What Maintenance Should Landlords Carry Out Regularly?
Four checks run on a fixed cycle: a gas safety check every 12 months, an EICR at least every five years, alarms tested on the first day of each tenancy, and a legionella risk assessment kept under review. Everything else, from gutters to boiler servicing, is discretionary until an insurer asks why you never did it.
The statutory list is short and the discretionary list is long, which is why most landlords get the certificates right and the building fabric wrong.
This guide sets out what to do, when to do it, what to budget, and where a skipped job turns into a declined claim.
Four jobs run on a fixed cycle: a gas safety check every twelve months, an EICR at least every five years, alarms tested on the first day of each tenancy and a legionella risk assessment kept under review. Everything else is discretionary until an insurer asks why you never did it. Gutters, roofs and boiler servicing earn their keep, because slow leaks and damp get treated as gradual damage and fall outside the policy. Keep dated invoices and photographs, since a maintenance record is often what turns a disputed claim into a paid one.
Compare landlord insurance quotes once your checks are up to date.
- Which safety checks does the law require and how often?
- What should you check inside the property every year?
- Which outside jobs prevent the most expensive claims?
- What does an annual maintenance calendar look like?
- How much should you budget for maintenance each year?
- Why do insurers decline claims for gradual damage?
- Can you claim maintenance costs against tax?
- What happens if you let maintenance slip?
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Which safety checks does the law require and how often?
Gas annually, electrics every five years, alarms at the start of every tenancy, and a legionella assessment reviewed when the water system or the occupancy changes. Only the gas check needs a certificate from an outside engineer every year.
The statutory cycle at a glance
| Check | What the law requires | Interval | Evidence to keep |
| Gas safety | Every gas appliance, fitting and flue checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer | Every 12 months | Landlord Gas Safety Record, kept until two further checks have been done |
| Electrical installation | An EICR by a qualified person under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 | At least every 5 years | Report to tenants within 28 days and to the council within 7 days of a request |
| Smoke and CO alarms | One smoke alarm on each storey, plus a CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker | Tested on the first day of the tenancy, repaired once reported faulty | Dated photograph or a signed check-in sheet |
| Legionella | A written risk assessment of the water system under health and safety law | Reviewed when the system, the tenants or the void pattern changes | Your own assessment notes, no certificate required |
| Structure and exterior | Repair of roof, walls, drains, gutters and external pipes | Ongoing duty throughout the tenancy | Inspection notes, invoices and dated photographs |
The gas duty sits in regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and HSE guidance for landlords confirms the record must reach existing tenants within 28 days and new tenants before they move in.
Use a Gas Safe registered engineer and book the visit two or three weeks early, because the 12 months runs from the last check rather than from the certificate date.
The 2020 electrical safety regulations set the five year EICR interval, and any C1 or C2 code has to be put right within 28 days. Get quotes from a qualified electrician before the report lands, not after.
Alarm duties come from the 2015 regulations as amended in 2022, and the government booklet for landlords is the clearest summary of where each unit has to go.
The legionella duty most landlords get wrong
There is no such thing as a legionella certificate for a normal domestic let. The HSE is explicit that health and safety law does not require landlords to buy one, and that testing is only needed in unusual cases.
What you do need is a written assessment of the hot and cold water system, which a competent landlord can usually do without a contractor. Review it after a long void, a new cylinder or a change of occupancy.
Licensed HMOs carry extra conditions on top of all of this, including fire doors and communal area checks, and they need HMO insurance rather than a standard landlord policy.
What should you check inside the property every year?
Heating, water and ventilation. Those three systems generate most emergency call-outs and almost every complaint that ends up in front of a council officer.
Heating, hot water and the boiler
Book the boiler service on the same visit as the gas safety check, because the check tests for safety and the service tests for condition. A serviced boiler is far less likely to trigger an out-of-hours home emergency call-out in January.
Ask the engineer to clean the magnetic filter, check the system pressure and confirm the expansion vessel is holding. Bleed the radiators and test the thermostat and timer before the heating season starts.
Plumbing, leaks and frost protection
Escape of water is the most frequent landlord claim, and most of it starts somewhere a plumber could have found in ten minutes. Check under every sink, behind the washing machine and around the toilet pan connector.
Show your tenant where the stopcock is at check-in and write it into the inventory. Lag exposed pipework in lofts, garages and outbuildings before November.
Damp, condensation and ventilation
Test every extractor fan by holding a sheet of paper against the grille. A fan that will not hold the paper is not moving enough air, and that is how a bathroom turns into a mould complaint.
Sections 60 and 61 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 create a power to set fixed timescales for investigating and fixing serious hazards in private rented homes. Those timescales are being phased in by regulations, so log every damp report with the date you received it.
