Tenant Repair Rights: What Your Landlord Must Fix

What do tenant repair rights cover under English law?

Tenant repair rights are primarily set out in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. For tenancies within its scope, the landlord cannot remove the duty by a clause in the tenancy agreement; an exclusion is only possible with the authorisation of the county court under section 12.

Section 11 covers two broad categories:

Structure and exterior. The landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair. This includes the roof, walls, floors, ceilings, windows, external doors, gutters, and drains.

Installations. The landlord must keep in repair and proper working order all installations for the supply of water, gas, and electricity, for sanitation, and for space heating and heating of water.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 adds a further layer to repair rights. For tenancies in England within its scope, the property must be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it.

What are landlords NOT required to repair?

• Items you installed yourself.
• Damage you caused through misuse or negligence.
• Communal areas managed by a freeholder.
• Items excluded from the tenancy (within the limit permitted by law).

If your landlord is claiming a defect is your fault in order to avoid carrying out a repair, a free legal assessment can consider whether the evidence supports that argument.

How do repair rights apply to private and social landlords?

Section 11 applies to private landlords, councils and housing associations alike, provided the tenancy falls within its scope. A council tenant and a private tenant can therefore have the same basic statutory repair rights.

Awaab's Law came into force for social housing in England on 27 October 2025. It uses the power inserted into the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, and the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 set the timeframes. For in-scope hazards, social landlords must:

• Emergency hazards: investigate and make the home safe within 24 hours. A heating failure is not automatically an emergency hazard; it depends on the risk to the household.
• Potential significant hazards: investigate within 10 working days of becoming aware
• Confirmed significant hazard: complete relevant safety work within 5 working days after the investigation concludes
• Supplementary preventative work: begin, or take steps to begin, within 5 working days; if starting then is not reasonably practicable, work must start as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks
• Written investigation summary: usually provided within 3 working days after the investigation

Until 30 November 2026, the significant-hazard timeframes apply to damp and mould. From that date Phase 2 extends them to further hazards, including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. See Awaab's Law explained for the full timetable.

Private landlords are not currently subject to Awaab's Law but remain bound by section 11 and the 2018 Act.

Does the notification requirement affect repair rights?

Usually, yes. For defects inside the home, a landlord is generally not in breach of section 11 until it has notice of the defect and has failed to repair it within a reasonable time. The courts have treated parts of a building that the landlord retains control of differently, so the rule is not identical for every defect. The practical step is the same: report every defect in writing as soon as it appears and keep a copy. The period for which compensation may be considered depends on when the landlord was in breach, not simply when the problem first developed.

What counts as a reasonable timeframe for repairs?

Statute does not define "reasonable" for section 11 repairs. Courts assess it by reference to:

• The severity and urgency of the defect
• The availability of specialist contractors
• Whether materials need to be ordered
• Whether access to the property was granted

There is no fixed number of days. A dangerous defect or a complete loss of heating or water in cold weather will usually call for a much faster response than a minor, non-urgent repair. For social landlords, Awaab's Law adds fixed statutory timeframes for in-scope hazards, alongside the general section 11 duty.

When do repair rights not apply because the tenant caused the damage?

If a tenant causes a defect through misuse or negligence, the landlord's repair obligation under section 11 does not apply to that damage. Landlords sometimes allege tenant damage to avoid a legitimate repair obligation. Common examples include attributing damp to the tenant's lifestyle, attributing a boiler failure to misuse rather than age, or arguing water damage resulted from a tenant leaving a window open. See condensation and landlord responsibility.

What to do when your landlord ignores your repair rights

Step 1: Written notification. State the defect clearly, give the date of discovery, and request repair within a specific timeframe.

Step 2: Written follow-up and complaint. A follow-up shows the landlord was given a reasonable opportunity to act. Social tenants can also use the landlord's complaints procedure and, after that, the Housing Ombudsman.

Step 3: Letter of Claim. A tenant or solicitor can send a Letter of Claim under the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England). The landlord should normally respond within 20 working days. Urgent safety problems should not wait for that timetable.

Step 4: Settlement or court proceedings. If the claim is not resolved, a court can order repairs and award damages, and a related personal injury claim may be considered where health has been affected and medical evidence supports it.

Eligible claims may be offered a No Win, No Fee agreement; the written terms explain any deductions. For how compensation is assessed, see loss of amenity compensation. For the full legal framework, see section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

This article provides general legal information only. It does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Awaab's Law Claims Specialists is a trading name of Driscoll Kingston & Co Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 839699).