Landlord plumbing responsibilities: a practical guide
In England and Wales, landlords are responsible for keeping the installations for water supply, sanitation, space heating and hot water in repair and proper working order, and for annual gas safety checks on gas appliances by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Tenant misuse — such as items flushed into a drain — can commonly be recharged, but disrepair cannot.
Key facts
- Landlord
- Pipework, heating, hot water, sanitaryware and repairs from wear
- Tenant
- Misuse blockages and reporting faults promptly
- Gas appliances
- Gas Safe registered engineers only
- Attendance
- £99 in standard hours including the first hour, £95 per hour after
- Reporting
- Itemised invoice describing cause and remedy for recharge or claims
Common recharge decisions
| Symptom | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Wipes or sanitary items in the WC | Normally recharged to the tenant as misuse. |
| Root ingress or a collapsed drain | Landlord — a defect, not misuse. |
| Failed flexi tail or valve | Landlord — component wear. |
| Frozen pipe in an unheated empty property | Depends on the tenancy terms and whether heating instructions were followed. |
What a call-out costs
| Item | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard hours (8am–6pm, Mon–Fri) | £99 | Call-out including the first hour on site |
| Evening (6pm–10pm) | £129 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Night (10pm–8am) | £169 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Saturday | £129 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Sunday | £149 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Bank holidays | £199 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Each further hour | £95 | Same rate in every band, day or night |
| Parts | At cost plus margin | Itemised on the invoice |
What normally sits with the landlord
Repairing obligations under the standard statutory framework cover the installations, not the tenant's belongings.
- • Water supply pipework, stop taps, tanks and cylinders.
- • Sanitary fittings — basins, sinks, baths, WCs — and their waste pipes.
- • Space heating and hot water installations, including boilers and radiators.
- • Drainage that serves the property, up to the point where responsibility passes to the water company.
- • An annual gas safety check on gas appliances and flues, with a record given to the tenant.
What can usually be recharged
The distinction is cause, not cost. A blockage caused by wipes, fat or foreign objects is misuse; a blockage caused by collapsed or badly laid pipework is disrepair. An itemised invoice that records which one it was is what makes a recharge stick.
Keeping reactive work simple
Most landlord disputes come from process, not plumbing. Agreeing a spend limit up front, letting us liaise with the tenant directly for access, and getting an itemised invoice per property removes almost all of it.
- • Set a spend limit we can work to without calling you mid-job.
- • Give us the tenant's number so access is arranged once, not three times.
- • Ask for photos where the fault is hidden — useful for both records and recharges.
- • Invoice per property so the cost lands against the right address.
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