Winter Maintenance for Landlords in the Fens: A Checklist

The heating is going back on

The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, and across Spalding, Holbeach and Boston the boilers are already being switched on after six months off. This is the fortnight when the phone starts ringing: a boiler that will not fire, a black patch behind a wardrobe, water running down the inside of a bedroom window.

Most of it is preventable with a couple of hours’ attention in October. This year there is another reason to get ahead of it. On 9 October 2026 the government opened a consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to private landlords, which would put legal deadlines on dealing with damp, mould and other hazards.

Why Fenland homes need a closer look

South Lincolnshire is flat, open and low-lying. There is not much between a house in Sutton Bridge or Long Sutton and the wind off the Wash, so driving rain finds every gap in the pointing and every slipped tile. Many of the older brick terraces in Spalding and Boston have solid walls with no cavity, which are colder on the inside and more prone to condensation.

Shared houses add to it. A room let with four or five working adults, several showers a day and washing drying indoors produces far more moisture than a family home of the same size.

What the law already expects

Awaab’s Law does not apply to private landlords yet, but the duty to deal with damp and mould is not new. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (section 11, and as amended by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018) you must keep the structure, exterior, heating and hot water in repair, and the home must be fit to live in throughout the tenancy.

Under the Housing Act 2004, South Holland District Council, Boston Borough Council and South Kesteven District Council can inspect and take enforcement action where damp, mould or excess cold is a serious hazard.

Two winter basics sit alongside those. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require gas appliances and flues to be checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended in 2022, require a smoke alarm on every storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a boiler, fire or other fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers excepted).

The government’s damp and mould guidance for landlords is blunt on one point: it is “totally unreasonable” to put damp and mould down to a tenant’s “lifestyle choices”. Cooking, washing and drying clothes are normal. If a home cannot cope with them, the cause is usually the building, the heating or the ventilation.

Your October checklist

Outside

• Gutters and downpipes: clear them once the leaves are down. An overflowing gutter soaks the wall beneath it, and the damp patch shows up indoors weeks later.
• Roof: look for slipped or cracked tiles, loose ridge tiles and tired flashing around chimneys before the winter gales.
• Walls: check pointing and render on the weather side, and make sure soil, paving or stored items have not built up above the damp-proof course or blocked the air bricks.

Inside

• Boiler: have it serviced, check the pressure, and bleed the radiators. Lag the condensate pipe if it runs outside, as a frozen one will shut the boiler down on the coldest morning of the year.
• Extractor fans: test the kitchen and bathroom fans. A fan that hums but does not pull a sheet of tissue against the grille is not doing its job.
• Windows: open the trickle vents and check the seals. Make sure tenants know the vents are meant to stay open.
• Loft and pipes: check the insulation has not been moved, and lag any pipes in the loft or an unheated outhouse.
• Alarms: test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm while you are there.

When a tenant reports damp or mould

How you respond matters as much as the repair. The government guidance sets out a sensible order. Reply quickly and go and look, without waiting for a doctor’s letter if someone’s health may be affected. Photograph the mould before it is cleaned off, because the pattern helps you find the source.

Then deal with the cause as well as the surface; wiping it down and repainting only buys a few weeks. Tell the tenant what you will do and when, and go back at least six weeks later to check it has not returned.

Keep a dated record of all of it. Since section 21 ended, a clear repairs history is part of running a tenancy well, as we covered in our guide to what the Renters’ Rights Act has changed for Spalding landlords.

Awaab’s Law: what is being proposed

Awaab’s Law has applied to social landlords since 27 October 2025. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives the government power to extend it to private renting, and the consultation published on 9 October 2026 sets out how. It runs until 18 December 2026.

Nothing is settled, and no start date for private landlords has been given. The proposals use the social housing rules as a starting point: emergency hazards investigated and made safe within 24 hours, significant hazards investigated within 10 working days, and work to make the home safe within 5 working days of the investigation.

The consultation proposes covering almost all of the hazards councils already assess, including excess cold and electrical faults as well as damp and mould. The final rules may differ, but landlords who already respond promptly and keep records should have little to change. If you let shared houses, our post on South Holland HMO licensing covers the standards councils already look for.

How Property Panda can help

We manage houses, flats and HMOs across South Lincolnshire from our office on Westlode Street in Spalding. For managed landlords we arrange the gas safety checks and boiler servicing, carry out inspections, log every repair report and handle emergency repairs through our in-house maintenance team, so a failed boiler in January is dealt with by people who are local. You can read more about our landlord services.

If you would like a second pair of eyes on a property before winter, call the Spalding office on 01775 666585, message us on WhatsApp on 07399 474491, or get in touch through our contact page.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the current position on GOV.UK or with a solicitor before acting on it.