Seasonal · October to March
Winter is when property costs spike. Most of it is preventable.
Almost every winter emergency we attend was visible in September to anyone who went and looked. This is what to check, when to check it, and the small number of things that cause most of the damage.
The date that changes everything is 1 October. From then until 31 March, Manchester City Council treat a loss of heating or hot water in their own stock as an emergency repair rather than a routine one. No private landlord is bound by that timetable, but it is the benchmark a tenant, a council officer or a tribunal is most likely to measure you against, so it is worth working to.
Where the money goes
What is worth doing before it gets cold
In rough order of how much they cost when they are skipped. The first two account for a remarkable share of every winter call-out, and neither of them is expensive to prevent.
August to September
From 1 October a heating failure stops being an inconvenience and becomes an emergency - that is the line Manchester City Council draw for their own tenants, and it is a fair benchmark for any landlord. The cheapest winter is always the one where the boiler was serviced in September.
- Book the annual service and the gas safety record before the rush, not during it
- Run the heating through a full cycle while it is still mild, so a fault shows up now
- Bleed the radiators and check system pressure and the expansion vessel
- Check the thermostat and every radiator valve actually opens and closes
- Replace a boiler that is already unreliable rather than nursing it through to March
The first hard frost
A condensing boiler drains acidic water away through a narrow plastic condensate pipe. Where that pipe runs outside, a hard frost freezes it solid, the boiler locks out on a fault code and the heating stops. This is the single most common reason a modern boiler dies overnight in a cold snap, and more often than not nothing has actually broken.
- Thaw the pipe with warm water poured along its length, never boiling water
- A covered hot water bottle or a hand warmer held against the pipe also works
- Reset the boiler once, after the pipe is clear and draining freely
- Lag any external run properly, with waterproof pipe insulation
- Where it freezes every year, have the pipe re-routed internally or upsized
Any sustained freeze
Water expands as it freezes and splits the pipe from the inside. The damage almost never shows while it is cold - it appears on the thaw, which is why a burst is so often found days later and several floors down. Escape of water is among the most expensive claims a property owner can make.
- Find the internal stopcock now, and check that it actually turns
- Lag pipework and cisterns in lofts, garages, cellars and any unheated space
- Leave the loft hatch ajar in a hard freeze so warm air reaches the tank
- Never switch the heating off entirely - hold a low background temperature instead
- Label the stopcock, so a tenant or a neighbour can find it without you
All winter
A void is where winter does the most expensive damage, because a burst can run unnoticed for weeks. It is also where insurers look hardest. An unoccupied property clause is one of the easiest ways to lose a claim you assumed you had.
- Either hold a low set point on a frost thermostat, or drain the system down properly
- Read the unoccupied property conditions in the policy before deciding which
- Arrange a physical inspection at least weekly and keep a dated record of it
- Isolate the water at the stopcock if the property has been drained down
- Clear the letterbox and keep the frontage looking lived in
October to March
Cold surfaces and moist air make condensation, and condensation is what feeds mould. Damp or mould is the most commonly reported problem in rented homes, and for social landlords it now sits on a statutory clock. Painting over it is not a repair.
- Check extract fans in kitchens and bathrooms actually move air, not just make noise
- Open up trickle vents that have been painted, screwed or taped shut
- Show the tenant how the ventilation is meant to be used, and record that you did
- Treat any mould report as urgent and investigate the cause behind it
- Insulate cold bridges rather than redecorating the same wall every spring
Before the first named storm
Autumn leaves block gutters, blocked gutters overflow, and an overflowing gutter soaks the same patch of wall for five months. Most winter roof emergencies were visible in October to anyone who went and looked.
- Clear gutters, hoppers and downpipes once the leaves are down
- Check flashings, verges, ridge tiles and any flat roof for ponding or splits
- Secure loose aerials, fence panels, bin stores and gates before a storm is named
- Photograph the roof while it is sound, so later storm damage can be evidenced
- Get work at height done in settled weather rather than in an emergency
All winter
Short days and icy paths change the risk profile of a block completely. Communal lighting, escape routes and slip hazards all matter more between October and March, and they are the things residents notice first.
- Test emergency lighting and the fire alarm before the clocks go back
- Check communal lighting on the routes people actually walk in the dark
- Arrange gritting for paths, steps, ramps and bin stores
- Service district heating plant or booster pumps ahead of the load
- Confirm the lift emergency phone connects, and that somebody answers it
Late September
A great deal of winter damage is made worse by a delay in reporting it, or by nobody in the property knowing where the stopcock is. One page sent out in September is the cheapest insurance available, and if a dispute ever turns on it you can show that the advice was given.
- Tell them where the stopcock, the consumer unit and the gas meter handle are
- Explain the condensate pipe, so a lockout is not automatically a midnight call-out
- Give one clear route for reporting a repair, and say what you treat as an emergency
- Set out how to ventilate without losing all the heat, in plain language
- Ask them to test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and report a dead one
Month by month
A calendar that actually works
Spread across the season rather than crammed into a panic in December.
Get ahead of it
Service the boiler and renew the gas safety record before the rush. Clear the gutters once the leaves are down, and get any work at height done while the weather still allows a safe ladder. Everything on this list is cheaper and easier now than it will be in January.
Close it up
Lag external condensate pipes and any exposed pipework in lofts, garages and cellars. Test every extract fan and open up blocked trickle vents. Check emergency lighting and the fire alarm in blocks before the clocks go back and the dark evenings start.
Hold the line
Keep a low background temperature rather than switching the heating off. Watch for condensation and act on any mould report the day it arrives. Inspect void properties weekly, keep communal paths gritted, and know where every stopcock is before you need one.
Find the damage
The thaw is when frozen pipe damage finally shows itself. Walk every property looking for staining, blown plaster and lifted flooring. Book the storm repairs, the gutter work and the roof repointing now, so next autumn starts from a sound building.
Why it is worth the effort
The shape of a winter call-out
Figures from a business insurance survey of around five hundred UK landlords. They are indicative of the pattern rather than a guarantee of any individual cost, and they are quoted here because the ranking is consistent year on year: heating first, water second, and most of it happening when the office is shut.
The one nobody expects
If the boiler dies overnight, check this before you call anyone
A condensing boiler drains acidic water away through a narrow plastic condensate pipe. Where that pipe runs outside, a hard frost freezes it solid, the boiler locks out on a fault code and the heating stops dead. It is the single most common reason a modern boiler fails in a cold snap, and nothing has actually broken.
Thawing the pipe and resetting the boiler often puts it straight back into service. That is worth two minutes before anyone pays for an out-of-hours visit, and it is worth telling your tenants about in October rather than at midnight in December.
- Find the white or grey plastic pipe running from the boiler through the wall to a drain or a gully
- Pour warm water along its length, working from the lower end upwards
- Never use boiling water, and never use a naked flame or a heat gun on it
- A covered hot water bottle or a hand warmer held against the pipe works just as well
- Once it is draining freely, reset the boiler once and give it a few minutes
- If it locks out again, stop and get a Gas Safe engineer to it
Do not attempt this on a ladder, in the dark, or on a pipe you cannot reach comfortably from the ground. Nothing here is a substitute for a Gas Safe engineer, and no part of the boiler itself should be opened.
It has already gone wrong
The symptom-led emergency guide. What counts as an emergency, what to do in the first minute, which isolation point to find, and the numbers to call before ours.
Go to the emergency guideDamp, mould and the legal clock
Winter is mould season, and mould is now on a statutory timetable. The compliance guide sets out the duties, the timescales and who is allowed to certify what.
Read the compliance guide