Landlords are only required to carry out repairs, they are not required to carry out improvements to the property. “Repair” is understood as fixing something that is broken by returning it to the same standard as before. For a repair to be needed, there must be something to repair in the first place and an original condition to return it to.
Your landlord is usually responsible for repairs to:
- Gas appliances, boiler, pipes, radiators, flues and ventilation systems
- Heating and hot water
- Electrical wiring
- Baths, toilets, sinks, pipes and drains
- The structure and exterior of the property, this includes doors, windows, roof, drains, guttering, walls and stairs
Landlords are also usually responsible for electrical and other appliances that they provided and that were included with the tenancy.
Tenants must treat the property 'in a tenant-like manner', which means carrying out small jobs which a reasonable tenant would do. You can read more about tenant responsibility for repairs here.
Fitness for Human Habitation
Landlords also have a duty to ensure that the property is “fit for human habitation” at the beginning of the tenancy and throughout. This applies to all tenancies that began after 20 March 2019.
It is important to note that 'unfit for human habitation' does not just mean that there is a defect in the property. It means that there is a defect in the property that is so serious a court would consider the property to be unfit for that person to live in.
The landlord is normally responsible for dealing with the following issues:
- Mould and serious damp issues
- Rats, mice and other pests
- Water supply
- Lack of natural light
- Lack of suitable ventilation
- Lack of supply of hot and cold water
- Issues with drainage or the lavatories
- Difficulties with the preparation of cooked food
- Gas safety
- Electrical installations and appliances that were provided by the landlord
- Fire safety
In addition to this, the landlord must ensure that the property does not have any of the 29 hazards set out in the Housing Health and Safety (England) Regulations 2005.
Escalation
If the property is in need of repairs or is not fit for human habitation then you must first write to the landlord and clearly set out the issues. It is important to keep a written record of communication with the landlord as local authorities will require evidence of this should you subsequently need to escalate the matter. If the tenancy was set up using Rent Now, then an easy way to do this is through our issue reporting tool.
Once the problem has been reported, the landlord has to respond within 14 days. If they do not give you an adequate response within 14 days, then you can contact the council and you may be able to arrange an inspection. The council may then take further steps on your behalf such as issuing the landlord with an improvement Notice. An improvement notice requires that the hazards be removed or minimised within a set time - generally 28 days. It is a criminal offence for a landlord not to comply with an improvement notice. Landlords will also be prohibited from sending a Section 21 notice if they have received an improvement notice from the council.
You can read more about enforcement action by local authorities in this article
Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.