Landlords are spending billions on emergency callouts to assist with property issues every year, with plumbing and heating being the most common issues, according to new research from Direct Line – Business.

Over 2019 and 2020, they spent at least £5.68 billion on emergency callouts – with an average cost of £765 per callout, or £2,141 for every landlord in the UK, according to the research.

In 2019, more than half (53%) of private landlords needed to call in an emergency contractor to one of their properties – this equates to 13,000 contractors being called out to a rental property every day. The research also revealed that, when it comes to tenants, 3.87 million private renters (51%) have experienced a home emergency which required an emergency contractor to be called out.  

The most common time-sensitive issue in a rental property was plumbing (48%), followed by gas or heating (45%), electrics (35%), and locks (27%). Plumbers have the best arrival time as they get to an issue within just over 13 and a half hours of being alerted. Electricians come second with an average appearance time of 17 hours and 48 minutes, while gas and heating engineers take 20 hours and 42 minutes to turn up.    

As well as being the most frequently needed, plumbers are also the cheapest emergency contractors, costing landlords an average of £523 per year. Emergency glaziers are the most expensive, with an average cost of £1,019 per year.

Despite being a stressful time, these emergency situations have often brought landlords and tenants closer together, with 24% of landlords claiming that the home emergency improved their relationship with their tenant, compared to 11% who said it worsened.

When it comes to reporting the issue, 48% of landlords are alerted by their property agent, 45% get notified directly by their tenant, with just 11% discovering the issue themselves.