Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

This is the law that makes housing disrepair claims possible. Every residential tenant in England and Wales has the protections in Section 11, whether you rent from a council, housing association, or private landlord.

What Section 11 says

Your landlord must:

1. Keep the structure and exterior of your home in good repair (walls, roof, windows, doors, external pipes and drains)
2. Keep the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating, and hot water in proper working order
3. Carry out repairs within a reasonable time after being notified

What "structure and exterior" covers

• Walls, ceilings, floors, foundations
• Roof, chimneys, gutters, downpipes
• External doors, windows, frames
• External walls and rendering
• Drains and external pipes

What "installations" covers

• Pipes and tanks (water and waste)
• Boiler, central heating, hot water
• Electrical wiring, sockets, fuse box
• Toilets, baths, sinks, basins
• Gas pipes and fittings

What's NOT covered

• Cosmetic damage you caused
• Internal redecoration (your landlord doesn't have to repaint just because you don't like the colour)
• Damage from your own negligence (e.g. you flooded the bathroom)
• Items you brought into the property (your washing machine breaking is your problem)

How to make a Section 11 claim work

1. Report the issue in writing (text or email is fine, verbal reports are harder to evidence)
2. Give the landlord reasonable time to repair (typically 21 days, less for emergencies)
3. Document the failure, photos, dates, follow-up reports
4. Send a Letter of Claim following the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Cases
5. If the landlord still ignores, issue court proceedings

Time limit

You have 6 years from the date the disrepair started to bring a claim. Don't leave it too long, evidence gets harder to gather.

Awaab's Law overlay

For social housing tenants in England, Awaab's Law (Section 10A LTA 1985, in force 27 October 2025) adds firm statutory deadlines on top of Section 11:

• 24 hours to investigate an emergency hazard and make the home safe.
• 10 working days to investigate a significant hazard.
• 5 working days after that investigation to complete the relevant safety work.
• 3 working days after that investigation to send the tenant a written summary of findings (this window runs at the same time as the 5-working-day works window).
• Offer of alternative accommodation if the home cannot be made safe in time.

Together, Section 11 and Awaab's Law give social tenants the strongest disrepair protections in UK history.

Start a claim | Call 0800 030 4669