No Heating And No Hot Water Compensation Claims NO WIN NO FEE
Is your home without heating or hot water and your landlord will not act. Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 this is treated as an emergency repair, and you can launch a formal no heating or hot water compensation claim to force a fix and secure a fair payout without paying any upfront legal fees.
- Genuine No Win No Fee representation
- Emergency repairs treated as a priority case
- Free independent boiler and heating inspection
- Over ninety eight percent success rate
Tenants Left Without Heating Are Entitled To Urgent Repairs And Compensation
Heating and hot water are treated in law as essential services, not comforts. A landlord who fails to fix a broken boiler or a dead heating system within a reasonable time is exposing tenants to real health risks, particularly the very young, the elderly and anyone with a respiratory condition.
Our legal panel forces landlords and councils to treat these reports as the emergency they are and recovers fair compensation for the period a home was left cold on a genuine no-win-no-fee basis.
The Window Social Landlords In England Must Act Within For An Emergency Hazard
Signs Your Heating Or Hot Water Problem Is Being Mishandled
Complete loss of heating or hot water for more than a few days
Your landlord has been told but sent no engineer
You have been left relying on portable heaters or boiling a kettle to wash
A vulnerable household member, a child, an elderly person or someone unwell
Repeated outages with only a temporary fix each time
No written confirmation of when the repair will happen
Increased electricity bills from emergency heating
Symptoms such as a persistent cough or worsened breathing since the outage
If your home has been without heating or hot water for more than a few days, your landlord is very likely already in breach of their duty
Types of Heating and Hot Water Failure We Handle
Total Boiler Breakdown
A complete failure of the boiler leaving the whole property without heating and hot water, treated as an emergency hazard under the law.
Intermittent Heating Faults
A system that cuts out repeatedly or only partially heats the home, often dismissed by
Hot Water Only Failures
Heating may work while hot water fails entirely, still a breach of the landlord's duty to maintain installations for hot water under Section 11.
Your Rights Under Awaab's Law and the Landlord and Tenant Act
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires every landlord to keep heating and hot water installations in repair. Where you rent from a council or housing association in England, Awaab's Law requires the home to be made safe within 24 hours once an emergency hazard such as total loss of heating is reported, with a full investigation and repair to follow on strict statutory timescales.
If your landlord is failing to fix your heating or hot water, you are legally entitled to force repairs and recover compensation through the court
What the Law Requires
Treat It As An Emergency
A total loss of heating or hot water must be treated as urgent, with social landlords in England required to make the home safe within 24 hours.
Carry Out A Full Repair
A temporary fix is not enough, the underlying fault must be properly resolved within statutory or reasonable timescales.
Keep You Informed
You are entitled to updates on what is being done and by when at every stage of the process.
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, Section 11
Requires every landlord to keep heating and hot water installations in proper working order.
Awaab's Law (Social Housing Regulation Act 2023
Requires social landlords in England to make an emergency hazard such as total heating loss safe within 24 hours.
Housing Health and Safety Rating System
Classes excess cold as a category 1 hazard, giving councils enforcement powers
Average Compensation Payouts
| Severity Level | Estimated Compensation Range |
|---|---|
| Short outage, one room affected, quickly resolve | £2,500 to £5,000 |
| Moderate outage, intermittent heating or partial hot water loss | £5,000 to £9,000 |
| Severe outage, total loss of heating and hot water over winter or affecting a vulnerable household | £9,000 to £16,000 or more |
How We Handle Your Heating Claim
Emergency Triage
We assess urgent cases within hours, not days, given the health risk involved.
Gathering Evidence
Compiling photos, engineer reports and every message sent to your landlord.
Independent Inspection
Arranging a professional heating and boiler assessment at no cost to you.
Formal Legal Notice
Issuing a formal letter of claim demanding urgent repair and fair compensation.
Repair And Settlement
Securing a completed repair and your final compensation payment.
Why Choose Us For Your Heating Claim
Emergency Response Specialists
We understand heating and hot water failures cannot wait, and prioritise these cases accordingly.
True No Win No Fee
You face absolutely no financial risk when starting your claim, our success fee is capped and agreed transparently beforehand.
Complete Resolution
We do not settle until your heating is properly repaired and your home is safe and warm again.
What Our Clients Say About Our Services
“My boiler broke in December and my housing association kept telling me someone would come out. After three weeks with no heating, this team stepped in and I received nine hundred pounds within a few months”
— Michael Osei, Manchester
“My elderly mother went five weeks without hot water in her council flat. The team treated it as the emergency it was and we settled for one thousand six hundred pounds plus a full boiler replacement”
— Linda Marsh, Sheffield
“A highly professional team who explained everything clearly. They forced my landlord to fix a completely dead heating system and I received seven hundred and fifty pounds.”
— Aaron Whitfield, Manchester
Common Myths About No Heating Or Hot Water Claims
The Myth That A Broken Boiler Is Just An Inconvenience
Loss of heating or hot water is legally treated as an emergency hazard, particularly where a vulnerable person lives in the property.
The Myth That You Must Withhold Rent To Force Action
Withholding rent risks eviction proceedings. A formal complaint and legal letter is the safer and more effective route.
