Home maintenance calendar for UK homes: what to do each season

The year at a glance

Most upkeep follows a few rhythms: a monthly alarm test, a yearly gas service, an autumn push before the cold and a spring walk-round. Use this table as the skeleton of your calendar.

Autumn: September to November

The busiest season: almost every job is about getting ready for cold, wet and windy weather.

Boiler and gas appliances

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strongly advises homeowners to have gas appliances serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the Met Office suggests servicing the boiler before winter, so any fault is found before you rely on the heating every day. For landlords the yearly check is a legal duty.

Chimneys and wood burners

HETAS, which registers solid fuel installers, recommends sweeping at least once a year if you burn smokeless fuel and at least twice a year if you burn wood. The best time is just before the heating season; if you sweep twice, make the second sweep after the peak of winter.

Gutters, roof and garden

The Met Office warns that leaves can block gutters and drainpipes, and the overflow can leak into the roof and walls, so clear them once most leaves are down. Before the windy weather, look for loose tiles, slates and flashing (from the ground is safer than a ladder), consider removing dead branches from old trees, and secure garden furniture and trampolines.

Radiators

With the heating on, feel each radiator. Which? explains that if the top is cool, or much colder than the bottom, it probably needs bleeding. Turn the heating off and let it cool first, then check the boiler pressure gauge, as pressure often drops after bleeding. Top it up using the boiler manual or ask a qualified heating engineer.

Winter: December to February

Winter jobs are mostly about water. The Met Office warns that frozen pipes can burst. To prevent it:

• Insulate pipes and water tanks in unheated spaces such as the loft or garage, using lagging from a DIY shop.
• Protect outside taps. The Consumer Council for Water says to insulate them, or turn them off and drain the water from them.
• Find your stop tap and check that it turns, so you can shut the water off quickly. It is often under the kitchen sink.
• Fix dripping taps and overflows, as ice can build up and cause a blockage.
• Going away? Leave the heating on low and set it to come on at least once a day.

If a pipe freezes, turn off the stop tap and open the nearest cold taps so water can escape as it thaws; if it then leaks, call a plumber. If you ever smell gas, call the gas emergency line free on 0800 111 999, open doors and windows, and turn the supply off at the meter if you know how.

Spring: March to May

• Walk round the outside after the winter weather and look again at the roof, chimney stack, gutters and downpipes.
• Book the second chimney sweep if you burn wood, now that the peak of the heating season has passed.
• Look for draughts around windows and doors, such as light round the frame or curtains that move. The Energy Saving Trust warns not to block trickle vents, grilles or wall vents when you draught-proof.
• Clear winter debris from the garden and check fences and gates.

Summer: June to August

Dry weather suits outside work such as repainting window frames and fences and fixing anything the spring walk-round found. It is also a good moment to book the autumn boiler service and chimney sweep.

All year: smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

GOV.UK fire safety advice is to fit at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home, ideally on the ceiling in the middle of a room or on the hallway and landing, and test them at least monthly. Change one-year batteries every year, and replace ten-year alarms completely every ten years.

Fit a carbon monoxide alarm near every fuel-burning appliance, such as a boiler, gas fire or wood burner, and test it at least once a month. HSE advises choosing one that meets British Standard EN 50291 and carries an approval mark such as a Kitemark, and stresses that an alarm is no replacement for regular servicing. Headache is the most common symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning; others include feeling sick, dizzy, tired or confused.

Landlords and homeowners: what is law and what is good practice

For homeowners in England, this calendar is good practice rather than law. Landlords have legal duties; these are the main ones in England, and most now apply to social landlords as well as private ones.

A tip for landlords: HSE allows the yearly gas safety check to be done up to two months early while keeping the original deadline date, so the anniversary does not creep forward. If you do this, keep the record until two further checks have been done.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The rules differ across the UK, so check the guidance where the home is.

• Scotland: every home, owner-occupied included, must have interlinked fire alarms: a smoke alarm in the room you use most, one in every hallway and landing, a heat alarm in the kitchen, and a carbon monoxide detector with any carbon-fuelled appliance such as a boiler or wood burner.
• Wales: landlords must fit mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarms on every storey, a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a gas, oil or solid fuel appliance they installed, and have the electrics tested at least every five years.
• Northern Ireland: landlords must arrange a yearly gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, give tenants a copy within 28 days, and have the electrics inspected at least every five years.

Make the calendar stick

Put the fixed dates in first: the boiler service, the chimney sweep and, if you let a property, the gas safety check anniversary. Add the monthly alarm test as a repeating reminder, and share the calendar with the whole household so no job depends on one person remembering. In Dom, home upkeep reminders sit alongside bills and renewals, so the boiler service and the home insurance renewal live in the same place. For the money side, see our household bills checklist, and if you are about to move, our moving house checklist.