Boiler in a rented flat in Trieste: who does what, who pays

In a rented flat in Trieste with its own boiler, the boiler passes to the tenant on the day they move in: they become the person responsible for the system, who has the servicing and the flue-gas check done and risks a penalty between €500 and €3,000 if they do not. Three things stay with you: handing over the logbook in order, repairing faults not caused by use, and replacing the boiler when needed.

Who is responsible for the boiler in a rented home?

The law on the energy efficiency of buildings (Legislative Decree 192/2005, art. 7) puts owner, tenant and building manager on the same footing: whoever keeps the system running must have checks and servicing carried out. Presidential Decree 74/2013 (art. 6) entrusts all of it to the "responsabile dell'impianto".

In this region, the occupant decides. FVG Energia, the regional company that keeps the heating-system register (CRIT-FVG) and carries out inspections, says so in its answers to the public: the occupant, on whatever basis, answers for running, servicing and checks until they leave the home and return the documents.

With central heating the responsible person is the building manager. The tenant, though, votes in your place on heating costs and how the heating is run (Law 392/1978, art. 10).

Can the responsibility be passed to the heating firm?

Usually not. Decree 74/2013 bars delegation to a "third party responsible" in single homes where the boiler is not in a technical room used only for it. The wall-hung boiler in the kitchen or bathroom, which is what most flats in Trieste have, stays with whoever lives there.

What you must hand over to the tenant

1. The system logbook, compulsory for every heating or hot-water system (Decree 74/2013, art. 7). FVG Energia asks the owner to hand it over filled in, showing the efficiency checks done and the contributions paid.
2. The latest energy-efficiency check report (RCEE), the copy the engineer leaves and sends to the Region.
3. The system code and the label stickers, which identify the system for its whole life and stay even if you replace the boiler.

The change of responsible person must be reported within 30 working days: on form A, which the Region provides, or through an operator accredited to CRIT-FVG, usually the heating engineer.

How often is the flue-gas check due in Trieste?

These are two separate things.

• Servicing follows the frequency in the installer's or the manufacturer's instructions, by a licensed firm (Decree 74/2013, art. 7).
• The efficiency check applies to boilers above 10 kW (art. 8). The Region sets its deadlines and contribution by regional government (Giunta) resolution 799 of 21 March 2018.

• Efficiency checkevery 48 monthsRegional contribution€13

  under 35 kW

• Efficiency checkevery 24 monthsRegional contribution€40

  35 to 350 kW

The person responsible pays the contribution to the engineer, who passes it on to FVG Energia through the Region's digital wallet. In a rented home, then, the tenant pays it.

If the boiler breaks down in winter, who pays?

The Civil Code asks you to keep the home fit for the agreed use (art. 1575) and to carry out the necessary repairs; the tenant keeps the minor upkeep (art. 1576), that is, faults caused by use and not by the age of the system (art. 1609).

For regulated, transitional and student leases (canone concordato, contratto transitorio), which in Trieste are signed on the ministerial templates, the table of service charges (Annex D to the decree of 16 January 2017) gives ordinary servicing to the tenant and replacement of the system to you. The items one by one are in the guide on who pays which rental costs.

If the fault is urgent and you do not respond, the tenant may have it repaired and tell you, then ask you to reimburse them (art. 1577).

If the check finds the boiler's efficiency below the legal limits and servicing cannot fix it, it must be replaced within 180 days (Decree 74/2013, art. 8). Replacement is yours to pay for.

An example: five years of a 3+2 lease with a wall-hung boiler

Assumptions: a one-bedroom flat in Roiano, a 24 kW gas boiler in the kitchen, a 3+2 regulated lease from 1 December 2026; the last efficiency check was in October 2024; one service a year at €110 (an assumed figure: ask for a quote). In the boiler's seventh year its circuit board fails.

• How much5 × 110 = €550

  Annual servicing, 5 years

  Who: tenant

• How much€13 contribution

  Efficiency check by October 2028

  Who: tenant

• Logbook, RCEE and code when handing over the keys

  Who: you

• How muchthe firm's quote

  Circuit board failed through age

  Who: you

• How muchwithin 30 working days

  Reporting the new responsible person

  Who: tenant, or the firm on their behalf

Over five years the tenant spends €563 on the boiler; you pay for the fault that does not come from use.

Heating in Trieste: for how many hours, and how warm?

The city is in climate zone E (2,102 degree days). Decree 74/2013 (art. 4) sets for this zone a season between 15 October and 15 April and a cap of 14 hours a day, all falling between 5:00 and 23:00. Off-season the heating may come on only when the cold calls for it, and then for at most half that cap.

The average temperature in the home must not exceed 20 °C plus 2 of tolerance (art. 3). These limits apply to everyone, including a tenant with their own boiler.

Inspections and fines

FVG Energia may come to inspect the boiler. It notifies the person responsible at least 30 days ahead, by registered letter or certified email (PEC). If the visit fails through their fault, the second one costs the fee for their power band plus 50%.

Skipping checks and servicing carries a penalty between €500 and €3,000 (art. 15 of Legislative Decree 192/2005). That provision names owner and tenant together: that is why the handover should be in writing.