Which outside jobs prevent the most expensive claims?
Gutters, roof, drains and trees. Four jobs that cost a few hundred pounds a year and sit directly behind the four largest repair bills landlords face.
Gutters, roof and rainwater goods
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes you responsible for the structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes. That duty does not pause because the tenant never mentioned the overflowing downpipe.
Clear gutters twice a year and have a roofer look at flashings, ridge tiles and valleys every spring. A blocked gutter soaks the wall below it for months before anything shows inside.
Drains and underground pipes
Lift the inspection chamber covers once a year and run a tap to check the flow. A CCTV survey every three years costs less than a single collapsed drain excavation.
Root ingress and fat build-up are the two usual causes, and both are cheap to jet before the pipe fails. Tell tenants in writing what must not go down the sink.
Trees, roots and subsidence risk
On clay soils, a mature tree within about 10 metres of the building can dry the ground enough to cause seasonal movement. A tree surgeon or grounds contractor who crown-reduces on a three year cycle is cheaper than one subsidence claim and the excess that comes with it.
Poplars, willows and oaks are the worst offenders. Never fell a mature tree next to a building without advice, because heave can do as much damage as shrinkage.
| Preventive job | Typical cost | What it prevents | Typical bill if you skip it |
| Gutter clearance, twice a year | £80 to £150 a visit | Saturated walls, rotten fascias, internal damp | £1,500 to £6,000 of damp remediation, usually uninsured |
| Annual boiler service | £80 to £120 | Mid-winter breakdown and flue faults | £1,800 to £3,500 to replace, plus emergency accommodation |
| Roof inspection and tile replacement | £150 to £400 | Water ingress through slipped or cracked tiles | £2,500 to £9,000 in ceilings, plaster and flooring |
| Drain survey and jetting, every 3 years | £180 to £350 | Blocked or collapsed underground drainage | £3,000 to £12,000 for excavation and relining |
| Lagging pipes and loft tanks | £60 to £200 | A burst pipe during a cold snap | £2,000 to £9,000 in drying, replastering and lost rent |
| Crown reduction of nearby trees | £250 to £600 a tree | Clay shrinkage and seasonal movement | £6,000 to £15,000 subsidence claim, plus a £1,000 excess |
| External decoration, every 5 years | £1,200 to £3,000 | Rotten frames, sills and water penetration | £4,000 or more in window replacement and internal repair |
What does an annual maintenance calendar look like?
Roughly one job a month, plus two formal inspections. Front-load the outside work into spring and autumn, because that is when the weather does the damage.
The twelve-month cycle
| Month | Job | Who does it |
| January | Check for frost damage, condensation and mould reports | You |
| February | Chase outstanding EICR or gas remedial work | Contractor |
| March | Roof, flashings and rainwater goods inspection after winter | Roofer |
| April | Clear gutters, first formal inspection, check external paintwork | You and a contractor |
| May | Review the legionella assessment if occupancy has changed | You |
| June | Service provided appliances and test every extractor fan | Electrician |
| July | Paths, steps, boundary fences and outbuildings | You |
| August | Crown-reduce trees and shrubs close to the building | Tree surgeon |
| September | Gas safety check and boiler service, lag exposed pipes | Gas Safe engineer |
| October | Clear gutters again, second formal inspection, check drains | You and a drainage contractor |
| November | Run the heating under load and brief tenants on frost precautions | You |
| December | Keep paths clear, respond to damp reports within days | You |
Fitting inspections around a periodic tenancy
Two formal inspections a year is the accepted standard, and you must give at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering. Every tenancy has been a periodic assured tenancy since 1 May 2026, so the inspection right comes from the agreement rather than from a fixed term.
Photograph every room with a date stamp and write up what you found the same day. That file is what settles a deposit dispute or an insurance query two years later.
How much should you budget for maintenance each year?
Set aside 10% to 15% of gross annual rent, or about 1% of the property’s value, whichever is higher. On a £1,100 a month let that is £1,320 to £1,980 a year before you count a penny of profit.
Working the number out for your property
A 1990s flat with a five year old boiler sits at the bottom of that range. A pre-1919 terrace with sash windows, a slate roof and a solid floor sits well above it, closer to 20% in the years a big job lands.
Compare that against your premium, because landlord insurance costs of £150 to £400 a year are a fraction of what upkeep takes. The insurance is the tail risk, the maintenance budget is the running cost.
Lenders assume the same thing when they stress-test a buy-to-let mortgage, which is part of why the rent has to clear the interest by a wide margin.
Why a float beats a monthly budget
Maintenance does not arrive in even monthly slices. It arrives as £120 of nothing much for eleven months and then a £3,000 boiler in February.
