Broken oven or cooker: what can I do?

In short

If the oven or cooker came with the property, on your inventory or in the agreement, your landlord must keep it working and repair or replace it within a fair time of your report. If you brought it yourself, it is yours. Either way, report the fault in writing and keep a copy.

Broken oven, and a landlord doing nothing? This guide covers your rights and the steps to take.

Who owns the oven?

The first question is whether the oven or cooker belongs to your landlord or to you.

Landlord-supplied: it should sit on your inventory or in the agreement, and the landlord must keep it working.

Yours: the landlord owes nothing on it. Repair or replacement is at your own cost.

Not sure? Check the agreement, or the inventory you signed at the start. An appliance that was there when you moved in almost certainly belongs to the landlord.

Is the landlord legally required to repair it?

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets the landlord's repair duties: structure, heating, hot water, gas and electricity installations, sanitary fittings. Ovens are not named in the Act, but:

• A built-in oven, fitted into the kitchen, is likely to count as fixtures and fall inside the landlord's duties
• A freestanding one supplied with a furnished let carries a contractual duty to keep it working

Where the landlord supplied the appliance with the tenancy, courts have found an implied duty to keep it in reasonable repair. A broken oven left broken breaches it.

What about gas cookers?

A gas cooker that stops working may also be a safety issue. Gas appliances must be kept safe under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998: a Gas Safe registered engineer must check them yearly, and you get a copy of the certificate.

Report a faulty gas cooker as a safety concern, not just disrepair.

Steps to take when the oven breaks

Step 1: Tell your landlord in writing

Email or text the landlord or agent. Keep it simple:

"The oven in the kitchen has stopped working. It was working when I moved in and has been provided as part of the tenancy. Please can you arrange to repair or replace it as soon as possible."

Keep a copy. Note the date you sent it.

Step 2: Follow up if there is no response

No reply within about two weeks? Write again. Say you wrote before, heard nothing, and ask again for the repair.

Step 3: Escalate

Two or three weeks with no action?

• Contact the letting agent directly, if there is one
• An agent's professional body, such as the Property Ombudsman scheme, can also hear it
• Social tenants can escalate through the formal complaints process, then the Housing Ombudsman

Private tenants can also contact the council's environmental health team. A broken cooker, with no other way to cook, is a potential health hazard.

Can I deduct the cost of repairs from my rent?

No. Do not stop rent, or deduct from it, without legal advice first. Even in the right, you risk eviction. Get advice before any such step.

Can I claim compensation?

A landlord-supplied oven left broken for a long stretch, despite requests, can feed a wider disrepair claim. Compensation can cover the inconvenience, the cost of eating out or cooking another way, and the stress.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Disrepair your landlord has not fixed, including a broken landlord-supplied oven inside a wider claim? We may be able to help.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (legislation.gov.uk)