What are your rights as a tenant? Landlord obligations under UK law

Direct answer

If you rent your home in England or Wales, the law gives you clear rights. Your landlord must keep the structure of your home in good repair, must make sure the home is fit to live in, and (if you are a social tenant) must meet strict deadlines for fixing damp, mould, and other serious hazards. If you have reported a problem in writing and nothing has happened for weeks or months, you have three routes you can use in order: complain in writing, ask the council to inspect, and (if the disrepair has caused you harm) make a housing disrepair claim. This page explains each right in plain English so you know where you stand.

Key facts

• The 2024 to 2025 English Housing Survey found about 9% of homes in England, around 2.3 million, had a category 1 (most serious) hazard under the HHSRS. In the private rented sector the figure was 10%. English Housing Survey 2024-25, GOV.UK
• The same survey found about 15% of homes in England, around 4.0 million, did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. In the private rented sector the figure was 22%. English Housing Survey 2024-25, GOV.UK

Your landlord's main legal duties

Three laws cover almost every repair issue tenants face.

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

This is the long-established baseline. Section 11 says your landlord must keep in repair:

• The structure and exterior of your home (walls, roof, windows, external doors, gutters, drains)
• The installations for water, gas, electricity, and sanitation (pipes, wiring, basins, baths, toilets)
• The installations for space heating and water heating (boilers, radiators, hot water cylinders)

It applies to nearly every tenancy of less than seven years, including assured shorthold tenancies. You cannot sign these rights away. A clause in your tenancy that says "tenant responsible for the boiler" does not override Section 11.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

This act amends the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and applies to all rented homes in England, social and private. It says your home must be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. "Fit" means free of category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which includes serious damp and mould, dangerous wiring, broken heating in winter, structural problems, and pest infestations.

If your home is not fit, you can take your landlord to court directly. You do not need to involve the council first.

Awaab's Law (social tenants only, in force 27 October 2025)

Awaab's Law sets fixed deadlines for social landlords (councils and housing associations) dealing with serious hazards in the home.

• Emergency hazards (anything posing an immediate risk to health or safety): your landlord must investigate within 24 hours and attempt to make the home safe as soon as practicable.
• Significant hazards (damp, mould, and other serious risks): your landlord must investigate within 10 working days, give you a written summary of the findings within 3 working days of the investigation, and begin remedial works within a further 5 working days.

Awaab's Law currently applies only to the social rented sector. Private tenants rely on Section 11 and the Fitness for Human Habitation Act. There is ongoing work in Parliament to extend Awaab's Law-style deadlines to private landlords.

What counts as a "reasonable time" for repairs?

For non-emergency repairs in the private sector, the law uses a "reasonable time" test. There is no single number that fits every situation, but courts and councils generally treat the following as a starting point:

• Loss of heating or hot water in winter: same day or next day
• Major water leak, dangerous wiring, dangerous gas appliance: within 24 hours
• Damp and mould affecting health: a few weeks to investigate, then a clear repair plan
• Other significant repairs (broken windows, doors, kitchen units): one to three months from being reported

A landlord who has had three months or more from a written report and has done nothing is almost always outside what is reasonable.

What to do if your landlord ignores you

Use these steps in order. Each one strengthens the next, and the written record you build at each stage is what makes the next step work.

1. Put it in writing. Email or send a letter. Describe the problem clearly, say when it started, attach photos or short videos if you can, and ask for it to be fixed within a reasonable time. Keep a copy. This is the single most important step. Verbal complaints are easy for a landlord to deny later.

2. Send a formal complaint. If two to four weeks pass with no real action, use the landlord's official complaints procedure. Social tenants follow an internal two-stage process, and if you are still not satisfied, you can take the matter to the Housing Ombudsman at no cost. Private tenants can complain to The Property Ombudsman or The Property Redress Scheme, depending on which scheme the letting agent belongs to.

3. Ask the council to inspect. Contact your local council's environmental health team. They can inspect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and serve an improvement notice on your landlord. An improvement notice is legally binding, and ignoring it is a criminal offence.

4. Get advice on a housing disrepair claim. A complaint puts pressure on the landlord. A claim is different: it asks the court to order the repairs and to award compensation for the time you have lived with the disrepair and any harm it has caused.

Complaint or claim, what is the difference?

A complaint is an internal or regulatory process. It is free, it is informal, and the outcome is usually an apology, an action plan, or in serious cases an ombudsman's decision. It can take many months to reach a conclusion.

A claim is a civil court case. You can run a claim under a no win no fee agreement so there is no upfront cost. A claim can deliver three things at once: a court order requiring the repairs to be done, compensation for the harm caused (damaged belongings, illness, missed work, distress), and a clear written record of what went wrong. Many tenants run a complaint and a claim side by side because they do different jobs.

A short note on retaliatory eviction

Some tenants worry that complaining will lead to eviction. The law protects you. Under the Deregulation Act 2015, if you complained in writing and the council served an improvement notice in response, a Section 21 notice issued within six months is invalid. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has gone further by ending Section 21 no-fault evictions altogether. You are entitled to ask for repairs.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If you have reported disrepair in writing and your landlord has not put it right within a reasonable time (usually three months or more), 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.

You can also start your claim online and we will come back to you within one working day.

Related articles

• What is Awaab's Law in plain English?
• What is the Fitness for Human Habitation Act?
• How to request an HHSRS inspection
• How to make a formal complaint to your landlord
• Housing improvement notice, what it means for tenants