Pro Services Boston · Landlords
Boston heating systems fail most in the first real cold snap, usually right when every other landlord's system is failing too and contractors are booked out. The fix is timing: get the checklist done in September or October, not after a tenant calls with no heat.
The fall checklist, in order
- Heating system inspection. A boiler or furnace tune-up before the season starts, not during it. This is the single item most likely to become an emergency call if skipped.
- Pipe insulation. Any exposed line in a basement, crawlspace, or exterior wall gets insulated before the first hard freeze. Frozen and burst pipes are the most expensive winter failure a landlord sees.
- Gutter clearing. Clogged gutters back water up under roofing and siding — a slow leak that shows up as a ceiling stain in February.
- Exterior caulking & weatherstripping. Seals around windows and doors keep heating bills down and moisture out. Cheap now, expensive to undo once ice gets behind a bad seal.
- Storm windows & screens. Swap or check storm windows are functional, especially on older Boston triple-deckers where original windows are still in service.
- Smoke & CO detector test. Required by Massachusetts law for every tenancy, and the fastest item to overlook on a fall walkthrough.
Massachusetts treats no heat as a habitability issue — a tenant without heat isn't a "get to it next week" problem, it's a same-day one. A September heating check is the cheapest insurance a landlord can buy against a winter emergency call.
Why fall, not winter
Heating contractors get slammed the moment temperatures drop, so a scheduling window that's easy in September is a multi-day wait in December. Doing the checklist early also means any repair the inspection turns up — a failing valve, a cracked heat exchanger — gets fixed on your schedule instead of the tenant's emergency.
Running this across more than one unit
The version of this that doesn't eat a weekend is one licensed vendor who runs the whole checklist on a schedule, instead of five separate calls for the plumber, the HVAC tech, and the handyman. That's what landlord maintenance from Pro Services Boston covers, and it's the same reasoning behind PSB Pro Landlord membership if you're running multiple units — one point of contact, pooled visits, one invoice. It pairs with year-round preventive maintenance rather than replacing it — fall is the heaviest single check on the calendar, not the only one.
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