How much does a boiler repair cost?

When a boiler stops in winter, the first question after "can it be fixed?" is "how much?". Most boiler repairs cost a few hundred pounds, but the range is wide, because a sensor and a heat exchanger are very different jobs. This guide sets out the published price ranges, how engineers charge, what pushes the price up, your rights if nobody agreed a price, and when a repair stops being worth it.

If the boiler has only just stopped, run the safe checks in our guide to what to do when your boiler breaks down first. Low pressure, a thermostat or a frozen condensate pipe can often be sorted without paying anyone. And if you smell gas, leave the boiler alone, open the windows and call the gas emergency line on 0800 111 999.

How much does a boiler repair cost in the UK?

There is no official national price list, so the figures below come from the cost guides that publish theirs. They broadly agree that most repairs fall between about £120 and £750, with a typical job around £300.

Sources: Checkatrade boiler repair costs, updated October 2026; Which? survey of 10,064 homeowners, June 2025; MyBuilder boiler repair cost, updated August 2026.

A word of honesty about these numbers. They are guide prices from trade marketplaces, not an independent survey, and the two guides do not always agree with each other. Which? asked 225 of its Trusted Trader engineers what they charge for the ten most common faults in May and June 2025, but it shows those prices to members only. So use the table to tell whether a quote is in the right area, not as a price you are owed.

How boiler engineers charge

Before you can compare two prices, it helps to know which of these an engineer is quoting.

• Call out or diagnostic charge. A fee for coming out and finding the fault. Some include the first half hour or hour of work in it; some do not. Ask.
• Hourly rate plus parts. The most common way small repairs are billed. The part is often the bigger share of the bill, so ask what the part costs as well as the labour.
• Fixed price for the repair. Some engineers will give a fixed price once they know the fault, covering the part and the fitting. This is the easiest to compare and the hardest to argue about later.
• Out of hours rates. Evenings, weekends and bank holidays usually cost more. Checkatrade puts emergency repairs at about £225 to £675, against £120 to £750 for a planned job, and MyBuilder says an emergency call out fee alone is often £100 to £300.

Our guide to how much a plumber charges per hour covers day, evening and emergency rates in more detail. Whatever the model, check whether the price you are given includes VAT.

What affects the price of a boiler repair?

• The part. The biggest factor by far. A sensor, thermistor or pressure relief valve is a small part. A fan, a gas valve or a diverter valve costs more, and a heat exchanger or main circuit board is usually the most expensive repair there is.
• The make and age of the boiler. Parts for common modern boilers are easy to get. Parts for older or less common models can be dearer, slower to arrive, or no longer made.
• How long the fault takes to find. An intermittent fault can take longer to diagnose than to fix.
• Access. A boiler in a loft or a tight cupboard takes longer to work on than one on a kitchen wall.
• When you need it. Same day, evening and weekend work costs more, and engineers are busiest from October, when the heating goes back on.
• Whether one fault hides another. Sludge in the system, for example, can keep killing pumps and valves. A good engineer will tell you if the repair will not last without a wider fix such as a power flush.

Check your warranty and cover before you pay

It is easy to pay for a repair you did not need to. Before you book:

• Look for the warranty. Which? says most new boilers come with a warranty covering parts and labour for one or two years. Warranties usually need the boiler to have been registered and serviced every year, so find the paperwork. If it is covered, call the manufacturer first rather than a local engineer.
• Check any boiler or home emergency cover. Some home insurance policies include it. Read the excess and what is excluded, as older boilers and some parts are often left out.
• Renting? Report the breakdown to your landlord or letting agent. Keeping the boiler working is normally the landlord's job, and they should arrange and pay for the repair.

Is boiler cover worth taking out for next time? On price alone, usually not. Which? found people paid an average of £183 a year for boiler cover, against an average one-off repair of £156, and its view is that standalone boiler cover is not usually worth it. It can still suit you if an unexpected bill would be hard to pay.

Repair or replace?

A single failed part on a boiler that has been looked after is often worth fixing. It is worth asking for a replacement quote as well when:

• the repair is a large share of the price of a new boiler, for example a heat exchanger on an older boiler;
• the boiler has broken down several times in the last year or two;
• the engineer says parts are hard to get or no longer made;
• the boiler is out of warranty and has not been serviced regularly.

Get both prices in writing so you are comparing like with like. Unless the boiler is unsafe to use, you do not have to decide on the spot, even if the engineer is standing in your kitchen.

Your rights if the price was not agreed

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you some protection when you pay a trader for a service:

• Reasonable care and skill (section 49). The repair must be done to a proper standard.
• A reasonable price (section 51). If no price was fixed or agreed beforehand, you only have to pay a reasonable price, and no more. What is reasonable is a question of fact, which is where published price ranges help.
• A reasonable time (section 52), if no time was agreed.
• Putting it right (sections 55 and 56). If the work was not done with reasonable care and skill, you can ask the engineer to redo it at no extra cost, and if that is impossible or not done in a reasonable time, you can ask for a price reduction.

The simplest protection is still a written price before the work starts, so there is nothing to argue about afterwards.

Make sure the engineer is allowed to do the work

HSE says anyone working on gas appliances or fittings in your home must be on the Gas Safe Register. Ask to see the engineer's Gas Safe ID card, check the back, which lists the types of gas work they are qualified for, and look them up on the Gas Safe Register if you are not sure. Oil boilers are worked on by OFTEC registered technicians instead. Our guide on how to check a tradesperson is genuine covers the checks in full.

Once your boiler is going again, an annual service is the cheapest way to catch worn parts before they fail. See how much a boiler service costs.

Find a local gas engineer

If your boiler needs a repair, post your job free and hear back from a local gas engineer. Give the make, model and any fault code, mark it as an emergency on the last step if you have no heating or hot water, and the business you choose can come back to you with a price. You pay them directly, and there is nothing to pay online.

Or browse local businesses: gas engineers in Birmingham, gas engineers in Wolverhampton, gas engineers in Coventry, gas engineers in Walsall, gas engineers in Dudley or gas engineers in Solihull. For more winter guides, see all our home advice.