Landlord Not Doing Repairs? Your Legal Rights & How to Force Action
A landlord not doing repairs isn’t just frustrating, in England it’s usually a breach of the law. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes your landlord legally responsible for the structure of your home, its heating, water and sanitation (legislation.gov.uk), and the fitness-for-human-habitation rules add a duty to keep your home free from damp and hazards. The single most important thing you can do right now is put your repair request in writing, a dated record starts the legal clock and is the foundation of everything that follows.
What Repairs Is Your Landlord Legally Responsible For?
Your landlord cannot pass structural maintenance duties onto you, no matter what your tenancy agreement says. For virtually all private tenancies in England, the law implies these duties automatically (Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985).
Structure & exterior
Water, gas & electricity
Sanitation
Basins, sinks, baths, showers and toilets, kept in repair and working order.
Heating & hot water
Boilers, radiators and the installations that heat your home and water.
What your landlord is NOT responsible for
Anything you’re entitled to remove, damage caused by your own lack of “tenant-like” care (day-to-day cleaning, unblocking your own sink), rebuilding after fire or flood, and appliances like washing machines unless the tenancy agreement says otherwise. Read more about whether a landlord has to replace a washing machine in the UK.
The damp and mould rule
Since the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 amended the 1985 Act, your home must also be fit for human habitation, and the statutory test explicitly includes freedom from damp and any prescribed HHSRS hazard. “It’s just condensation, open a window” is not a legal defence when the underlying cause is disrepair your landlord must fix: a broken gutter letting water penetrate the wall, or an inadequate heating system. Landlords must also hold a current annual Gas Safety Certificate.
Your landlord (or someone authorised in writing) may enter to inspect the property’s condition on 24 hours’ written notice, they cannot simply turn up unannounced (legislation.gov.uk).
Awaab's Law: Does It Apply to Private Renters Yet?
This is the question most repair guides get wrong. Here is the exact position as of September 2026. For a fuller explanation, see our guide to whether Awaab’s Law applies to private renters.
Coming via the Renters' Rights Act
- The RRA 2025 extends Awaab’s Law to private tenancies in its third implementation phase
- Timescales are still subject to consultation, no confirmed start date (GOV.UK roadmap)
- Industry estimates point to around 2027
- Meanwhile: your landlord’s Section 11 and fitness duties are fully enforceable now, and the social deadlines are a strong, citable benchmark of what’s “reasonable”
Awaab's Law since 27 Oct 2025
- Emergency hazards: investigate and carry out safety work within 24 hours
- Significant damp and mould: investigate within 10 working days
- …then make safe within 5 working days
- Can’t be made safe in time? Landlord must offer suitable alternative accommodation (GOV.UK)
When it changes, this page changes.
Emergency vs Non-Emergency Repairs
There is no single statutory clock for private tenancies, "reasonable time" depends on the hazard, the impact on your household (children, elderly, health conditions shorten it), and when your landlord was notified (GOV.UK).
The 4-Step Plan: How to Force Your Landlord to Do Repairs
Send a formal written repair request
Email or letter, dated: describe the problem, where it is, how long it’s been going on, and request a repair date. Ask for written confirmation within 7 days. Keep the tone factual.
Why it matters: the legal clock starts when your landlord is notified, before that, they’re not liable for the delay.
Build your evidence file
Dated photos and videos of every defect; a log of each contact (date, method, what was said); receipts for damaged belongings and extra heating costs. If damp: a cheap humidity meter helps. If your health is affected, see your GP so it’s on your medical record.
This file is your compensation claim, built in advance.
Report your landlord to the council, request an HHSRS inspection
If the written request is ignored, contact your council’s environmental health team. An officer inspects under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. A category 1 hazard (includes damp and mould, excess cold, unsafe electrics) means the council must act, and can serve an enforceable Improvement Notice (GOV.UK). If you’re still trying to get a response from your landlord, see what to do if your landlord ignores repair requests.
This is the hinge of the whole plan, see the council timeline below.
Formal legal action
A county court disrepair claim under Section 11 can force the repairs and win compensation. A letter before action usually gets movement first, most landlords settle once the paper trail shows a winnable claim.
Members: submit a Situation Review and we’ll assess your evidence before you spend anything.
How to Report Your Landlord to the Council (HHSRS)
You report in writing first
The council will expect you to have notified your landlord and allowed reasonable time. Your dated written request from Step 1 is exactly what they want to see.
Request an HHSRS inspection
Contact the environmental health team. An officer assesses your home against the 29 hazards of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, damp, excess cold, unsafe electrics and more (GOV.UK).
Category 1 hazard found
The council must take enforcement action for category 1 hazards — typically serving an Improvement Notice that compels your landlord to do the works by a set date.
