Landlord heating obligations: the legal duties for heating and hot water in England, and how Wales differs

The heating duties at a glance

A landlord’s heating duties in England come from several separate laws, not one. The table lists each, the source, and how Wales differs. Each is covered below.

Duty	Main source (England)	What it covers	Wales
Repair heating and hot water	Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11	Keep space heating and water heating installations in repair and proper working order	Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, section 92
Fit for human habitation	Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A	The home is fit at the start and stays fit	Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the 2022 fitness regulations
Hazards, including excess cold	Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)	Councils assess hazards and must act on Category 1	Wales has its own HHSRS regulations
Gas safety	Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36	Check every gas appliance and flue every 12 months	Same regulations apply
Electrical safety	Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020	Inspection at least every 5 years, penalty up to £40,000	Testing at least every 5 years under the fitness regulations
Smoke and CO alarms	Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 as amended in 2022	Smoke alarm on each storey, CO alarm with a fixed combustion appliance	Mains powered, interlinked smoke alarms; CO alarm with gas, oil or solid fuel appliance
Legionella	Health and Safety at Work Act and COSHH	Assess and control the risk	Same legislation applies
Minimum energy efficiency	MEES Regulations	EPC E today; EPC C by 1 October 2030 planned	EPC E today; planned EPC C covers England and Wales

Repairing duty: section 11

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies into the residential tenancies it applies to a covenant by the landlord to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for space heating and heating water, and for the supply of water, gas and electricity. The heating system, the boiler or heat pump, and the hot water cylinder sit inside that duty.

Points the section itself makes:

• It does not require the landlord to carry out works needed because the tenant failed to use the property in a tenant-like manner.
• It does not require rebuilding after destruction by fire, tempest, flood or other inevitable accident.
• Section 11(6) gives the landlord, or someone authorised in writing, a right to enter at reasonable times to view the condition and state of repair, on 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier.

The duty is to keep what is there in repair and working order. It does not tell a landlord which heating system to choose. When a boiler fails beyond repair, replacing it like for like or with a heat pump are both ways of meeting it.

A heat pump changes the repair picture in practice. The outdoor unit, cylinder, controls and any immersion heater all become installations the landlord keeps working. Plan servicing from the start. See heat pump servicing and lifespan for landlords.

Fitness and hazards: section 9A and excess cold

Two further rules sit over the repairing duty in England.

Fitness for human habitation. Section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, inserted by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 from 20 March 2019, implies a covenant that a dwelling in England is fit for human habitation when the lease begins and stays fit during it.

HHSRS and excess cold. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System is how councils assess hazards in homes. GOV.UK’s landlord and agent guide, updated 16 September 2026 and applying to England, says the number of hazards has been reduced from 29 to 21, and excess cold remains one of them. The guide says:

• Councils have a duty to take enforcement action if they find a Category 1 hazard, and a discretionary power for a Category 2 hazard.
• An improvement notice requires remedial work, and it is an offence not to comply with one.
• Its baseline indicator for heating is a system in good and safe working condition, capable of heating the main living room to 21°C and the other habitable rooms to 18°C when the outside temperature is minus 1°C.

This is where heating design and legal duty meet. A heat pump with radiators too small for its flow temperature, or a broken system left unrepaired in winter, is the kind of failing the excess cold hazard looks at. Getting the design right protects the tenant and the landlord. See heat pump radiators and hot water in rentals.

Gas safety: regulation 36

Where a rented home has gas appliances, regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires the landlord to have each appliance and flue checked for safety within 12 months of installation and then at intervals of not more than 12 months, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The landlord keeps a record, gives existing tenants a copy within 28 days of the check, and gives new tenants a copy before they move in.

If a heat pump replaces the boiler and no gas appliance or flue remains, there is nothing for the check to cover. A gas hob or fire keeps the duty. The full detail is on landlord gas safety certificate and heat pumps.

