If a landlord will not repair a broken boiler or heating system, tenants in England can involve the local council, which can assess the home under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This guide summarises the government’s Landlord and agent guide to the HHSRS (published 23 June 2026, updated 16 September 2026) and its private renting repairs page. It covers England only, and is general information, not legal advice.

Who is responsible for heating

GOV.UK’s private renting guide says a landlord is always responsible for repairs to heating and hot water and to gas appliances, pipes, flues and ventilation. Tenants should tell the landlord, and the guide says to carry on paying rent while waiting for repairs. The HHSRS guide adds that section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies a covenant that installations for supplying water, gas and electricity, and for heating and hot water, are kept in repair and proper working order, and section 9A requires a home to be fit for human habitation in certain tenancies. Wider repair routes are covered in the guide to boiler problems in a rented home.

What the HHSRS is

The HHSRS is a tool used to identify and assess risks to health and wellbeing in a home, whether rented or owned. Councils use it when taking formal enforcement action under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, through environmental health officers or similarly trained staff. The system covers 21 hazards. GOV.UK’s repairs page says a tenant who thinks the home is unsafe can contact the council’s housing department, which will carry out an HHSRS assessment and must take action if it thinks there are serious hazards.

How a heating fault fits in

The HHSRS guide says a house without a properly installed heating system in good working order is a deficiency associated with several hazards. Difficulty keeping the property warm contributes to the excess cold hazard, and inadequate heating also contributes to damp and mould. The guide’s checklist of baseline indicators lists a heating system in good and safe working condition, capable of heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilets, with the main living room heated to 21 degrees Celsius and other rooms to 18 degrees when the outside temperature is minus 1 degree.

Scores of 1,000 or more fall in the high band and are Category 1 hazards, while lower scores are Category 2.

What the council can do

For Category 1 hazards the guide says the council must take action. For Category 2 hazards it has discretion. The options include a hazard awareness notice, an improvement notice, a prohibition order and emergency action. An improvement notice requires remedial work, which must not be required to start sooner than 28 days after service, and must state a completion date. The guide gives an example: an improvement notice may be appropriate for an excess cold hazard caused by the lack of a properly installed heating system in good and safe working order. The recipient can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), generally within 21 days of an improvement notice being served, and the notice is suspended while an appeal is pending.

Councils can inspect any property used for residential purposes, often after a complaint by the tenant or a neighbour.

Penalties and rent repayment

It is an offence to fail to comply with an improvement notice without reasonable excuse. The guide says the council can impose a civil financial penalty of up to £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (the maximum was £30,000 for earlier offences), after a notice of intent and a 28-day period for representations. If the occupier refuses access, the guide says the landlord must show how reasonable steps were taken.

A tenant or council can also apply to the tribunal for a rent repayment order after a failure to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition order. For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 the application can be made within two years and the order can require repayment of up to two years of rent. For earlier offences the limit is 12 months for both the application and the rent.

The energy efficiency link

The guide notes that upgrading the energy efficiency of private rented homes helps minimise the risks associated with excess cold and damp and mould, and that landlords in England and Wales cannot rent out a home with an EPC rating of F or G unless it is registered as exempt. Similar heating problems in social housing follow a separate route, described in the guide to Awaab’s Law and loss of heating.

FAQs

Does the council have to act on a heating complaint?

GOV.UK says the council must take action if it thinks a home has serious health and safety hazards, which the HHSRS guide calls Category 1 hazards. For lower-risk Category 2 hazards it has discretion.

Does this apply in Wales or Scotland?

No. The HHSRS guide applies to England. Welsh and Scottish rules are covered in the guides to Wales and Scotland.

Can a landlord appeal an improvement notice?

Yes, to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), generally within 21 days of service.

The bottom line

In England, a rented home with no properly working heating can be assessed by the council under the HHSRS as an excess cold risk. Councils must act on Category 1 hazards and can serve improvement notices, with civil penalties of up to £40,000 for offences on or after 1 May 2026, and tenants or councils can seek rent repayment orders. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 25 September 2026:

• GOV.UK (MHCLG), “Landlord and agent guide to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)”
• GOV.UK, “Private renting: Repairs”

Related guides

Best Boiler Deals is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not regulated advice on any specific installation — always confirm the details with a Gas Safe registered engineer.