Landlord ignores the notice
Non-compliance is a criminal offence. It exposes your landlord to civil penalties — and it's the trigger for a Rent Repayment Order: up to 2 years' rent repaid to you (GOV.UK).
⚠ The RRO trap: ignoring the council's order, not slow repairs, is the offence
Can You Withhold Rent for Repairs?
Short answer: no, don’t do it without formal advice. In England you have no general right to withhold rent because repairs are outstanding. Your duty to pay and your landlord’s duty to repair are separate legal obligations: withholding creates arrears, and rent arrears are grounds for possession even while the property is in disrepair (Shelter England, Citizens Advice). If you are worried that your landlord may try to remove you because of the dispute, see can a landlord evict you without a court order?
What to do instead:
Housing Disrepair Claims: How Much Compensation?
General damages
Special damages
A repair order + costs
Every claim turns on evidence: the dated written report, the photos, the landlord’s responses. Steps 1 and 2 are your claim, built in advance. Members: submit a Situation Review for an assessment of your claim’s strength →
Rent Repayment Orders: When Can You Get Rent Back?
A Rent Repayment Order lets a tribunal order your landlord to repay up to 2 years’ rent, but only where the landlord committed one of the specific offences listed in the legislation (GOV.UK).
For the repairs context, the relevant trigger is: failing to comply with a council Improvement Notice served after an HHSRS inspection found a hazard in your home. Other qualifying offences include harassment and illegal eviction, and licensing failures.
So the realistic sequence is: written request → no action → council inspection → Improvement Notice → landlord still doesn’t comply → that’s when an RRO becomes available. You cannot get rent back simply because repairs were slow, the offence is ignoring the council’s formal order. That’s one more reason Step 3 is the hinge of the plan.
Served an Eviction Notice After Complaining? Retaliatory Eviction
Your landlord cannot lawfully evict you for asking for repairs. Since 1 May 2026, Section 21 “no-fault” notices no longer exist — a private landlord must rely on a specific Section 8 ground, and there is no ground for “tenant complained about repairs” (Shelter England).
- Timing is the tell. A notice served days or weeks after a written repair complaint is inherently suspicious to a court — especially where the ground relied on is weak.
- Your paper trail is your defence. The dated complaint, the landlord’s responses (or silence), and any council notices let the court treat the possession claim as retaliatory — and courts can dismiss retaliatory claims.
- Harassment is a crime. Threats, cutting services, or forcing you out over a repair complaint can be criminal harassment or illegal eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (GOV.UK) — and harassment is itself an RRO-triggering offence.
Situations Renters Face, and What to Do
→Landlord ignoring messages about repairs
You've texted and called repeatedly about a broken boiler or leaking roof; they promise and never act.
Send the formal written request now, it fixes the date from which delay counts against them.
→Landlord says the damage is your fault
They blame your "lifestyle" for the mould and refuse to act.
Reply in writing: describe the defect, request an inspection, the fitness rules make them responsible for damp caused by disrepair, regardless of lifestyle claims.
→No heating or hot water in winter
Children or vulnerable people in the household, and the property is cold.
Treat as an emergency: written request immediately stating the household impact, then the council the same day if there's no same-day response.
→Repair done badly or the problem returns
A contractor "fixed" it; weeks later it's back and your landlord refuses to return.
Write again confirming the repair was inadequate and the defect persists — a second dated complaint strengthens the council report and any claim.
→Damp and mould dismissed as "condensation"
Landlord says open the windows; it's affecting your health.
Written request citing the fitness-for-habitation duty and the underlying cause (gutter, damp-proof course, inadequate heating). Get health effects on your GP record; request an HHSRS inspection.
→Threatened with eviction since you complained
A notice or hints that your tenancy won't survive the complaint.
Don't move out on a notice alone, only a court order can evict. Document the timeline: weak grounds served right after a complaint point to retaliation, which courts can dismiss.
Force the Repairs, Without Paying Solicitor Fees
Renters Rights Act Services gives you the repair notices, evidence templates and case support to force action against a landlord not doing repairs, built around the same escalation path this page walks you through.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does my landlord have to fix a repair?
What counts as an emergency repair?
Can I be evicted for complaining about repairs?
Can I withhold rent if repairs are not done?
What is a Rent Repayment Order?
What if my landlord says the damage is my fault?
What is the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)?
What is the council's role in repair disputes?
Do I need a solicitor to report a repair issue?
Does Awaab's Law apply to private renters?
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Renters Rights Act Services gives you the repair notices, evidence templates and case support to force action against a landlord not doing repairs, without paying solicitor fees. If your landlord has been turning up unannounced to inspect, see our guidance on [landlords entering without permission].
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