What is the housing like in Brent?

Brent runs from Kilburn and Queen's Park in the south east up to Kingsbury and Kenton on the Harrow border, and the homes change a lot along the way. Kilburn, Willesden and Harlesden are dominated by Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many now split into two or three flats. Neasden, Dollis Hill and Kingsbury have more interwar semis and short terraces. Wembley has both: older streets around Wembley Central and a great deal of new building close to Wembley Park and the stadium.

Kingsbury is also home to Roe Green Village, a garden village built at the end of the First World War for workers at a local aircraft factory. In 1968 it became the first conservation area Brent designated. Others include Queen's Park, Kilburn and South Kilburn, where alterations to the front of a house, for instance moving a flue, can need more care.

How are Brent flats and houses heated?

In a Kilburn or Willesden conversion, you will usually find a separate combi for every flat, tucked into a kitchen or bathroom cupboard, with its flue through a side or rear wall. Upper-floor flats can have a long flue run or a boiler in the roof space, which affects how easily a replacement goes in.
Interwar houses in Kingsbury, Neasden and Dollis Hill may still have a cylinder and loft tank, or may have been switched to a combi at some point.
Some newer blocks in Wembley and elsewhere take their heat from a central plant room or heat network rather than a boiler in each flat. If your flat has a heat interface unit rather than a boiler, the building manager is normally the first call.

A cold night followed by a boiler that will not restart, low pressure in an upstairs flat and radiators that need bleeding every few weeks are all common reasons people ask for a boiler repair.

I rent in Brent. Who sorts out the boiler?

In most tenancies the landlord is responsible for keeping the boiler, heating and hot water in working order. Report a fault to your landlord or letting agent in writing first and keep a copy. If the heating has failed completely in cold weather, say so clearly, and mention anyone at home who is elderly, very young or unwell. If you smell gas, do not wait for anyone: leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

I'm a landlord in Brent. What do I need?

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, every gas appliance you provide must be checked each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Existing tenants must get a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, and new tenants before they move in. Our page on the landlord gas safety certificate (CP12) explains the check in more detail. Where one converted house holds several of your flats, list them all in the enquiry, since a separate record is needed for every flat that has its own boiler.

Brent Council also runs selective licensing that covers privately rented homes in every ward except Wembley Park, and the licence application asks for a copy of the current gas safety certificate. Shared houses can need an HMO licence instead. The details are on Brent Council's licensing pages.

How does it work if I'm in Brent?

You send one enquiry, and it goes to one heating engineer covering your Brent postcode rather than to a list of firms. They talk the job through with you, visit if needed and agree the price directly with you. Enquiring is free and you decide whether to go ahead.

Who you will hear from

We pass your enquiry to one local heating engineer who covers your postcode. It is never sent to a list of companies.

We only pass enquiries to heating engineers whose registration we have checked on the Gas Safe Register. Ask to see their registration ID card when they arrive.