Is it the landlords responsibility to fix hot water?
Is it the landlords responsibility to fix hot water? Having no hot water can make tasks like bathing, washing dishes and laundry extremely difficult for tenants. But who holds legal responsibility for restoring hot water supplies when boiler or heater faults arise – you or your landlord? We outline the definitive repair duties.
Landlord’s Duty to Ensure Essential Services
Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 covering England and Wales, landlords must maintain gas, electricity and water services they provide to a satisfactory standard. Hot water constitutes an essential service for decent living standards.
This means boilers, hot water cylinders and plumbing relevant to hot supplies all classify as landlord fixtures to repair. If your landlord owns the building, restoring hot water clearly falls under their responsibility.
24 Hours for Total Loss of Hot Water
Now here’s where obligations get stricter – if you lose all hot water, this counts as an emergency repair under housing law. Just as with dangerous electrical faults or gas leaks, your landlord must implement a fix within 24 hours of fault notification.
That makes prompt hot water repair a serious urgent priority rather than something your landlord can delay for weeks without breach of duties.
Seeking Further Recourse
If your landlord fails to restore any hot water within a day or ignores requests, your next step should be formal complaints to council environmental health teams. They can undertake inspections and issue legally-binding improvement notices against neglectful landlords who deny decent living conditions.
Ultimately the law stands firm that tenants deserve essential basics like hot water. Never feel afraid to assert your rights clearly if faults persist. If you think we can help, please feel free to contact our client services team today
Important links
Housing Disrepair Advice: https://housingdisrepairadvice.org/contact
Housing Ombudsman: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/
