Getting repairs done
What your landlord has to fix, whoever you rent from, and what to do when the repair never arrives.
What your landlord must repair
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of your home, and keep in working order the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water. This applies to almost every tenancy of under seven years, and it cannot be contracted out of. A clause in your tenancy agreement saying otherwise is not enforceable.
That covers, among other things:
- Roof, walls, windows, doors, guttering and drains
- Basins, sinks, baths and toilets
- Pipes, wiring, the boiler and radiators
- Anything that has broken because something else was not repaired
On top of that, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires your home to be fit to live in. That is broader than repair: a home can be in perfect repair and still unfit because of serious damp, poor ventilation, or a safety hazard.
What they will often argue
The most common pushback on damp is that it is condensation caused by how you live: drying washing indoors, not opening windows, not heating the property. Sometimes there is something in that. Often it is a way of avoiding a ventilation or insulation problem that is the landlord's to solve.
You do not have to win that argument to get action. Awaab's Law is about hazards presenting a significant risk of harm, not about who caused them. Ask for the finding in writing, ask what they propose to do about ventilation and heating, and put both questions in an email.