What should a landlord record after a thermostatic shower valve is replaced?

Keep more than the invoice. A useful property record identifies the exact shower valve, why it was changed, who carried out the work, what supply conditions and safety functions were checked, what instructions were left, what the tenant was told and whether any follow-up remains. The landlord should preserve the competent person’s findings rather than inventing or repeating technical tests.

Why this record matters

A replacement thermostatic valve is a safety-related plumbing repair. It may have been fitted because the old valve leaked, stuck, ran too hot, failed to hold temperature or no longer matched the installation. Months later, a clear record helps a landlord, tenant and contractor understand what changed.

The record is also evidence of a response: when the problem was reported, how risk was managed, who attended and what confirmed the outlet was returned to service. It should not be presented as a universal certificate or a substitute for any statutory record that separately applies.

GOV.UK lists sanitary fittings, heating and hot water among the usual landlord repair responsibilities in England. Rules and tenancy duties differ across UK nations, so landlords should use the guidance that applies to the property.

Identify the exact outlet and product

Record the property, bathroom or en-suite, and whether the work covered a bar mixer, concealed valve, shower panel or another product. Add the manufacturer, full model, finish and any serial, batch or date code that can be read without dismantling.

Photograph the installed controls and the product label or packaging. A wide photograph should show which outlet was changed; a close image can preserve model details. Avoid images of tenants, personal possessions or access codes.

If the installer could not confirm the model, record that honestly and retain the supplied description. Do not choose a similar-looking manual from the internet and treat it as the correct one.

Record the original report and repair reason

Keep the tenant’s wording: too hot, too cold, fluctuating, weak, leaking, stiff or unresponsive. Include the report date, any injury or near miss, the people potentially at risk and the interim advice given.

Then record the contractor’s diagnosis in their own terms. A replacement may address a faulty cartridge or valve body, but supply imbalance, pipework, filters or the hot-water source may also affect performance.

Do not rewrite “temperature changed when another tap opened” as “boiler fault” unless a competent person established that finding.

Keep installer and competence details

Record the person’s name, business, contact details, visit date and invoice or job number. Ask the contractor to identify the scope they were competent to complete and any work referred elsewhere.

A plumber can replace and commission suitable shower equipment. If the job involved opening or adjusting a gas boiler, that part must be done by an appropriately qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. Electrical work on a powered or digital shower may require the relevant electrical competence.

Keep subcontractor details where more than one trade attended. That avoids a future contractor assuming the shower installer also tested an unrelated heat source.

Capture the specification and compatibility decision

Ask the installer to state why the chosen valve is suitable for the water system and intended users. Useful details include the product designation, permitted inlet pressure and temperature range, whether supplies are balanced as required, and compatibility with the combi, cylinder, pump or other arrangement.

Approved Document G for England says blending and thermostatic mixing valves should be compatible with the hot and cold sources serving them. Manufacturer instructions similarly set operating conditions that vary between models.

The landlord does not need to recreate the calculation. Keep the product sheet or installation instructions and the contractor’s recorded conclusion.

Preserve the commissioning results

Commissioning moves the completed installation into verified working order. Bristan’s current thermostatic-mixer guidance includes checking that the valve designation and supply conditions match, setting the mixed temperature, and verifying the safety response under the specified procedure.

Ask for the measured outlet temperature, the conditions under which it was measured, the agreed maximum setting, the safety or fail-safe test result, and confirmation that the result was stable. Record the instrument used if the contractor supplies that information.

Do not copy a temperature from a different product guide. Product designations and the needs of vulnerable users can change the appropriate setting and test method.

Record flow, pressure and interaction with other outlets

Note whether the contractor checked the shower during ordinary demand and whether another tap, toilet or appliance caused a significant change. If the original complaint involved a particular trigger, the close-out should say whether that pattern remained.

Record any measured dynamic pressures or flow rates exactly as supplied, including units and test location. A bare number without the outlet, demand condition or instrument is easy to misread later.

If a supply limitation remains, preserve the recommendation for plumbing, water-company or hot-water-system follow-up instead of marking the whole issue resolved.

Keep the parts and work description

The invoice should distinguish a complete valve replacement from a cartridge, control, filter, check valve, hose or handset change. Keep part numbers, quantities and the disposal or return status of old parts where relevant to a guarantee claim.

