Servicing a boiler or water heater (mantenimiento de caldera)

Key rules

• Authorised firms only: Only an authorised maintenance company or gas installer may service your boiler or work on the gas.
• Proof: Keep the certificate and check the date sticker on the appliance after every visit.
• Rented homes: Your lease usually decides who pays for routine servicing, so read its maintenance clause first.
• Breakdowns: Wear-related breakdowns are normally the landlord's cost unless you caused the damage.

What you need to do

Your boiler or gas water heater must be serviced by an authorised firm, and the gas installation must be inspected on a schedule. Do not use a handyman, even if the job looks simple. Gas work needs an authorised gas installer or company.

How often

For a home boiler under 70 kW, these are the usual intervals:

• Boiler maintenance check: every 2 years for gas boilers, done by an authorised maintenance company (empresa mantenedora).
• Periodic gas review (revisión periódica): every 4 years for the gas appliances in the home, done by the gas distributor or an authorised installer.
• Gas installation inspection: every 5 years for individual installations on natural gas. Butane is also every 5 years, arranged through your supplier.
• Boiler of 70 kW or more: maintenance every year. Larger central systems follow stricter rules.

Regional rules and the manufacturer's instructions can set shorter intervals. Check the manual and ask your region's department of industry or energy if you are unsure.

Who can do the work

The maintenance firm must be registered with your region's industry department. Ask to see its registration before you book. The gas distributor will usually contact you about the gas review. Make sure the person who turns up is the distributor or an authorised installer.

What you get afterwards

After a service, the firm gives you a maintenance certificate or report (certificado or parte de revisión) and leaves a sticker on the appliance showing the date of the last service. After a gas inspection, the distributor or installer gives you a certificate. Keep both. Your landlord, insurer or gas supplier may ask for them. The documents and timeline below show what to collect and when.

Who pays

If you rent, your contract decides first. Read its maintenance clause before you book anything.

Without a clause saying otherwise, this is the usual split:

• Landlord: repairs needed to keep the home habitable, including a boiler that breaks down from age or wear. Mandatory periodic inspections and major repairs also usually fall to the landlord. Bringing installations up to standard and getting a certificate needed for the supply are the landlord's cost too.
• You as tenant: routine upkeep such as the regular service and small maintenance, which is customary and often written into the contract. You also pay for damage you cause.

If the contract is silent or unclear, agree the split with your landlord in writing before the visit. If you own the home, all of these costs are yours.

Timeline and deadlines

• Book an authorised maintenance company to service a gas boiler under 70 kW: every 2 years

• Book the maintenance visit for a boiler of 70 kW or more: every year

• Have the gas installation reviewed by the gas distributor or an authorised installer: every 5 years

• Collect the certificate and check the date sticker on the appliance: at the end of each visit

Documents you need

• Maintenance certificate or report (certificado or parte de revisión) from the authorised maintenance company, issued after each service of the boiler or water heater.

• Certificate from a periodic gas inspection, which the gas distributor or authorised installer gives to you as the user.

• Your rental contract, if you rent: its maintenance clause often decides who pays for routine servicing and inspections.

Which home installations need inspecting and how often

Inspection and certificate intervals for home installations

• Authorised electrical installer: Ordinary homes need no periodic electrical inspection. Only common areas of buildings with more than 100 kW installed (every 10 years), shops, garages and similar premises are inspected. A home is checked after a serious defect or accident, or if an inspection is ordered. Some regions add their own rules.

• Gas distributor or authorised gas installer: Get the home's fixed gas installation reviewed every 5 years. This covers piped natural gas and piped LPG. Butane bottle hoses and regulators have replacement dates stamped on them.

• Authorised boiler maintenance firm: Have a gas boiler under 70 kW maintained every 2 years. Gas appliances in the home also get a regulated review every 4 years, by the gas distributor or an authorised installer. Boilers of 70 kW or more need maintenance every year.

• Your region's department of industry or energy: Find your own regional authority by searching your autonomous community's name with 'industria instalaciones' or 'registro de empresas instaladoras'. You can also ask your installer or the gas or electricity distributor. Installers and maintenance firms register there, and it sets regional differences in certificates, gas inspections and boiler registers.

Frequently asked questions

Who is allowed to service my boiler or gas water heater?

Only an authorised maintenance company (empresa mantenedora) registered with your region's industry department can service a boiler. Any work on the gas side must be done by an authorised gas installer or company.

What proof do I get after a boiler service?

After each service the firm gives you a maintenance certificate or report (certificado or parte de revisión). It also leaves a sticker on the appliance showing the date of the last service. Keep the paper with your home documents, as a landlord or insurer may ask for it.

Who pays for boiler servicing if I rent my home?

Usually you pay for the routine yearly service as the tenant, because that is the custom and many contracts say so. The landlord pays for breakdowns caused by wear, unless you caused the damage. Your contract can split these costs differently, so read its maintenance clause first.