The difference between repairs and improvements: what your landlord must do

One of the most common rows between landlords and tenants: is a job a repair, which the landlord must do, or an improvement, which they need not? The difference matters. It shapes what you can ask for. It shapes what you can claim when the landlord says no.

What is a repair?

A repair puts something back the way it was. A part worn out, broken, or dead? Fixing it is a repair. The landlord must repair:

• The structure and outside of the home (roof, walls, floors, windows, outside doors)
• Heating and hot water
• Drains, gutters, and outside pipes
• Toilets, baths, sinks, and basins
• Gas and electricity supplies

The duty comes from Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It covers most private and social rented homes in England.

Examples of repairs:

• A leaking roof fixed to stop water coming in
• A broken boiler replaced so the heating works again
• A cracked outside wall repaired where it lets water in
• A broken window fixed where it no longer closes
• A failed damp-proof course put right

What is an improvement?

An improvement makes something better than before. It adds to the home or upgrades it, rather than putting it back. Improvements are usually not owed.

Examples that are usually improvements:

• Double glazing fitted where single glazing stood before
• A new bathroom or kitchen while the old one still worked
• Central heating put into a home that only had electric heaters
• Insulation added to a home that had none

Where the line is not clear

In real life the line blurs. Some things to weigh:

The exact same part is not always possible. Original parts stop being sold, or stop being good enough. Think old single-glazed frames beyond repair. The landlord may then have to fit something a bit better. Courts have said no landlord must make the home better than it was. But "I can't get the exact same part" excuses nothing either.

Energy efficiency. The minimum energy standards make landlords of the worst-rated private homes do some improvement work. So a limited duty to improve exists in some cases.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. A home unfit through cold, damp, or structural problems may force work beyond a simple repair. The work makes it fit. That blurs the line further.

An HHSRS check. The council's environmental health team may find a Category 1 hazard, a serious risk. The council can then make the landlord fix it. The work may mean improvements as well as repairs.

What if the landlord says it is an improvement, not a repair?

Is the landlord refusing work you believe is a repair, calling it an improvement they need not do? You can:

• Report the problem to the council's environmental health team for an independent view
• Get legal advice on a housing disrepair claim
• Ask an independent surveyor to check the home

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

A landlord refusing work you believe is theirs to do may face a housing disrepair claim.

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)
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) guidance (GOV.UK)

Related articles

• How to report disrepair to your landlord
• HHSRS Category 1 hazard explained
• What is the Fitness for Human Habitation Act?