Boiler manufacturers should provide ten-year warranties for their products to protect people from “unreliable” and “expensive” new combi and condensing models, a letting agent has argued. Anthony Kerrigan, of Kerrigans in Doncaster, is seeking support to petition the government over the issue, Letting Agents Today reports.

Mr Kerrigan claims that although people have in the past been advised to replace old back boilers with more modern models, the cost of repairing them can be very high – particularly if they don’t have the right cover. “The average repair cost of an old back boiler was £30, which was normally a call-out charge and a replacement thermo-couple, approximately once every five years if the boiler was serviced … The average repair cost of a new boiler is £250 for a new printed circuit board approximately every three years,” he told the news provider.

Mr Kerrigan went on to say that most boilers being produced today have warranties that last just one or two years, while the boiler itself has a life expectancy of around six. Obliging manufacturers to provide a longer warranty would encourage them to raise production standards and make boilers that last for longer, he added.