Landlords and tenants

Air conditioning in a rented home

Most of the disputes about air conditioning in a rented home are not about the equipment. They are about who agreed to what, and they surface at the end of the tenancy when the deposit is being returned. The rules themselves are simple; the part worth getting right is putting the agreement in writing before the work happens.

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Rented flat living room with a wall-mounted air conditioning unit, keys and papers on the table

Who decides what

The permission is the landlord's to give

A tenant cannot install fixed equipment without the landlord's written consent, and fitting it anyway is the kind of alteration that leads to a deduction from the deposit at the end of the tenancy. If the landlord is themselves a leaseholder, they will need the freeholder's consent before they can give theirs — that chain is worth starting early.

Planning permission follows the building, not the tenancy

The planning question is the same as for any home: an air-to-air heat pump that heats as well as cools can be permitted development if it meets the Class G conditions, while a cooling-only unit needs planning permission. Responsibility for obtaining it sits with the landlord as the owner, even where the tenant asked for the system and is paying for it.

The electrical work has to be notified

An installation usually needs its own circuit, and in England that is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. It has to be certified and notified to building control; it does not have to be done by a registered installer, but the certificate is the thing to keep. In a rented property it belongs in the landlord's records with the other safety paperwork.

Decide now who services it, and what happens at the end

Filters need cleaning and a system that heats as well as cools gets used all year. Agree in writing who arranges and pays for servicing during the tenancy, who covers a fault that is not the tenant's fault, and whether the system stays or is removed when the tenancy ends. Left unsaid, those three questions become the deposit dispute.

What Trust AC gives you in writing

For a rented property, the quote comes with the paperwork both sides need:

A landlord and tenant noteA short written note setting out who services the system, what happens if it is damaged, and whether it stays or is removed at the end of the tenancy — signed by both sides before the work starts, so nobody is relying on memory a year later.
A written view on the planning routeWhether the property needs planning permission or falls under the Class G permitted development conditions, and which condition decides it. If the landlord is a leaseholder, we flag that the freeholder's consent is needed too. The council has the final say.
A pack for the freeholder or managing agentWhere consent is needed from above, the outdoor unit's model and dimensions, the manufacturer's published sound data, the proposed position and fixing, and photos or a marked-up drawing.
The expected noise level at the neighbourThe sound level at the nearest neighbouring window for the proposed unit and position, using the MCS 020a method — the figure a neighbour or a managing agent is most likely to ask about.

Common questions

Can a tenant install air conditioning?

Not without the landlord's written permission. Fixed equipment is an alteration to the property, and installing it without consent risks a deduction from the deposit at the end of the tenancy. A portable unit that is not fixed to the building is a different matter, but it is worth telling the landlord either way.

Who pays for servicing in a rented home?

Whoever the written agreement says. There is no default that settles it, which is exactly why it should be agreed before installation. The common arrangement is that the landlord owns and services the system as part of the property, and the tenant keeps the filters clean and reports faults.

Does the air conditioning have to be removed at the end of the tenancy?

Only if that is what was agreed. If a tenant paid for the installation, the agreement should say whether it stays, whether it is removed and the wall made good, or whether the landlord buys it. Deciding that at the start avoids an argument about the deposit at the end.

Does the landlord need planning permission?

It depends on the equipment, not on the tenancy. An air-to-air heat pump that heats as well as cools can be permitted development if it meets the Class G conditions; a cooling-only unit needs planning permission. As the owner, the landlord is responsible for obtaining it, and the council decides.

Send the property's details

Tell us whether you are the landlord or the tenant, and send the room, the outside wall and the postcode. The written agreement comes with the quote.

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