When a Defective Boiler Damages Your Home: What Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 Says About Who Is Liable, What Damage Counts and the Time Limits

Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 deals with damage caused by a defect in a product, which can include a boiler or a component inside one. This guide summarises sections 1 to 5 and 7 of that Act and section 11A of the Limitation Act 1980, as published on legislation.gov.uk and read on 25 October 2026. Part 1 is marked as extending to England, Wales and Scotland; section 11A is marked England and Wales. General information, not legal advice.

The basic rule in section 2

Section 2(1) says that where damage is caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, the persons to whom section 2(2) applies are liable for it. Section 1(2) defines a product as any goods or electricity, and says the term includes a product comprised in another product, for example as a component part.

Section 2(6) adds that the section is without prejudice to any liability arising otherwise than by virtue of Part 1. Rights against a seller over a faulty new boiler are covered in the guide to Consumer Rights Act remedies.

Who can be held liable

Section 2(2) lists three kinds of person:

• the producer of the product, which for a manufactured product means the person who manufactured it;
• a person who, by putting their name or a trade mark or other distinguishing mark on the product, has held themselves out to be the producer; and
• a person who imported the product into the United Kingdom in order, in the course of a business, to supply it to another.

A supplier outside that list is dealt with by section 2(3). It can become liable if the injured person asks it to identify one of the listed persons, the request is made within a reasonable period after the damage, and the supplier fails within a reasonable period either to comply or to name whoever supplied the product to it. Under section 2(5), persons liable for the same damage are jointly and severally liable.

What counts as a defect

Section 3(1) says there is a defect if the safety of the product is not such as persons generally are entitled to expect. Safety there includes safety in the context of risks of damage to property, as well as death or personal injury.

Section 3(2) says all the circumstances are taken into account, including how and for what purposes the product was marketed, any instructions or warnings, what might reasonably be expected to be done with it and the time when the producer supplied it to another.

What damage is covered, and what is not

Under section 5(1), damage means death or personal injury or any loss of or damage to any property, including land. Several limits then apply to property damage:

• Section 5(2): no liability under section 2 for loss of or damage to the product itself, or to the whole or any part of any product supplied with the defective product comprised in it.
• Section 5(3): no liability for loss of or damage to property which, at the time, is not (a) of a description of property ordinarily intended for private use, occupation or consumption and (b) intended by the person suffering the loss or damage mainly for their own private use, occupation or consumption.
• Section 5(4): no damages for loss of or damage to property if the amount that would be awarded, apart from this subsection and interest, does not exceed £275.

Section 5(8) says subsections (5) to (7), which deal with when damage is treated as occurring, do not extend to Scotland.

The defences in section 4

Section 4(1) gives six defences, in paragraphs (a) to (f). They include showing that the defect is attributable to compliance with a requirement imposed by or under an enactment, that the person never supplied the product to another, that the defect did not exist at the relevant time, or that the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the relevant time was not such that a producer might be expected to have discovered it. The other two concern a supply outside the course of a business and a component defect wholly attributable to the design of the later product or to its producer’s instructions.

Can a contract term or notice remove the liability?

Section 7 says the liability of a person under Part 1 to someone who has suffered damage caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, or to a dependant or relative of that person, shall not be limited or excluded by any contract term, by any notice or by any other provision.

Time limits in England and Wales

Section 11A of the Limitation Act 1980 is marked as applying to England and Wales. It sets out two limits for an action under Part 1:

• three years from the later of the date the cause of action accrued and the date of knowledge, where the damages claimed include personal injuries or loss of or damage to property (section 11A(4)); and
• ten years from the relevant time, as defined in section 4 of the 1987 Act, after which the right of action is extinguished whether or not it had accrued (section 11A(3)).

Under section 4(2) of the 1987 Act, the relevant time for a person within section 2(2) is when they supplied the product to another.

FAQs

Does the £275 figure cap what can be claimed?

Section 5(4) is worded as a floor for property damage: no damages are awarded where the amount that would be awarded does not exceed £275.

Does this Act cover faulty installation work?

Part 1 is about defects in products. Claims over an installer’s work are covered in the guide to damage caused by an installer.

The bottom line

Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes producers, own-branders and certain importers liable for damage caused by a defect in a product, judged by the safety that persons generally are entitled to expect. It excludes damage to the product itself, applies a £275 floor to property damage, lists six defences and bars exclusion by contract term or notice. In England and Wales the Limitation Act 1980 sets three years from accrual or knowledge and a ten-year long-stop. General information, not personalised advice.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, read on 25 October 2026:

• Consumer Protection Act 1987, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Limitation Act 1980, section 11A, Actions in respect of defective products (legislation.gov.uk)

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.