Record related work such as flushing pipework, fitting service valves, changing connectors, sealing penetrations or making good finishes. Note any area the contractor did not open or inspect.

A factual scope helps prevent a later leak elsewhere being incorrectly attributed to the shower job.

Photograph the finished installation

Take photographs after the work and before the area is covered by tenant belongings. Include the valve, controls, hose, handset, wall junctions and the surrounding floor or tray so any later change can be compared.

Photographs do not prove safe commissioning, but they can show the product, visible condition and absence of obvious leakage at handover. Keep them with the written test result rather than as a separate phone album.

Save instructions, guarantee and future maintenance

File the exact installation and user instructions, product guarantee, proof of purchase and any registration confirmation. Record who is responsible for a guarantee claim and whether the tenant received a user copy.

Manufacturer schedules for inspection, cleaning, verification or servicing vary. If the installer recommends a review date, put it in the property maintenance system with the product model and reason.

Do not create a universal annual test interval from a commercial or healthcare document. HSE’s detailed monitoring guidance is risk-based and may apply differently to a straightforward domestic tenancy.

Document the tenant handover

Record when and how the tenant was shown the normal flow and temperature controls, any safety stop, cleaning method and the signs to report. Provide the manufacturer’s user instructions in an accessible form.

Tell the tenant not to force the control, remove caps, adjust hidden stops or dismantle the valve. Ask them to report unexpected hot water, unstable temperature, leaks, loss of flow or a safety control that no longer behaves as demonstrated.

Our checklist for recording sudden shower temperature changes can be used if the symptom returns.

Include vulnerability and scalding information

Children, older people and people with reduced mobility, sensation or ability to react can face greater scalding harm. Record only the information needed to manage the property safely and handle personal data appropriately.

If the replacement followed an injury or near miss, keep the incident record, first-aid response, risk controls and contractor findings together. A completed repair does not erase the earlier event.

HSE guidance for people in control of premises says water-system risks should be assessed and managed, and that landlords should review an assessment when the system changes.

Do not confuse outlet safety with stored-water hygiene

A thermostatic valve reduces the temperature delivered at the outlet by blending hot and cold water. It should not be used as a reason to reduce stored-water temperatures without competent assessment.

HSE guidance treats storage, distribution, TMV inlet temperature, outlet risk and stagnation as connected but distinct matters. If the property has stored or recirculating hot water, preserve the existing water-hygiene controls and update the risk assessment where the change is relevant.

Record any redundant pipework removed and any new pipe length between the valve and outlet, because unnecessary stagnation should be avoided.

A copyable close-out checklist

• Property, room and exact shower outlet.
• Original report, risk and report date.
• Manufacturer, model, serial or batch details.
• Installer, company, trade scope and job number.
• Parts fitted and related pipework work.
• Compatibility and supply-condition conclusion.
• Measured outlet temperature and test conditions.
• Safety-shut-off or fail-safe test result where applicable.
• Flow, pressure and other-outlet observations.
• Leak and finished-condition confirmation.
• Photographs, instructions, invoice and guarantee.
• Tenant demonstration and documents supplied.
• Unresolved items, responsible person and target date.
• Maintenance or review date recommended for that product.

What not to write

• “All safe” without the competent person’s evidence.
• A guessed model or copied temperature from another valve.
• “Boiler checked” when the job covered only the shower.
• “Tenant happy” as a substitute for commissioning.
• “No further action” while a supply problem remains.
• Medical details that are unnecessary for safe property management.

Use dated facts, measurements with units and the contractor’s wording. If a document is missing, record the request and chase it.

Follow up after occupation resumes

A short written check with the tenant can confirm that the valve is controllable, stable during normal use and free from visible leaks. It should not ask the tenant to recreate a dangerous surge or isolate a water supply.

If performance changes again, reopen the repair record with the new time, trigger and evidence. Contact the original installer under the guarantee where appropriate, or route boiler, plumbing and electrical symptoms to the correct competent person.

The practical conclusion

The best landlord record joins the original safety report to the exact product, competent work, commissioning evidence and tenant handover. It shows what was verified, what was not in scope and what happens next.

Keep the invoice, instructions and photographs, but give the greatest weight to model-specific commissioning results and unresolved recommendations. That record makes future maintenance faster and protects the tenant from repeated guesswork.