Electrical safety

In the private rented sector in England, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 set a duty to have the electrical installation inspected at least every 5 years. Remedial work must be done within 28 days, the report goes to the tenant within 28 days, to a new tenant before they move in, and to the local authority within 7 days of a request. The maximum financial penalty in regulation 11, as amended by SI 2025/1043, is now £40,000. This is separate from any MEES penalty.

A heat pump adds a significant load to the electrical installation, so the inspection and the installation should be planned together. See before you install a heat pump in a rental.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/707), made on 27 June 2022, came into force on 1 October 2022 and amended the 2015 regulations. In England the duties for private landlords are:

• At least one smoke alarm on each storey with a room used as living accommodation.
• A carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers.
• Alarms repaired or replaced once the landlord is informed and finds they are faulty.
• Alarms checked as working on the first day of a new tenancy.

Local authorities can fine up to £5,000 where a landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice. A heat pump is not a combustion appliance, so swapping a gas boiler for one can remove the carbon monoxide alarm duty for that room, if nothing else burns fuel there. Smoke alarms still apply.

Legionella and hot water

HSE guidance for landlords says they have a duty to assess the risk from legionella to tenants and control it, under section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the COSHH Regulations. The assessment need not be in depth, most landlords can do it themselves, and health and safety law does not require a legionella test certificate. HSE’s control measures include storing hot water at 60°C. A new heat pump cylinder is a change worth reviewing the assessment for. Detail is on heat pump radiators and hot water in rentals.

Energy efficiency: today’s rule and the planned one

Today, a privately rented home in England or Wales needs at least EPC E to be let, unless a valid exemption is registered. GOV.UK guidance (updated 5 May 2026) puts the current cost cap at £3,500 including VAT and the maximum fine at £5,000 per property in total.

The planned standard is EPC C by 1 October 2030 for all in-scope tenancies in England and Wales, set out in the government response of 21 January 2026. The regulations had not been laid at the time of that response, so it is not yet law. A heat pump is one route, not a requirement. For what the planned rules mean for a heating choice, see EPC C 2030 and your heating choice and the EPC deadline checker.

Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard

Neither applies to private landlords in England yet. Awaab’s Law, the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, came into force for social landlords on 27 October 2025. The Renters’ Rights Act, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, provides for extending Awaab’s Law and a reformed Decent Homes Standard to private renting, but both need further regulations and have no confirmed start date.

What has changed already: since 1 May 2026, section 21 no-fault evictions have ended in England and assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies. Upgrades now usually happen with a tenant in place. See the Renters’ Rights Act and energy upgrades.

Wales: what differs

The broad shape is similar in Wales, but the legal route differs.

• Contracts. Most tenancies are occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Section 92 covers keeping service installations, including those for space heating and heating water, in repair.
• Fitness. The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 came into force on 1 December 2022. The Welsh Government’s landlord guidance lists 29 matters and circumstances, including excess cold.
• Alarms. Smoke alarms on every storey, connected to the electrical supply and interlinked. A carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a gas, oil or solid fuel burning appliance.
• Electrics. Testing every 5 years unless the previous report says sooner.
• Gas safety. Regulation 36 applies in Wales as well.
• Renters’ Rights Act. Its changes apply to England only.

What the law does not require

Some things landlords are told they must do are not in these sources:

• No current law requires a heat pump.
• HSE says no legionella test certificate is required.
• A home with no gas appliance or flue has nothing for a gas safety check to cover.
• There is no statutory room temperature in section 11; the 21°C and 18°C figures are an HHSRS baseline indicator.

When this is not the right answer

This page is a heating-focused summary, not a full list of every landlord duty, and it is not legal advice. Licensing, deposits, right to rent, HMO management and tenancy rules sit outside it. If you face an improvement notice, a disrepair claim or a complex building, take advice from a solicitor or the council’s private housing team before acting. And if the heating works today and the EPC is above E, a heat pump may not be your most urgent job.

Next step

To see what a heat pump would cost to run in your property, try the heat pump landlord calculator. Or send an enquiry and relevant independent firms will contact you, with no charge to you and no obligation.