Get your rental properties winter-ready

Before winter, a landlord should make sure every property's gas safety record is in date, that appliances have been serviced, that air vents are clear and carbon monoxide alarms are working, and that tenants know how to report a fault fast. Sorting it as autumn comes in avoids the December scramble.

Check the compliance basics

• Is every property's gas safety record in date, with the next-due date noted? Book anything due before spring now, while engineers still have room.
• Have your tenants had their copy of the latest record? Existing tenants are owed one within 28 days of each check; a new tenant before they move in.
• Are the carbon monoxide alarms working and in date, and the air vents clear and unblocked?

Get the heating ready before it's needed

A boiler that has sat idle all summer is exactly the one that fails on the first cold night. A service now, separate from the safety check, catches the small faults before they become a no-heat call-out in December.

• Book annual boiler services before the autumn rush fills every diary.
• Ask tenants to run the heating for an hour now, so any fault shows up while it's still easy to get an engineer out.
• Lag any exposed condensate pipework: a frozen condensate pipe is one of the most common, and most avoidable, winter breakdowns.

Make it easy for tenants to tell you

Most winter emergencies get worse because no one reported the early warning sign. Make sure your tenants know how to reach you or your agent fast, and that they won't be a nuisance for flagging a smell of gas, a dropping boiler pressure or an alarm going off. A two-line message now can save a burst-weekend later.