Getting repairs done in your rented home
To address issues with repairs in your rented home, use the Housing Disrepair Online Signposting Tool. This tool provides guidance on:
- How to get repairs fixed by your landlord or letting agent
- What to do if your landlord or letting agent is unresponsive to repair requests
Private Tenants – Has your landlord been breaking housing law?
You may be eligible for a Rent Repayment Order if your landlord has:
- Rented a licensable House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) without a licence
- Failed to manage or control an unlicensed HMO
- Not complied with enforcement action, such as:
- Improvement notice
- Prohibition notice
- Civil penalty notice
- Breach of a banning order
- Evicted you illegally or harassed you
- Used violence to secure entry to a property
For more information on Rent Repayment Orders, read our comprehensive guide here (PDF).
Identifying hazards in your privately rented home
A safe and healthy home is essential. Hazards are defined as anything that could harm the health and/or safety of residents or their visitors.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) from the Housing Act 2004 assesses these hazards. There are 29 hazards, grouped into two categories:
- Category 1 Hazards: Severe threats to health and safety
- Category 2 Hazards: Less serious threats
To help identify and assess hazards in your home, download the HHSRS Checklist (PDF).
Who is responsible and how should I take action?
Except in a few circumstances, most major and structural repairs will be the responsibility of your landlord.
If you believe there is a hazard within your home, you should contact your landlord to address the issue. It is advisable to do this in writing to ensure that your landlord clearly understands what needs to be done.
To help you with this, download the template letter (PDF) for structuring your letter to your landlord.
If you have given your landlord what you consider to be a fair and reasonable period of time to investigate and complete any necessary works but no progress has been made (i.e. 28 days unless it is an emergency situation), you can contact the Private Sector Housing team for advice or to arrange a HHSRS inspection.
If the investigating officer finds any category 1 hazards in your home, they have a legal responsibility to take further action. If they find a category 2 hazard, they can decide whether it is appropriate to take action or not.
It is usual for the officer to try to deal with the situation informally first, however if the situation is very serious and the landlord will not carry out the required work, the Council will consider appropriate enforcement action, in line with our Environmental Health Enforcement policy 2017 (PDF).
If you are already on a waiting list to be re-housed by the Council, please be aware that the HHSRS inspection has no influence on your place in the list. It is a tool to help you in your current property, not a fast track system for rehousing.