Annual maintenance of heating equipment: what rules for the tenant?

Verified 02 December 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

As a tenant, you must have your boiler serviced annually. The boilers concerned are oil, gas, wood, coal or multi-fuel boilers with a power output of between 4 and 400 kilowatts. This obligation also applies to your heat pump and heating apparatus with ventilation. In the absence of maintenance, your lessor may withhold the amount of maintenance from the security deposit. The insurer may refuse to compensate you in the event of a loss.

The maintenance of heating equipment is aimed at avoiding the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

This gas is invisible and odorless. It causes headache, nausea, and dizziness and can be fatal.

It is caused by poorly maintained equipment associated with poor ventilation of the dwelling.

FYI  

in case of suspicion of intoxication, you must ventilate your home, stop the combustion appliances and call for help.

Who shall I contact

  • Firefighters - 18

    By telephone

    Dial 18 in the event of an emergency involving a fire, a motor vehicle accident, a domestic accident, an explosion or release of toxic gases or vapors, a person at risk, drowning or flooding.

    From a mobile phone, dial 112.

Who shall I contact

  • Samu - 15

    For medical emergencies

    By telephone

     15

    Free call from landline and mobile in Metropolitan France and Overseas

    Works 24/7

The maintenance obligation concerns the following equipment:

  • Oil, gas, wood, coal, multi-fuel boiler with a power output of 4 to 400 kilowatts
  • Heat pump
  • Heating apparatus with ventilation

As a renter, you must hire a driver of your choice to maintain your heating equipment.

However, the lease may provide that it is the lessor who must call on a driver of his choice.

FYI  

for communal facilities, it is the owner of the building or the condominium pool who must call on a driver of his choice.

Annual maintenance consists of checking your heating equipment and, if necessary, cleaning and adjusting it.

This interview also includes an assessment of the following:

  • Efficiency of your heating equipment
  • Good dimensioning of the heat generator in relation to your heating needs. This assessment is not required if the heating system and your heating needs have not changed since the last maintenance.
  • Emissions of air pollutants from your heating equipment (carbon monoxide - CO)

The heater must also check whether or not your heating equipment has a thermostat and whether it is in good working order. In addition, it must check whether the heating or cooling networks are properly insulated.

At the end of the maintenance visit, the driver must provide you with some advice. These tips should include how to use your heating equipment properly, how to improve its installation, and whether replacing it can reduce energy consumption and polluting emissions.

The driver must provide you with a maintenance certificate within 15 days of his visit. This document can be delivered in dematerialized form (mail). It must be stored for a minimum of 2 years.

The advice given by the driver shall be entered on or attached to the maintenance certificate. Such advice shall be given by way of indication and shall not be binding except where an abnormally high carbon monoxide content is found.

The maintenance of your heating equipment must be done every calendar year.

In case of replacement of your equipment or installation of new equipment, 1er Maintenance must be completed no later than the calendar year following the replacement or installation.

Example :

You settled a new boiler on January 2, 2022. You must perform the 1er interview by 31 december 2023.

If, when measuring CO in ambient air, CO content between 10 ppm (parts per million) and 50 ppm, the situation is estimated abnormal. The heater should inform you that further investigations concerning the drawing of the smoke duct and ventilation of the dwelling are necessary. These investigations may be carried out during the visit or may be the subject of additional services.

If a CO content is greater than or equal to 50 ppm, the situation highlights a serious and immediate danger. The heater must then advise you that the heating equipment must be turned off until it is returned to service under normal operating conditions.

There is no penalty in the regulations for not maintaining your equipment on an annual basis. No fine is therefore applicable.

However, if you do not submit a maintenance certificate, your landlord can deduct the amount of the maintenance from the security deposit.

In the event of an accident with improperly maintained heating equipment, the insurer may also refuse to compensate you.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.

    Cost: free service

    Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.

    The service is available at the following times:

    • Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 16h15
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

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