Your landlord is responsible for repairing the structure and exterior of your rented home, plus the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets that duty, and section 12 makes any tenancy clause that tries to shift it onto you void.
You handle the small stuff: changing light bulbs, bleeding radiators, keeping the place reasonably clean and aired, and reporting faults quickly. Damage you or your guests cause is yours to put right or pay for. Everything structural, everything plumbed, wired or piped in, stays with the landlord.
This page is the overview for the whole repairs topic. It answers the who-fixes-what question, gives realistic timescales, and points you to the detailed guide for each specific problem, from a broken boiler to a collapsed ceiling. Browse every guide in the repairs section.
What repairs is my landlord responsible for?
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property, including drains, gutters and external pipes, and keep in repair and proper working order the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water.
That duty is implied into almost every tenancy granted for less than 7 years, which covers nearly all private and social tenancies in England and Wales. It applies whether you rent from a private landlord, a letting agent, a council or a housing association, and it applies even if your tenancy agreement never mentions repairs.
Three points give section 11 real force:
- You can't sign it away. Section 12 of the same Act makes any clause that tries to exclude or limit the landlord's repair duty void, unless a county court has approved it with both parties' consent. That almost never happens. A tenancy agreement saying you're responsible for the roof, the wiring or the boiler typically has no legal effect.
- The home must also be fit to live in. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 inserted section 9A into the 1985 Act. Homes in England must be fit for human habitation when the tenancy starts and stay that way throughout. Fitness is judged on the matters in section 10, including damp, ventilation, water supply and any serious hazard under the Housing Act 2004.
- Injuries have their own route. Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 puts a separate duty on landlords to take reasonable care that anyone who might be affected by a defect is reasonably safe from personal injury or damage to their property. It bites once the landlord knows about the defect or ought to have known.
The duty starts when the landlord has notice of the problem, which is why every repair report should go in writing, dated, with photos.
Who is responsible for each type of repair?
The landlord carries almost every repair that involves the building or its installations. The table below covers the most common disputes, with the timescale you can realistically press for and the TTV guide that goes deeper on each one.
| Repair problem | Who's responsible | Realistic timescale | Deep dive | |---|---|---|---| | No heating or hot water | Landlord (s.11: heating and hot water installations) | 24 hours in cold weather; 1 to 3 working days otherwise | Heating and hot water repairs | | Roof leaks, gutters, external walls, windows | Landlord (s.11: structure and exterior) | Make-safe within days for active leaks; full repair within 28 days | Structure and exterior repairs | | Cracked, bulging or collapsed ceiling | Landlord (structure), urgent safety issue | Make-safe within 24 hours; investigation and repair to follow | Collapsed ceilings and landlord repairs | | Basins, sinks, baths, toilets, blocked drains | Landlord (s.11: sanitation installations), unless you caused the blockage | 24 hours if it's your only toilet; otherwise days, not weeks | All repairs guides | | Damp and mould | Landlord where it comes from disrepair or the building; tenant ventilation habits can be a factor | Social landlords: fixed Awaab's Law deadlines; private: reasonable time | What you can do about damp | | Mice, rats, bedbugs and other pests | Depends on the cause: landlord if entry points or disrepair let them in, or if the infestation predates your tenancy | Varies; councils can act where an infestation is a health hazard | Pest infestations and your rights | | Internal decoration wear and tear | Landlord over time; tenant for damage beyond fair wear and tear | Usually handled between tenancies | All repairs guides | | Light bulbs, radiator bleeding, smoke alarm batteries, garden upkeep | Tenant (day-to-day, tenant-like use) | Ongoing | See the tenant section below |
Timescales for private tenants reflect common letting-industry and council enforcement practice rather than fixed statutory deadlines, so treat them as the standard to hold your landlord to rather than a guarantee.
What repairs am I responsible for as a tenant?
Tenants must use the property in a "tenant-like manner". That's the phrase courts use for day-to-day upkeep: small jobs a careful occupier would do without calling anyone, plus not damaging the place. You're never responsible for structural repairs or the installations, whatever your agreement says.
In practice your side covers:
- Reporting faults promptly, in writing. The landlord's repair duty only starts once they know. Sitting on a leak for weeks can also make you liable for the extra damage the delay caused.
- Minor day-to-day tasks. Changing light bulbs and fuses, bleeding radiators, testing smoke alarms and replacing their batteries, unblocking a sink you blocked, keeping gardens tidy where the agreement says so.
- Reasonable ventilation and heating. Persistent condensation mould caused purely by never opening a window or drying washing on radiators with no ventilation can be put down to lifestyle, though landlords often over-claim this and the building is frequently the true cause.
- Damage you, your household or your guests cause. A cracked window from a football, a burn in the worktop. The landlord may still have to fix safety-critical damage, but can typically recover the cost from you or your deposit.
- Allowing access. You must let the landlord in for repairs and safety checks on reasonable notice, normally at least 24 hours, except in genuine emergencies.
How long does a landlord have to fix a repair?
The law requires repair within a "reasonable time" of the landlord being told, and what's reasonable depends on the problem. Total loss of heating in winter, a major leak or an unsafe ceiling calls for action within 24 hours. Routine faults should typically be fixed within 28 days.