Hold a float of around £2,000 per property in a separate account and top it up from each month’s rent. Boilers last 12 to 15 years, a roof covering 40 to 60, and a rewire 25 to 30, so plan the replacements rather than reacting to them.
Why do insurers decline claims for gradual damage?
Because a landlord policy insures sudden and unforeseen events, and excludes wear, rot and anything that has been developing slowly. A slate lifted by a named storm is a claim; the same slate loose for three years is a repair bill.
The wording that catches landlords out
Almost every policy carries a gradually operating cause exclusion and a condition requiring you to keep the property in good repair. That pairing is why what landlord insurance covers is narrower than most landlords assume.
The classic decline is a ceiling that comes down after a slow roof leak. The loss adjuster looks at the staining, dates it to several winters, and treats the cause as a maintenance failure rather than a peril.
Failing to declare a known defect works the same way as any other act that invalidates a policy. One-off tenant mishaps are a different matter and usually need accidental damage cover added to the schedule.
The records that get a claim paid
Keep dated photographs of each inspection, every contractor invoice, and a log of tenant reports with the date you responded. Three years of gutter invoices ends the argument about whether the damp was sudden.
Store it all in one folder per property, not in an email inbox. Adjusters ask for the maintenance history first and the claim form second.
Can you claim maintenance costs against tax?
Repairs come off your rental income in the year you pay them. Improvements do not, and the line between the two is where most landlords get the return wrong.
Repairs versus improvements
HMRC guidance on working out your rental income treats a repair as anything that restores the property to its original condition. Replacing storm-damaged roof tiles, swapping out a broken-down boiler and redecorating between tenants are all allowable.
Capital expenditure is anything you add that was not there before, or an upgrade to a higher specification. An extension, a first-time security system and a better kitchen than the one you took out all fall on the capital side.
The useful exception is the modern equivalent rule. Swapping a single-glazed window for double glazing stays allowable, because the improvement is incidental to the repair.
Replacement of domestic items relief
Furnished lets get a separate relief for replacing beds, sofas, white goods, curtains and crockery. It covers replacements only, so the first sofa you ever put in the property is not deductible.
If the new item is an upgrade you can only deduct the cost of a like-for-like replacement. This is general information rather than tax advice, so check your own position with an accountant.
What happens if you let maintenance slip?
A council improvement notice, a civil penalty, or a tenant claim under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. The maximum penalty for ignoring an improvement notice now reaches £40,000.
Council enforcement and civil penalties
Local authorities assess hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and can serve an improvement notice under the Housing Act 2004. Ignoring it is an offence, and section 249A allows a civil penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution.
Gas breaches sit separately and carry an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. Alarm breaches attract a penalty of up to £5,000 for failing to comply with a remedial notice.
The tenant’s own route to court
Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 a tenant can sue without involving the council, and the court can order the works plus compensation. Legal expenses cover funds the defence, but it will not pay for the repairs you should have done.
Disrepair is also the most common reason a tenant stops paying, which is where rent guarantee insurance earns its place. Fix the fabric first, because no insurer will underwrite arrears caused by a property nobody wants to live in.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You cover the structure, exterior, heating, plumbing, electrics and anything you supplied. Tenants cover damage they cause, light bulbs, and keeping the property ventilated and clean.
Twice a year is the working standard, usually spring and autumn, with 24 hours’ written notice each time. More frequent visits are reasonable in the first six months of a new tenancy.
No. The HSE states plainly that health and safety law does not require a legionella test certificate, only a proportionate written risk assessment you keep under review.
Yes, if the boiler provides heating or hot water. You must keep it in repair and in proper working order, and get it checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Every three to five years for a standard let, or at the end of each tenancy for high-turnover student and city-centre property. Redecoration between tenants is an allowable expense.
A tenant can refuse a routine inspection, and you cannot force entry. Keep offering reasonable dates in writing, because a refusal log matters if the property later shows disrepair.
No. Policies pay for sudden damage from insured perils, not for servicing, decorating or replacing worn-out parts.
Usually the tenant for mowing and weeding, and you for trees, boundary walls and structural features. Write the split into the tenancy agreement to avoid an argument at check-out.
The test is a reasonable time from the day you were told, judged against the severity. Loss of heating or hot water in winter is days, not weeks.
You are if the infestation stems from a defect such as a hole in the brickwork or a broken drain. A problem caused by how the tenant stores food is usually theirs.
No. An all-electric property needs no gas certificate, but it still needs the five-yearly EICR and working alarms.
You can do decorating, gutter clearance and general upkeep. Gas work needs a Gas Safe engineer and the EICR needs a qualified person, whatever your own trade background is.