How often should a landlord service HVAC in a rental property, and who does what?
Service heating once a year before cold weather and cooling once a year before hot weather, or a single visit if the same system does both and your climate allows it. The landlord books the professional tune-up, the tenant changes the filter on the schedule the lease sets, and you write both into the lease. Regular service catches problems before a no-heat call, which is the repair no tenant waits on.
When to service what
- Furnace or boiler: once a year in early fall, before the first cold night.
- Air conditioner or heat pump: once a year in spring, before the first hot week. A heat pump does both jobs, so one visit in spring or fall may be enough depending on your climate and the technician's advice.
- Window and wall units: clean the filter each season and check the drain.
- Vacant units: have the system tested before you list, so a tenant does not find a problem in week one.
Equipment age changes the plan. The NAHB study puts gas furnaces at about 18 years, unitary air conditioners at 15 and heat pumps at 16, so units past 12 years deserve a closer look and a replacement quote. See appliance and system lifespans.
What a tune-up usually covers
Ask the technician for a written list and compare it against the visit. Typical items are checking the thermostat, filter and blower, cleaning or inspecting coils and burners, testing safety controls and the flue, checking refrigerant pressure on cooling equipment, clearing the condensate drain and measuring the temperature difference. For gas heating, a carbon monoxide check at the unit is a sensible request. If the technician finds a problem, get a quote before approving more work.
Filters: who changes them
Filters are the cheapest and most skipped task. Many leases put filter changes on the tenant, with the landlord supplying the first one, while landlords of larger buildings change them during scheduled visits. The right interval depends on the filter, pets and dust, so read how often to change HVAC filters and put the interval in the lease.
Example a made-up owner has 8 units with forced-air systems. The owner books all eight furnace tune-ups in the same week of October for one visit window per day and gets one technician to do two per day. Each tenant receives a notice of the entry date. One check finds a cracked flame sensor in unit 4, which is fixed for a small part cost before the first cold night.
Warning signs between visits
Tell tenants what to report: a furnace that short-cycles, a burning smell when heat first comes on, rooms that heat unevenly, ice on the outdoor unit, water around the indoor unit, a thermostat that blanks out, and a rising bill with no change in use. A report in October costs a service call. The same problem found in January costs an emergency call at a premium, plus a tenant without heat. Do not let a tenant relight a pilot or open a gas appliance panel.
Write it into the lease and notices
- State that the landlord arranges an annual professional service and will give the notice of entry that your state requires.
- State who supplies filters and who changes them, and how often.
- Ask tenants to report strange noises, smells, poor heating or cooling or a frozen coil, and not to block vents.
- Remind tenants never to adjust the system themselves beyond the thermostat.
- Agree what counts as no heat in winter and how fast you respond. See no heat or hot water.
Entry notice rules vary by state. Check yours before scheduling a visit to an occupied unit.
How DoorKeeping handles it
You can ask Claude or ChatGPT to draft the entry notices and a list of units due for service, and a tenant report of no heat is treated as urgent. DoorKeeping sends the vendor a job link for each visit, and the owner approves anything involving money first. Rent stays in your own bank account, and anything involving money waits for your approval.
Sources
Questions
- How often should HVAC be serviced in a rental?
- Once a year for heating before cold weather and once for cooling before hot weather, or one visit for a system that does both, on the technician's advice.
- Who changes the air filter in a rental?
- Usually the tenant, with the interval and first filter set in the lease. Some landlords change them on scheduled visits instead.
- Do I need to give notice for a service visit?
- Generally yes for an occupied unit. Entry notice rules vary by state, so check yours.