Before you install a heat pump in a rental property: a 12 point checklist

The checklist at a glance

Work through these twelve checks before you sign a quote. Each one is short to do and expensive to discover late.

#	Check	Who decides	Cost of getting it wrong
1	Ownership and lender	You, lender	Breach of mortgage terms
2	Leasehold consent	Freeholder	Work removed or refused
3	Planning and Article 4	Local planning authority	Enforcement, removal
4	Neighbours and noise	You, neighbours	Complaints, dispute
5	Tenant arrangements	You, tenant	Delay, dispute
6	Timing between lets	You	Void or disruption
7	Electrical supply	DNO, installer	Upgrade cost, delay
8	Pipework and emitters	Installer	Poor performance
9	Cylinder space	Installer	Plan fails
10	Grant route and MCS	Installer	Lose the grant
11	EPC after install	Assessor	Wrong rating on record
12	Handover	You, installer	Tenant misuse

1. Ownership and your lender

Confirm you own the property you are applying for, since the Boiler Upgrade Scheme says you must own the property, including one you rent out. Then check your mortgage terms. Lenders can set conditions on alterations or on the property’s use, and this site cannot say what yours says. A phone call before work starts is cheap.

2. Leasehold and the freeholder

If you lease the flat, you need the freeholder or management company’s agreement before external equipment goes in. Read the lease on alterations, shared parts and external walls, and ask in writing. The flats guide covers this in more detail.

3. Planning, listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4

In England, air source heat pumps can be installed under permitted development, but only within conditions. The facts used on this site:

• the noise limit is 37.0 dB(A)
• one unit on a house that is not detached, two on a detached house
• the compressor can be up to 1.5 cubic metres on a house, 0.6 cubic metres on a block of flats
• no unit on a pitched roof
• conservation area and listed building limits apply
• an Article 4 direction can remove permitted development rights

Ask the local planning authority if the property is in a conservation area, is listed, or might be subject to Article 4. The authority can tell you in writing whether you need an application.

4. Neighbours and noise

The unit hums. A neighbour’s bedroom window a few metres away is the common cause of complaints. Ask the installer for the noise assessment of the chosen position, and tell the neighbours before the unit goes in. It costs nothing and avoids the awkward conversation afterwards.

5. Tenants: access, notice and the Renters’ Rights Act

The work needs access, disrupts heating and hot water for a time, and puts a unit outside the home. Agree dates with the tenant in writing and make sure they know who to contact.

On 1 May 2026, in England, section 21 notices ended and assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies. That changes what a landlord can assume about regaining possession to do work. Do not plan on a vacant property you cannot guarantee. For the detail and what we have not verified, read the Renters’ Rights Act and energy upgrades. Take advice on your own tenancy before relying on any assumption about notice, access or rent.

6. Timing between lets

If the property is empty between tenants, that is the easiest window: no disruption, no access arrangements, and the heating can be commissioned and tested. It is not always possible. Ask the installer how long the work will take. The stated limit that matters is the grant’s: install within 120 days of applying.

7. Electrical supply, consumer unit and the DNO

Check the electrical supply early. Ask the installer whether the consumer unit and the incoming supply can carry the heat pump, and what an upgrade would cost if not.

On network notification, MCS says the installer notifies the distribution network operator. Where maximum demand is 60A or below, the route is connect and notify within 28 days. From 60A to 100A, the installer must apply to connect before installation, and the DNO assesses capacity within 10 working days. MCS notes heat pumps use a separate ENA form rather than the G98 and G99 routes that apply to generation and storage, so a solar and battery installation alongside the pump is a separate question.

Ask the installer to confirm the maximum demand figure and who handles the notification. Also note the 5-yearly electrical inspection: see the gas safety page for what stays after gas goes.

8. Pipework and radiators

Ask the installer whether the existing radiators and pipes will heat each room properly at the flow temperature the heat pump will run at. The room by room heat loss calculation is the document that answers it, so ask for it before you accept a quote. If radiators are undersized, the tenant is the one who feels it.

9. Cylinder space

A wet system needs a hot water cylinder. Find the space before the survey: an airing cupboard, a loft with a strong floor, or a utility room. In a small flat this can be the deciding factor. Air-to-air units avoid the cylinder, with trade-offs covered in air-to-air heat pumps for rentals.

10. Grant route and MCS certificate

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 for an air-to-water or ground source heat pump, or £2,500 for air-to-air. It is one grant per property, landlords are eligible, the installer must be MCS certified, and the installer applies for the grant on the owner’s behalf. You cannot get it for a property that has already had government funding for a heat pump. See the landlord guide to the scheme and how to check an installer.

11. EPC after the install

Once the heat pump is in, ask an accredited domestic energy assessor for a new EPC, so that the register shows the property as it is. Do not assume the rating rises: heat pumps do not automatically improve an EPC. You can look up the current certificate on the GOV.UK register.

12. Handover to the tenant

Give the tenant plain instructions: what the thermostat does, the heat pump’s normal behaviour (long, steady running rather than short hot bursts), who to call for faults, and not to switch it off in winter. Pass on the manual and warranty details. Keep the MCS certificate, heat loss calculation, commissioning record and warranty with your property file. A tenant who treats it like a boiler can run up bills and cause a callout. Running costs for tenants explains what to expect.

When this is not the right answer

Stop at any check you cannot pass. Lease refusal, no planning route, no space for a cylinder or an electrical upgrade that costs more than the benefit are all valid reasons to choose insulation or a new efficient boiler first. For the case against, read is a heat pump worth it for landlords.

Next step

Put your numbers into the landlord heat pump calculator, or send an enquiry and relevant independent firms will contact you, with no charge to you and no obligation.