The wind is picking up and leaves are starting to fall. There is something to do this time of year that will save landlords time and money down the road. Book in boiler maintenance now – you’ll thank yourself later.
Right around this time of year, your tenants are pulling out the autumn jumpers and turning on the heat. Your boiler, after months of inactivity, is about to be put to the test.
We have noticed quite a few landlords do not have their boilers serviced on a regular basis. They wait for it to break and get it fixed. Instead, we strongly suggest you use this early-autumn opportunity to catch issues before they become costly. It’ll put you ahead of the rush in the engineers’ diary, save you undue stress in the busy holiday season, ensure your tenants are safe and secure in your property and even protect your warranty.
There are things your tenants can do as well: see the Tenant Guide to Preparing for Cold Weather.
The all-important warranty
We suggest landlords to get boiler maintenance each year so they can avoid larger problems come wintertime. However, if you have a boiler under warranty (typically the first three to five years), you will need to get your boiler service annually to validate the warranty. Friendly reminder: do double-check before booking because new boilers quite often come with a free service.
Repair or replace?
If there is something wrong with the boiler, you’ll have to weigh your options. Foxtons Property Managers spend a good amount of time in this season scrutinising quotes from specialists to find the best solutions for our landlords, to ensure boiler repair is done efficiently and effectively without unnecessarily expense. But it brings up an important question for landlords whose boilers are no longer under warranty: would you rather repair or replace the boiler this year?
A new boiler can cost around £3,000 on average. However, we’ve seen landlords with older boilers realise they’re spending just as much in 2-3 years of repairs. Our advice? Do your research, find a professional you can trust and ask questions. Also, if you have Foxtons Property Management, you can use our resources; we have a network of vetted boiler repair services across London, and our Property Managers can provide insight into your next steps.
Property managed properly
If you’d like more support for your rental properties, please do check out Foxtons Property Management.
Foxtons Property Management provide landlords with a team of experts, enabled by the latest technology and a vast reach across networks of skilled contractors and tradesmen. We continually ensure your property is compliant through over 150 pieces of rapidly changing lettings legislation. Through our team of experts and virtual maintenance tracker, we minimize your involvement in maintenance requests, troubleshoot common issues and ensure any work is carried out satisfactorily.
