Somebody Stole the Hot Water Unit: What Happens Next

It sounds far-fetched until it happens to you. You come home, or a tenant rings, and there is no hot water. Outside, where the continuous flow unit was bolted to the wall, there is a bracket, two cut pipes and a rectangle of clean paint.

We have replaced units taken this way, and we have re-run entire hot water systems after thieves took the pipework instead. It is worth knowing what actually gets stolen, and what it costs beyond the obvious.

What gets taken

The whole unit. Continuous flow gas water heaters sit on an outside wall, they are not heavy, and they come off with a couple of cuts. At a property in Torbay we attended after the external Rinnai Infinity A26 LPG unit had been taken clean off the wall. We supplied and installed a replacement, fitted a new mounting bracket, carried out the mandatory gas tightness test on the LPG pipework, commissioned it, and issued the Certificate of Compliance.

The copper. This one is worse and people do not see it coming. At a house in Sandringham thieves cut the cold water pipe and stripped out every copper hot water pipe and brass valve in the subfloor. The job was not a repair, it was a complete re-run of the hot water pipework under the house, new cylinder valves and a new element.

Whatever is in the way. At a property in Forrest Hill we went to replace a hot water cylinder and found sections of the subfloor pipework simply missing, taken at some earlier point. That changed a cylinder swap into a cylinder swap plus new hot and cold connections run from the subfloor.

The bill is not the unit

This is the part worth understanding before you argue with an insurer about the value of an appliance.

At the Sandringham job the cylinder had been sitting empty for over six weeks by the time we got there, so we could not guarantee it would work even once the pipework was rebuilt. The floor and subfloor around the laundry tub and cylinder were water damaged from when the pipes were cut, which is a builder’s job, not ours. The laundry tub was no longer serviceable either.

So a theft that looks like “one appliance” turns into pipework, a cylinder of unknown condition, building repairs and a period with no hot water at all. Which is exactly why it is a claim rather than a cash job.

Make the claim, and get the report

This is squarely what insurance is for, and it is a straightforward claim compared to most water damage.

Theft is sudden by definition, so the awkward gradual-damage argument does not arise. What the insurer needs is evidence of what was there and what it will take to restore it. Our report states what was taken, what condition the remaining installation is in, and what has to be replaced to make it safe and compliant again, including the gas certification. Photograph the wall before anything is touched.

Tell your insurer about the whole scope, not just the appliance. The pipework, the making good, and the certification are all part of restoring the property.

Can it be made harder to take?

Somewhat, and it is worth doing when a unit is being replaced anyway.

Mount it higher. A unit at chest height on an accessible wall is a great deal easier to remove quietly than one mounted up out of easy reach. Height is not a lock, but most of this is opportunistic and awkward is often enough. It has to stay within what the manufacturer and the standard allow for the appliance and its flue terminal, so it is a conversation at installation rather than a bracket you move later.

Put it somewhere less visible and less accessible. A side wall behind a gate is a different proposition to a street-facing wall.

Lighting and line of sight help more than people expect, and they are cheap.

None of this is a guarantee. What it does is move you down the list.

If your unit has been taken, ring us. We can quote the replacement and the certification, and give you a report your insurer can work from.

Common questions

How long will we be without hot water?

Usually days rather than weeks if it is only the unit, because a like-for-like replacement is a stocked item and the install is a day. Where the pipework has been stripped as well, it depends how much has to be re-run and whether a builder is needed for damage, and that is worth being realistic about at the start. Tell us if there are tenants in the property, because that changes how we prioritise it.

Will the insurer pay for a better unit than the one taken?

Generally they replace like for like, not upgrade. Where the exact model is no longer available, the replacement is the equivalent current model, which in practice is often a slightly better unit simply because the range has moved on. If you want to take the opportunity to change capacity or move to a different system, that is usually a cost you meet on top, and it is worth asking before we order anything.

Does the replacement need a new certificate?

Yes. Installing a gas water heater is gasfitting work, so it is tested and certified, and you should receive the certificate. Keep it with the house paperwork. Given the original was taken, the certificate is also the clean record that what is now on the wall was installed properly.

Is the gas line safe after a unit has been ripped off?

Treat it as unsafe until a gasfitter has looked at it. A unit removed by force can leave damaged or open pipework. If you can reach the cylinder valves or the isolation safely, close them, and do not attempt to cap anything yourself. That is the one part of this where doing nothing is the right move.

It happened at a rental. Whose problem is it?

The owner’s, as building infrastructure, and it goes through the owner’s insurance rather than the tenant’s contents cover. What the property manager needs quickly is the report and the timeline, because a property with no hot water is an urgent repair obligation. We write those reports knowing they get forwarded.