It’s that time of year again – when landlords and managing letting agents should be testing boilers before the Autumn chill sets in.

New research from Adiuvo shows that boiler issues are on the rise, particularly in shared properties where reports of breakdowns of communal boilers have nearly doubled over the past year – rising by 95.9%. Overall there are an estimated 22,418 boiler breakdowns a year in the private rented sector.

The UK ‘switch on’ day apparently falls on Monday 8 September, according to emergency home repair specialists HomeServe, who analysed a decade of temperature data from the Met Office.

The ‘switch on’ tends to occur when the average daily outdoor temperature drops below the 15.5 degree ‘heating threshold’ for three consecutive days.

However, HomeServe claims that 1 in 6 (17%) are already encountering problems when they fire up their heating.

Relying on it every day

Liam Sharkey, home expert at HomeServe, says: “You can’t always rely on the British weather, but you should be able to rely on a boiler.”

“Running it early, even for just 10 minutes, can help you spot problems and fix them before tenants are relying on it every day.”

“Our research has shown when we’re likely to need our boilers, and so a quick test a couple of weeks before means you can book repairs at a quieter time, avoid emergency callouts when demand is high, and keep homes comfortable, whatever the season throws at you.” 

Although boiler breakdowns are the fastest growing issue, according to the Adiuvo research, it’s leaks that dominate the list of tenant complaints, accounting for 17.6% of all reported issues on an annual basis.