Cold snaps drive our emergency callout line off the hook. Every year we take the same handful of calls — no hot water, frozen pipes, storm damage, a boiler that’s been ignored since October. Almost all of them could have been prevented with about 15 minutes of preparation.
Whether you look after a portfolio of rentals, a block of flats, or just your own home, this is the routine we run through every autumn to keep our clients out of trouble.
Heating & hot water
- Test the heating on a cold morning before you truly need it — not on the first day of December.
- Bleed every radiator, top up boiler pressure to the mark on the gauge, and note anything that gurgles or stays cold at the top.
- Book the annual service and CP12 (if it’s a rented property) — don’t wait for autumn demand to spike engineers’ diaries.
- Set the heating to “keep alive” at around 12–14°C during any empty periods, so pipes never fully freeze.
- Check the location and operation of the stop-cock. Label it. Tell your tenants where it is.
Roof, gutters and external walls
- Clear gutters and downpipes of leaves before the first heavy rain.
- Look up at the roof with binoculars from the garden — spot slipped tiles, damaged flashings, cracked chimney pointing before the first storm.
- Check external render for hairline cracks, especially below windows where water enters.
- Inspect fence panels and gates — storms will find any weakness.
Plumbing
- Lag any exposed external pipes with pipe insulation from any DIY shop — costs a few pounds, saves a burst pipe.
- Check the loft has insulation over the water tank (if you still have one) but NOT underneath it — you want warm rising air keeping it above freezing.
- Turn off outside taps at the internal isolation valve and drain them.
- Run any rarely-used showers or taps for a couple of minutes to keep water moving.
Electrical & smoke safety
- Test every smoke alarm and CO detector. Replace batteries you’re unsure about.
- Check outside lighting and sensors — dark evenings are back.
- For rented properties, if your EICR is due within six months, book it now — December compliance rushes are painful.
- For blocks, test emergency lighting and photograph the log book entry.
Practical extras for landlords
- Send tenants a friendly “winter tips” note — how to bleed radiators, when to call, keeping the heating ticking over during any absence.
- Confirm they have the emergency contact number and know how to use the stop-cock.
- Photograph the property inside and out for insurance records before winter storms.
- Refresh your emergency contact list: preferred plumber, electrician, gas engineer, insurance claim line.
The most common Christmas Eve callout we get is a frozen condensate pipe on an outside wall. A £5 length of pipe lagging fitted in October would have prevented every one of them.
Download the full checklist
This post is a short winter extract from our full free property maintenance checklist — which covers monthly, quarterly, seasonal and compliance jobs across the whole year. It’s a 4-page A4 PDF you can print and tick off, and it includes an emergency preparedness page you can pin up in the utility cupboard.
Grab the full 4-page checklist
Monthly, quarterly, seasonal and compliance checks — plus an emergency preparedness page to pin up.
Download the checklist
