Responsibility for repairs
Your landlord is responsible for most major repairs to your home, including:
- structure of the property, for example walls, roof, windows and doors
- sinks, baths, toilets
- pipes and wiring
- heating and hot water, for example the boiler
- safety of gas and electrical appliances
You must allow the landlord or their agent access to see what repairs are needed and to carry out the work. The landlord should give you reasonable notice, usually at least 24 hours, except in an emergency.
Although your landlord should arrange the repairs, you may have to let in the contractor. If your landlord wants to carry out improvements separate to the repairs, you do not have to agree to this unless specifically stated in your tenancy agreement, so the landlord will need your permission.
You will be responsible for minor repairs, for example changing fuses and light bulbs. You will also have to fix anything you have damaged.
If your home is damp, your landlord might not be responsible. It depends on what type of damp it is and what caused it. See our guide for detailed advice about damp and condensation (pdf / 2 MB).
We do have powers to deal with disrepair but there is a procedure that must be followed and limits on what we can make landlords do.
What you can do
Before contacting us, we encourage you to take certain steps.
Write to your landlord
We cannot get involved in cases of disrepair unless you have given the landlord an opportunity to sort out the problem. Write to your landlord as soon as you notice a problem. They are not responsible until they know about it.
If a letting agent manages the property for your landlord, write to them and they should talk to your landlord. The letting agent will be responsible for making sure your landlord does the repairs.
If your landlord is responsible for the repairs, they should do them in a reasonable amount of time. What counts as reasonable depends on the problem. For example, a broken boiler should be fixed sooner than a leaky tap.
Get evidence
You should get evidence of the problem, for example:
- photos of the damage, particularly if the problem gets worse over time
- letters, texts, emails or notes of any conversations between you and your landlord or letting agent
- receipts if you have had to replace damaged items
- letters from your GP if the problem has made you ill
- copy of your tenancy agreement
Keep any evidence you have as you might need it later if you have to take further action to get repairs done.
Keep paying your rent
Even where there is disrepair, you do not have the right to stop paying the rent. If you do, your landlord might try to evict you because you have rent arrears. The exception is where you have paid for the works yourself, but only when you have followed the correct legal procedure. Get advice from the Shelter website or the Citizens Advice website.
If you do stop paying rent, keep the rent money in a separate bank account so you can pay off the arrears immediately if you have to.
Help we can give
We can help you by inspecting and assessing hazards to health and safety in your home, and making the owners deal with unacceptable risks. We use the housing health and safety rating system, which allows our environmental health officers to inspect housing conditions and deal with hazards.
The rating system applies to every type of home whoever your landlord is and whether you are a tenant or licensee. It deals with hazards caused by disrepair and other things such as cold, noise, pests, overcrowding, and accidents.
Any hazard found in your home will be scored according to how serious the health risks of that hazard are. All homes contain certain hazards, such as electricity or stairs, so it is not possible to remove every hazard.
What we will do after our inspection
Our environmental health officer will decide if further action is necessary. They can do one of the following:
- have an informal discussion with the landlord, pointing out what needs to be done. This may happen in less serious cases, or where the landlord is likely to take action, for example where it is a housing association
- serve notice on the landlord
There are different types of notice that can be served, including:
- hazard awareness notices – advising the landlord of the hazard, but leaving it to the landlord to decide what to do
- improvement notices – make the landlord carry out works within a certain time
- prohibition orders – stops a certain use of the property, for example storing inflammable materials, or any use of part or all of it until works are done, for example, closing a hostel
- emergency notices – stating that we will take emergency action at the landlord’s cost. There may be an emergency prohibition order until the action has been taken
Landlord appeal
A landlord can appeal against an improvement notice or prohibition order. There is no restriction on the grounds of appeal but the main grounds for appeal are likely to be:
- the deficiency referred to in the notice does not amount to a hazard
- someone else is responsible for carrying out work at the property and the notice should be served on that person
- the works required in the notice are unreasonable or excessive and alternative works should be considered
If the landlord does not carry out the work
We can prosecute the landlord, and / or carry out the work ourselves and charge costs to the landlord. You could also take your landlord to court for breach of contract, but we would recommend that you get advice about this as court action is generally considered as a last resort because it can be costly and time consuming.
You also have rights to take court action under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation Act).
In accordance with the act, your landlord must make sure that your home is fit for human habitation, which means that it is safe, healthy and free from things that could cause you or anyone else in your household serious harm. For example, if your house or flat is too cold and you cannot heat it, this can affect your health.
Most landlords provide a good standard of property and do repairs promptly, but some landlords do not, and this means that some tenants live in dangerous or unhealthy conditions. The act helps these tenants and makes sure irresponsible landlords improve their properties or leave the business.
If rented houses and flats are not fit for human habitation, tenants can take their landlords to court. The court can make the landlord carry out repairs or put right health and safety problems. The court can also make the landlord pay compensation to the tenant.
We strongly advise you to get advice before making a claim as not all types of tenancy are covered by the act, and some types of disrepair may not be covered. There is also a process that must have been followed before any action can be started.
More information about the Act and how to make a claim can be found on the Government website.