The Myth That Nothing Can Be Done Until Repairs Are Complete
You can start a compensation claim for the period already suffered while repairs are still being arranged.
Recent Claim Successes
Five Week Heating Outage Resolved
A tenant reported a total boiler failure in November. The council initially treated it as routine rather than urgent. A formal legal letter citing the emergency hazard rules forced an engineer out within days and secured a fair settlement
Hot Water Failure With Health Impac
A tenant with a respiratory condition went without hot water for over a month. Medical evidence combined with a clear timeline of ignored reports supported a stronger settlement than the initial council offer.
We Help Tenants Nationwide
Other Housing Disrepair Issues We Take on No Win No Fee
Everything You Need To Know About Claiming For No Heating Or Hot Water
A no-heating or no-hot-water compensation claim is the legal route a tenant can take when a landlord, council, or housing association has been told the heating or hot water system has failed and has not fixed it within a reasonable time. Because heating and hot water are essential services, the law treats this differently to a cosmetic repair, the clock for a landlord to act runs in days, not weeks.
You do not need to have moved out, and you do not need a medical diagnosis to start a claim, though a documented health impact will usually increase the value of your case.
Reporting It Yourself Compared With Making A Formal Claim
| Reporting Directly To Your Landlord | Making A Formal Compensation Claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who investigates | Landlord's own contractor | Independent survey where needed, backed by a formal letter of claim |
| Typical response speed | Often delayed beyond the 24 to 48 hour urgent window | A formal legal letter usually forces a faster substantive reply |
| Compensation offered | Rarely offered without a formal claim | Calculated properly as a percentage of rent plus any extra costs |
| Cost to you | Free but low pressure on the landlord | No Win No Fee, no upfront cost |
| Enforcement backing | Complaint only | Backed by Section 11, Awaab's Law where it applies, and council enforcement powers |
Direct Answer: A UK tenant left without heating or hot water can claim compensation from a landlord, council or housing association who fails to fix it within a reasonable time, typically calculated as 25 to 100 percent of rent for the affected period depending on severity, plus reimbursed costs such as portable heaters, pursued on a No Win No Fee basis.
How Fast Your Landlord Has To Act
Council and housing association landlords in England must treat a total loss of heating or hot water as an emergency hazard under Awaab's Law, in force since 27 October 2025, which requires the home to be made safe within 24 hours of being told. This does not apply in Wales or Scotland, or to private landlords, though private tenants are still protected under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the general standard of a reasonable time to fix, usually within 24 to 48 hours for a genuine emergency.
A Real Example Of What Happens When A Landlord Gets This Wrong
An independent statutory ruling published in May 2025, case reference 202343128, found severe failings after Hackney Council failed to treat a heating and hot water complaint as an emergency, leaving a resident with asthma without heating and hot water for five months including over winter. Cases like this show why a formal legal letter, rather than repeated phone calls, often moves a landlord to act.
How Much Compensation Can You Claim
Compensation is usually calculated as a percentage of the rent you paid during the period the home was without proper heating or hot water. Moderate cases, such as intermittent outages or one usable warm room, typically settle at 25 to 50 percent of the affected rent. Severe cases, such as a total loss of heating and hot water across the whole home during winter with a long delay, can reach 50 to 100 percent of the affected rent. On top of this you can claim back the cost of portable heaters, higher electricity bills and, where relevant, alternative accommodation.
A Worked Example
A tenant paying £1,000 a month went two months without heating over winter. At a moderate rate of 40 percent of the affected rent, that comes to £800, plus £150 for two portable heaters and higher electricity use, bringing the total close to £950. A more severe case affecting the whole home for a similar period could realistically reach £1,000 or more before any additional health related damages.
The Law Behind Every Heating And Hot Water Claim
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places a strict duty on all landlords to keep space heating and hot water installations in proper working order. Excess cold is also a recognised category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, giving councils the power to issue an improvement notice. Since 1 May 2026, under the Renters Rights Act 2025 enforcement changes, a landlord who ignores an improvement notice faces a civil penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution, a significant increase on the previous enforcement regime.
When To Use The Council Instead Of A Full Claim
Where a boiler has been condemned or is chronically broken, reporting the property to your local council's environmental health team under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 can sometimes force action faster than a full compensation claim, since the council can serve a notice directly. This does not replace a compensation claim; the two can run alongside each other.
Starting Your No Win No Fee Claim
Starting a claim costs nothing upfront. A conditional fee agreement means your solicitor is only paid if the claim succeeds, with the success fee capped and explained before you sign anything, so pursuing both the repair and the compensation carries no financial risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can my landlord leave me without heating or hot water?
How much compensation can I realistically expect to receive?
Can I claim compensation if my council will not fix my boiler?
How much compensation can I get for no hot water in a housing association property?
Do I need to prove a health impact to claim for broken heating?
Can I report a broken boiler to the council as well as making a claim?
Do Not Spend Another Night Without Heating
Get your free no obligation heating claim assessment. We work on a genuine No Win No Fee basis, protecting social and private tenants nationwide.