12 February 2012
As a tenant, you have the right to have the structure of your home kept in good repair by the landlord. This includes some of the installations in the home such as heating and hot water systems. You will often be responsible yourself for repairs to internal decoration and for minor repairs such as a blocked sink. Details about repairs are usually set out in a written tenancy agreement that describes the landlord's and tenant's responsibilities. If you do not have a tenancy agreement the law may still give you some basic rights. However, you should always check your housing status before you complain about housing conditions, as some landlords try to evict tenants who wish to enforce their legal rights to repair.
When you have decided that your repair should be done by the landlord, you must tell them about the repair that is needed. You should write out a description of the problem and collect evidence such as photographs, a report from environmental health officers, and medical reports if the disrepair is affecting your health or the health of someone in your household.
If the landlord still fails to carry out the work you have a number of options, some of which depend on what type of landlord you have. If you have a private landlord, you can apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel which has the power to order your landlord to carry out the repairs. If you do not have a private landlord, you could consider contacting the Environmental Health department at your local authority. If your landlord is a registered social landlord such as a housing association or is a private landlord, then the local authority may be able to force them to take action. If you are a tenant of the local authority itself, then you should make a complaint using the authority’s complaints procedure. Ultimately, whatever type of landlord you have, you can take your landlord to court.
You should carry on paying your rent while you try to get the repair work done, as your landlord may try to evict you if you have rent arrears.
For more information about problems with rented accommodation, see Getting repairs done while renting.
For more information on general problems with privately renting tenants, see Common problems with renting.
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