Homes in Britain are designed principally to keep the warmth in when winter’s cold begins to bite. They are not designed as living spaces during very hot weather. Those lessons were brought home only too clearly during the heatwave and record temperatures in mid-July 2022.
If you are the landlord of let property, that home is unlikely to have been designed with scorching temperatures in mind – so how might you protect your property and your tenants in the heat:
Prevent burst pipes
- the winter’s scourge of burst pipes is probably the last thing you’d worry about in the summertime;
- but a story in the Express newspaper on the 16th of July 2022 warned how extreme weather could lead to disturbed foundations and structural shifts that damage pipes, the effect of very hot weather heating and distorting the pipes, blocked drains, and the accumulated effects of hard water;
- the article recommends checking for clogged drains, having a water softener installed, and covering any exposed pipework with insulation to block the extreme rays of the sun;
Check for subsidence
- it follows from this warning, therefore, that you will do well to check for any signs of subsidence – or, indeed, any structural changes your let property might have suffered because of the extremely hot weather;
Keep drains and gutters clear
- the longer the dry weather goes on, the more likely you’re going to forget those gutters and downpipes that make up your rainwater goods;
- indeed, the debris that normally collects in those fittings will have been baked rock hard by the scorching sun – and the first you’ll know of any blockages will be the first outburst of heavy rain;
- pre-empt any problems or emergencies by clearing blocked drains and gutters now – and keeping them clear while you await that first downpour;
Keep cool and carry on
- in the heat of the day, it’s going to be much hotter outside than it is inside – it might be worthwhile reminding your tenants how to keep as cool as possible inside their home;
- advise them to try to preserve some of the cooler air, therefore, by closing windows and curtains to keep the heat of the midday sun away from heating up the indoors;
Mirror, mirror on the wall
- something that might be easy to overlook is the – potentially lethal danger – of reflected light from mirrors in the home;
- with the intensity of the sun’s rays during any heatwave, reflected beams can be strong enough to set fire to anything at all inflammable in the room;
- urge your tenants to remove mirrors from direct sunlight and take them down from the wall during the height of extremely hot and bright weather;
Fire
- the heatwave and its accompanying drought leave surrounding areas tinder dry;
- the ease with which a seemingly harmless grass fire can turn catastrophic was shown by the wildfires that consumed a terrace of homes in Wennington, East London in July 2022;
- the danger from fires became so acute that the London Fire Brigade has called for a ban on the sale of disposable barbecues, reported the BBC on the 29th of July;
- it is for that very reason that you should also avoid using any type of barbecue on the balcony of your flat – it is simply too easy for the fire to get out of control and cause untold damage to the let property.
Summary
British homes are not designed for extremely hot weather so you and your tenants may need to take special care to keep as cool as possible during any heatwave – protecting both property and people from the damaging effects of the weather outside.
