require a minimum EPC rating of C. Older, inefficient boilers on F or G rated systems will increasingly need replacing rather than just repairing, and landlords should factor this into their long-term maintenance planning.

What Tenants Are Expected to Handle

Tenant responsibility covers the day-to-day operation of the heating system - not mechanical repairs, but the basic checks any occupier should carry out before reporting a fault. If an engineer attends and finds the issue was something simple the tenant could have caught, the call-out cost can in some cases be recovered from the tenant.

Here is what tenants should work through before reporting a heating fault:

1. Check the thermostat. Make sure it is set above the current room temperature. Battery-powered thermostats lose their settings when the batteries run flat - replace them first and see if that resolves the problem before anything else.
2. Check the programmer or timer. Verify that the heating schedule has not been accidentally changed or overridden. Resetting it to a simple on/off programme takes a couple of minutes and is a common fix.
3. Check the boiler pressure. Most modern combi boilers - including Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal Logic, and Baxi units - have a pressure gauge on the front panel. It should read between 1 and 1.5 bar when cold. If it has dropped below 0.5 bar, you can top up using the filling loop. Your boiler manual explains how, and the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool walks you through it step by step if you do not have the manual to hand.
4. Bleed the radiators. Radiators that are warm at the bottom but cold at the top have trapped air. Use a radiator key to open the bleed valve slowly until water trickles out, then close it firmly. Top up boiler pressure afterwards if it has dropped.
5. Look for a frozen condensate pipe. In cold weather, the plastic condensate pipe that runs outside the building can freeze, causing the boiler to lock out with a fault code. Thaw it by pouring warm water along the pipe - not boiling water, which can crack it. The boiler should then reset normally.
6. Reset the boiler. After any fault condition clears, press the reset button (usually marked with a flame symbol) and wait to see if the boiler fires. If it locks out again immediately, stop resetting and report the fault to your landlord.

If none of these checks resolve the issue, contact your landlord in writing without further delay.

Grey Areas - Where Disputes Happen

Heating disputes between landlords and tenants tend to cluster around a few recurring patterns. Recognising them in advance helps both sides handle the situation more sensibly.

Tenant-caused damage. If a tenant has physically damaged a radiator, thermostat, or boiler control panel, the cost of repair can in principle be recovered. This requires clear evidence, and in practice it is harder to prove than most landlords assume.

Neglect of basic checks. A landlord may argue that a fault was caused or worsened by the tenant's failure to carry out routine tasks - never bleeding the radiators, for example, resulting in a persistently airlocked system. This is difficult to substantiate but does create friction and delay in getting the issue resolved.

Slow fault reporting. A tenant who notices the heating is not working but waits two weeks before reporting it - and then seeks compensation for a cold property over that period - will find their case significantly weakened. Reporting promptly in writing is the single most important step a tenant can take.

Disagreement over urgency. Landlords sometimes treat summer heating faults as non-urgent and push repairs back by several weeks. The legal obligation does not disappear in warmer months, though courts tend to interpret "reasonable time" more flexibly depending on season and circumstances.

Replace rather than repair. When a boiler is beyond economical repair, replacing it is a legitimate decision. But replacement typically takes longer than a repair, and during that period the landlord should arrange alternative heating - electric panel heaters are the common solution. Failing to do so risks breaching the fitness for human habitation standard under the 2018 Act.

How to Report This Issue as a Tenant

Reporting a heating fault correctly makes a real difference to how quickly it gets fixed and how well protected you are if things escalate.

1. Report in writing immediately. Send an email or text to your landlord or letting agent the same day the fault appears. Include the date, what the heating is or is not doing, and what basic checks you have already carried out. This creates a time-stamped record.
2. Follow up within 24 hours if there is no acknowledgement. Heating is an essential service. Do not assume that silence means action has been taken.
3. Use the emergency contact number. Most tenancy agreements include an emergency repairs contact. In winter, a heating failure qualifies as an emergency. Call the number rather than waiting on email replies.
4. Contact Arun District Council if your landlord is unresponsive. For rental properties in Arundel and the surrounding area, the council's private rented sector team can inspect the property and issue improvement notices under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
5. Document everything. Photograph the boiler display showing any fault code, the pressure gauge reading, and the thermostat settings. Note the date and time. If the property is cold, a thermometer reading adds useful evidence to your file.

For letting agent-managed properties, escalate directly to the agent if the landlord is not responding. Agents carry their own professional obligations and typically move faster when pressed through the right channels.

Getting It Fixed Quickly in Arundel Rental Properties

Arundel is a small historic market town in West Sussex, and trade availability is not always as fast as in larger urban areas. For landlords managing rental properties here, having a reliable boiler repair contact who can respond promptly is part of meeting your legal obligations - not an optional extra.

