Excess Heat Hazards: Landlord & Council Obligations (24 August 2026)

As heatwaves become more frequent and more severe in England and Wales, a growing number of tenants, including those in temporary or emergency accommodation, are finding themselves in homes that are simply too hot to live in safely. Reports of landlords disabling or locking out built-in air conditioning, charging steep flat fees for its use, or leaving households in glass-fronted, poorly ventilated blocks with no functioning cooling system, raise serious legal questions. Chief among them: what obligations do landlords and local authorities actually have to keep a home cool enough to be safe?

Excess heat is a recognised housing hazard

Under the Housing Act 2004, local authorities assess the condition of residential properties using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Excess heat is one of the 29 hazard categories explicitly recognised under this system. Where a property poses a category 1 hazard, the more serious tier, the local authority has a duty to take enforcement action against the landlord, which can include serving an improvement notice or, in severe cases, a prohibition order.

The absence or non-functioning of cooling measures may contribute to a dwelling presenting an Excess Heat hazard where this creates a risk to the health or safety of the occupiers. If a property's design (for example, floor-to-ceiling glazing with windows that only open a few inches) traps heat to a level that risks the health of its occupants, this may amount to an Excess Heat hazard irrespective of whether the tenancy agreement describes air conditioning as an optional amenity.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 implies a term into most residential tenancies that the property must be fit for human habitation both at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. A property that becomes dangerously hot due to poor ventilation, non-opening windows, or a disabled or locked out cooling system may breach this implied term, giving the tenant the right to bring a claim for breach of contract. Depending on the circumstances, the court may award damages or other appropriate remedies and, where appropriate, grant an injunction requiring remedial works.

Crucially, this duty should not be excluded by the wording of a tenancy agreement or a side letter describing air conditioning as an optional amenity. If the property's fitness for habitation genuinely depends on that cooling system functioning, the landlord should not be able to contract out of the underlying obligation.

Repairing obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 also places repairing obligations on most residential landlords. Under section 11, landlords are generally required to keep installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water in repair and proper working order.

However, section 11 does not generally impose a statutory duty to install or maintain air conditioning, as cooling systems are not ordinarily included within these repairing obligations. Where air conditioning forms part of the landlord's retained installations or is provided as a communal service, the landlord's contractual obligations under the tenancy agreement or lease may nevertheless require the system to be kept in proper working order. If the absence or failure of a cooling system contributes to a property becoming unfit for human habitation or creates an Excess Heat hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, separate statutory duties may also arise.

Local authority duties: is the accommodation "suitable"?

Where a household is placed in temporary accommodation by a local authority under the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017), the accommodation should be "suitable" for that household, taking into account factors such as the health and vulnerability of its members. Local authorities should keep suitability under review where circumstances materially change.

If a property becomes unsuitable, for instance because a cooling system that residents were told they could rely on is later switched off, or because heat conditions pose a genuine risk to children, elderly residents, or those with pre-existing health conditions, the household (or their solicitor) can challenge that placement. This can include requesting a formal review of suitability under S202 of the Housing Act 1996, with a right of appeal to the county court if the review is unsuccessful.

Could residents bring a claim for injury caused by heat?

Where excessive indoor heat causes a tenant or their child to suffer heatstroke, fainting, nosebleeds, or other heat-related illness requiring medical treatment, this could, depending on the evidence, give rise to a negligence claim. To succeed, the tenant would generally need to show that the risk of harm was foreseeable, that the landlord failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate it (for example, by maintaining a functioning cooling system or ensuring adequate ventilation), and that this failure caused the injury.

A pattern of complaints about heat, combined with a landlord's decision to actively disable or lock out existing cooling infrastructure rather than simply failing to install it, could strengthen an argument that the risk was known and foreseeable.

Billing practices and unfair terms

Depending on the contractual arrangements, charging a fixed fee for cooling or utilities may raise issues under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if the relevant contractual terms are not transparent or create a significant imbalance between the parties' rights and obligations. Where a term is found to be unfair, it may not be binding on the consumer.

What tenants and households in temporary accommodation can do

Anyone living in accommodation that becomes dangerously hot, particularly where a cooling system has been switched off or withheld, should:

• Report the issue in writing to the landlord or managing agent and keep a record of all correspondence.
• Contact the local authority's environmental health team, who can inspect the property under the HHSRS.
• Seek medical attention for any heat-related illness and keep records, which may be needed as evidence later.
• Take legal advice on whether the accommodation remains suitable, and on any potential claims for disrepair, breach of the fitness for habitation duty, or personal injury.