Prosecution proves boiler insurance is important for landlords

Landlords in any doubt about how useful boiler insurance can be may have been reminded of the consequences of leaving their tenants without heating by a recent court case which hit the headlines in the north-west.

The hearing at Runcorn Magistrates Court saw a landlady prosecuted for leaving her tenants in the cold for four months. The 44-year-old was fined hundreds of pounds in the case, which was brought to the court by Halton Council.

According to local news source Runcorn and Widnes World, the incident involved a tenant in a flat and a problem with their boiler. The resident had been without hot water since December 2010 and, despite numerous calls to her landlady, still hadn’t managed to get things fixed.  After environmental health officers visited the property, the landlady was handed a statutory notice which demanded she returned hot water to the property.

Why the landlady chose not to fix the boiler – which would have been the cheaper and easier option – is unclear. But the case only serves to highlight the legal responsibilities landlords have to their tenants – and how ignoring them can have dire consequences.

However, not all cases of this nature are cut and dry. The recession has affected people from all walks of life – landlords included. In some cases it’s not a case that landlords are neglecting their legal responsibilities – and more that they cannot afford to. It may well be that the landlord in the case detailed above wanted to get her tenant’s boiler fixed but simply could not afford to.

This is where having landlords insurance that incorporates boiler cover could come in useful. With this type of policy in place, landlords can protect the boiler and central heating system in their property against expensive repairs. Rather than needing to thumb through phone directories in search of a qualified tradesman to do the job, all a landlord needs to do is claim on their boiler insurance.

Not only can this end up saving money, but can also reduce the time and effort spent managing a property, something that can come in particularly useful if you’ve got a string of homes to be overseeing and a day job to be worrying about. Landlords insurance can also be drawn up to include other elements of home repair and maintenance such as plumbing and wiring, meaning getting it in place could prove to be a really smart move.