Heating and Boiler Compensation Claims
Coats on indoors, kettles boiled for the washing up, everyone crammed into the one warm room. If your boiler has broken down or your heating can't keep the place warm, and your landlord hasn't fixed it after you reported it, we'll claim compensation and get a proper repair done.
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When does a heating problem become a legal claim?
A boiler that packs in, radiators that stay cold, no hot water for a bath, or a system that simply can't heat the property: these are all disrepair, not inconveniences you're expected to put up with. A cold home is miserable, expensive to run, and genuinely bad for your health, particularly for children, older people and anyone with a respiratory condition.
If you've reported the problem and your landlord hasn't carried out a proper repair within a reasonable time, you're likely to have a claim. A total loss of heating or hot water should be treated as an emergency. In winter, that means a response within about 24 hours, not weeks of excuses.
Evidence that strengthens your claim
No photos? Nothing in writing? We can still help. But anything you can dig out now makes your claim stronger:
- Photos and videos of the problem, however rough
- Anything you've sent your landlord: emails, letters, texts
- GP or hospital records, if your health suffered
- Receipts or photos of ruined belongings
Your landlord's legal responsibility
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the installations for space heating and heating water in repair and proper working order. That covers the boiler, radiators, pipework and hot water supply, and it applies whether your landlord is private, a council or a housing association.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 goes further: a home that can't be kept adequately warm may not be fit to live in at all. Once you've reported the fault, your landlord must repair it within a reasonable time. If they haven't, they're in breach of their legal obligations, and that's what your claim is built on.
What a successful claim gets you
Compensation
A payment for what you've had to live with, usually worked out as a percentage of your rent, plus money back for ruined belongings: clothes, furniture, carpets and more.
The repairs, completed
A binding commitment that forces your landlord to fix the problem properly. No more promises, no more missed appointments.
Heating and Boiler Compensation Claims: FAQs
How long should my landlord take to fix a broken boiler?
A complete loss of heating or hot water is an emergency. Most tenancy agreements and social landlords' own repair policies say so. Your landlord should respond within about 24 hours, especially in cold weather. Less urgent faults still have to be fixed within a reasonable time, usually a few weeks at most. Months of delay is a breach of their legal duty.
My heating technically works, but the house is always cold. Can I still claim?
Quite possibly. Your landlord's duty isn't just to keep the boiler switching on. The system has to be capable of heating the home adequately. Undersized radiators, an underpowered boiler, or rooms with no heating at all can amount to disrepair even when something technically works.
Can I claim back the cost of running electric heaters?
Yes. If you've had to plug in expensive electric heaters because the central heating doesn't work, the extra cost on your energy bills can form part of your claim. Keep the bills. They're useful evidence of exactly what the failure has cost you.
What if my landlord keeps sending someone to patch it up?
Repeated temporary fixes that never solve the underlying fault don't satisfy your landlord's legal duty. They're required to carry out a proper, lasting repair, and a long trail of failed patch-up visits usually strengthens your claim rather than weakening it.
How much compensation could I get for living without heating?
Compensation is usually a percentage of your rent for the period you lived with the problem, typically between 25% and 50%, and up to 100% where the home was effectively uninhabitable. Extra heating costs and any effect on your health can be added on top. Our free calculator gives you an instant estimate.
See how much you could claim
Answer a few quick questions about your rent, the problems and how long you've lived with them, and you'll get an instant estimate. Confidential, no obligation, no pressure.