Our engineers cover Arundel and the surrounding West Sussex area on a regular basis. Before arriving on site, we run through a structured diagnostic where possible - using the Voltrade GoFIX tool, which allows the tenant to log fault codes and symptoms in advance - so the engineer typically arrives with the most likely replacement parts already on the van. This cuts down the number of return visits needed to resolve the fault.

The most common boiler faults our engineers see in local rental properties include:

• Faulty diverter valves on combi boilers - particularly common on older Worcester Bosch and Ideal Logic units. Repair typically costs between 150 and 300 pounds including parts and labour.
• Failed circulating pumps. The pump moves heated water around the system. Replacement typically costs between 200 and 350 pounds depending on the pump model and ease of access.
• Broken motorised zone valves. More common on older two-zone systems with a separate hot water cylinder. Usually between 100 and 200 pounds to replace.
• Recurring low pressure faults. If the boiler keeps dropping pressure every few days, there is almost certainly a leak somewhere in the system. Diagnosis and repair costs vary but typically start at around 150 pounds for a visible, accessible leak.
• Airlocked systems following a recent powerflush or repair. Often resolved in a single visit costing between 80 and 150 pounds.

Landlords managing several properties benefit from setting up an ongoing maintenance account with a reliable local trade firm rather than scrambling for emergency cover when a tenant calls with no heating on a cold morning in January.

Documentation You Should Keep

Good record-keeping protects both landlords and tenants. Clear documentation resolves disputes faster and is essential evidence if things reach a formal complaint or legal process.

Landlords should keep:

• The current Gas Safety Certificate (CP12), renewed every 12 months without fail.
• Boiler service records. Manufacturers including Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, and Baxi require annual servicing to maintain the manufacturer warranty. Missing a service can void the warranty and result in a significantly larger repair bill.
• Engineers' reports for all gas work, including the Gas Safe registration number of the engineer who carried it out and the corresponding invoice.
• All written communications with tenants about heating faults, with clear records of when faults were reported and when they were resolved.
• The original boiler installation certificate (Building Regulations Compliance Certificate).

Tenants should keep:

• Copies of all written reports sent to the landlord or agent, with dates clearly visible.
• Photographs and videos with timestamps showing fault codes on the boiler display, pressure gauge readings, or radiators that are clearly cold.
• A brief log of dates when the heating was not working and the approximate temperature inside the property.
• Any written responses received from the landlord or agent, however brief.

If a dispute goes to arbitration, a deposit deduction claim, or court, a clear paper trail matters far more than either party's recollection of events months after the fact.

Landlord and Tenant Questions

Who is legally responsible for fixing a broken boiler in a rented property?

The landlord is legally responsible under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This covers the boiler, pipework, radiators, and the entire central heating installation. The only exception is damage caused directly by the tenant's own actions. All gas repair work must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer - this is a legal requirement. Tenants cannot be asked to arrange or pay for boiler repairs themselves.

How quickly does a landlord have to fix the heating in a rented property?

There is no fixed statutory timeframe, but the general expectation for an urgent heating failure in winter is action within 24 to 48 hours. Heating is classed as an essential service. If a landlord fails to act within a reasonable period, the tenant can contact the local council - for properties in Arundel, that is Arun District Council - which can issue a formal improvement notice. Courts can also order emergency repair work to be carried out.

Can a tenant withhold rent if the heating is not working?

Withholding rent is legally risky and not recommended as a first step, even if the landlord is clearly failing in their obligations. Tenants can instead contact the local council, seek a court order requiring repairs, or in some circumstances arrange repairs and deduct the cost from rent - but only after following the correct legal procedure. Taking advice from Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor before withholding rent is strongly advisable.

What counts as adequate heating in a rented property in West Sussex?

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System does not set a single specific standard, but the commonly accepted benchmark is that a property should be capable of maintaining 21 degrees Celsius in the main living area and 18 degrees in other occupied rooms. If a boiler fault leaves the property significantly below this in cold weather, it is likely to qualify as a category one hazard under HHSRS, requiring the landlord to act urgently rather than at their convenience.

Does annual boiler servicing actually reduce the number of breakdowns?

In our engineers' experience, it makes a significant difference. Boilers with consistent annual service records have fewer unexpected faults and smaller repair bills over time. Manufacturers including Worcester Bosch and Vaillant require annual servicing to honour their warranty - a landlord who skips it may find a warranty claim refused on top of the repair cost. Annual servicing for a standard combi boiler typically costs between 80 and 120 pounds, which is modest compared to the cost of most emergency call-outs.