For private tenancies there's no fixed statutory clock yet, so the working standard looks like this:
| Category | Examples | Response you can press for | |---|---|---| | Emergency | No heating in cold weather, burst pipe, gas leak (call 0800 111 999 first), dangerous ceiling or wiring, only toilet unusable | Within 24 hours | | Urgent | Partial heating failure, containable leak, broken window or external door lock, faulty extractor causing damp | 1 to 3 working days | | Routine | Dripping taps, minor cracks, sticking doors, worn sealant | Up to 28 days |
Social housing tenants in England now have real deadlines. Awaab's Law, in force since 27 October 2025 under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, requires councils and housing associations to make emergency hazards safe within 24 hours, investigate significant damp and mould within 10 working days, put findings in writing within 3 working days, and complete safety works within 5 working days. These duties form part of the tenancy, so missed deadlines can be enforced in court. A second phase, expected in late 2026, is set to add further hazards including excess cold and falls.
What safety checks must my landlord carry out by law?
Landlords must arrange an annual gas safety check, an electrical inspection at least every 5 years, working smoke alarms on every storey, and carbon monoxide alarms in any room with a fixed fuel-burning appliance. Each duty comes from a specific regulation with penalties for landlords who skip it.
- Gas: every 12 months. Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires a safety check of every gas appliance and flue the landlord supplies, at intervals of no more than 12 months, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. You're entitled to a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, or before you move in.
- Electrics: every 5 years. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require private landlords to have the fixed electrical installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years by a qualified person, give tenants the report within 28 days (new tenants before they move in), and complete any remedial work the report requires within 28 days or sooner if the report says so.
- Smoke alarms: every storey. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 require at least one smoke alarm on each storey with living accommodation, working at the start of the tenancy.
- Carbon monoxide alarms: any fuel-burning appliance. Since the 2022 amendment to the same regulations, a carbon monoxide alarm is required in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas boiler or wood burner, excluding gas cookers. Landlords must also repair or replace any alarm reported as faulty, as soon as reasonably practicable.
If you've never seen a gas safety record or an electrical report, ask for both in writing. A landlord who can't produce them is breaking the rules, and your council can fine them.
Worth knowing: boiler cover plans such as Hometree offer landlord packages that can include the annual boiler service and gas safety certificate alongside repairs by their own engineers, one way to stop these checks slipping. (Affiliate link - we may earn a commission at no cost to you.)
What can I do if my landlord won't do repairs?
Report the fault in writing, chase once with a deadline, then bring in your council's environmental health team. Councils can inspect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and legally require the work. If that fails, court action is available. Keep dated evidence at every step.
The short version of the escalation path:
- Write to your landlord or agent. Describe the fault, when it started, and ask for a repair date. Photos help. This starts the legal clock.
- Chase with a deadline. One follow-up, stating it's your final request before you contact the council.
- Contact environmental health. Council inspectors assess hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004, Part 1), covering damp, excess cold, falls, fire and 25 other hazard types. Where inspectors find a serious hazard, the council can serve an improvement notice that legally compels the work. Our guide to contacting the environmental health department walks through the whole process, including what to say and what happens after an inspection.
- Court, as a last resort. A magistrates' court complaint under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (21 days' written notice to the landlord first) or a county court housing conditions claim can order the work and award compensation. Free advice is available from Shelter, Citizens Advice or your council's housing options team first.
Two warnings. Don't stop paying rent: withholding rent has no clear legal basis, and arrears hand your landlord a possession ground. And don't pay for major work yourself expecting the landlord to reimburse you; there's a recognised but risky repair-and-deduct procedure that needs proper notice and quotes, so get advice before trying it. Our step-by-step guide to what to do if your landlord refuses to do repairs covers each stage in detail.
What changed under the Renters' Rights Act 2025?
2026 update - Renters' Rights Act 2025: New repair duties now apply to private landlords. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector and brings in Awaab's Law, which sets strict timescales for landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards such as damp and mould. If a landlord ignores a dangerous defect you can report it to your council's environmental health team, and where the problem is serious the council can require the work to be done. The Act is being phased in across 2026. See our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide.
For repairs, two changes stand out. First, Section 21 "no-fault" evictions were abolished from 1 May 2026, so a private landlord can no longer answer a repair request by simply ending your tenancy; retaliatory eviction has lost its main tool. Second, the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law-style deadlines are being extended to private renting as the Act's provisions are switched on, which will give private tenants the kind of fixed timescales social tenants got in October 2025. Commencement is staged, so check the current position before relying on a specific private-sector deadline.
Can I get compensation for disrepair?
You may be able to, where a landlord failed to repair within a reasonable time after being told. A county court can order the work and award compensation, often assessed as a proportion of the rent for the period the home was affected, plus specific losses you can evidence. Outcomes vary widely and depend on your records.
That's why the single most useful habit is boring: report everything in writing, photograph everything, and keep a dated log. Shelter and Citizens Advice both offer free help with disrepair problems, and the detailed guides across our repairs section cover the specific problem you're dealing with, from heating to damp to pests.
