Housing disrepair glossary

What the words in a repair dispute mean, in plain English: the terms in letters from landlords, councils, solicitors and the Housing Ombudsman. Each one links to the guide that explains it in full.

England and Wales have different rules for some of these. Where a term differs, the entry says so.

A

Assured shorthold tenancy (AST)

A type of assured tenancy under the Housing Act 1988 that was the usual private tenancy in England until 1 May 2026. On that date most existing private ASTs automatically became assured periodic tenancies, and a new private tenancy agreed since then is an assured periodic tenancy. Housing associations can still use ASTs, usually for short-term or starter tenancies, until the reforms reach their tenancies at a later date.

In Wales, assured and assured shorthold tenancies were replaced by occupation contracts on 1 December 2022.

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Assured tenancy

You may also see: assured periodic tenancy · APT

A tenancy under the Housing Act 1988 of a home in England that the tenant occupies as their only or principal home. Most housing association tenants have one, and GOV.UK says it normally lets them live in the home for the rest of their life. Since 1 May 2026 most private tenancies in England are assured periodic tenancies, which roll on weekly or monthly and cannot have an end date. Wales uses occupation contracts instead.

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Awaab’s Law

You may also see: Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 · SI 2025/1042

Rules giving social landlords in England fixed time limits to investigate and deal with serious hazards in their tenants’ homes. They come from the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 and are implied into the tenancy. Since 27 October 2025 they have covered emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards; government guidance says later phases will extend them to more hazards. They do not apply to private landlords or in Wales.

Source: Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025

C

Category 1 hazard

You may also see: Cat 1 hazard · High band hazard

The most serious level of hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. In England, since the 2026 reform, a hazard scoring 1,000 or more falls in the High band and is Category 1. Where a council considers that a Category 1 hazard exists, section 5 of the Housing Act 2004 says it must take the appropriate enforcement action, such as serving an improvement notice.

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

Category 2 hazard

You may also see: Cat 2 hazard

A hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System that scores below the Category 1 threshold. In England, since the 2026 reform, that means the Medium band, a score of 100 or more but below 1,000, or the Low band, below 100. A council has powers, but no duty, to take enforcement action over a Category 2 hazard, so whether it acts is a matter for its judgement.

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

Common parts

You may also see: communal areas · shared areas

The parts of a building its occupiers share rather than rent individually, such as entrance halls and staircases. As defined for section 11 and the English fitness duty, they include the structure and exterior of the building and any common facilities in it. Section 11 can make a landlord repair parts it has an interest in, but only where the disrepair affects the tenant’s enjoyment of their home or of common parts they may use.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10

Complaint Handling Code

You may also see: Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code · complaints code · two-stage complaints process

The Housing Ombudsman’s statutory code on how landlords in its scheme, including councils and housing associations in England, must handle complaints. It became statutory on 1 April 2024. It defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the landlord’s service, actions or lack of action, and requires a two-stage process with set response times. Extra stages such as a ‘stage 0’ are not allowed. It does not apply in Wales.

Source: Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code

Condensation

You may also see: condensation damp · condensation mould

Damp caused when moisture produced inside a home, from cooking, washing, bathing or drying clothes, cools and settles on colder surfaces such as windows, corners and walls behind furniture. Government guidance calls it the most common form of damp. Ventilation, insulation and heating all affect how much builds up, and the guidance says tenants managing it day to day is no substitute for tackling the underlying cause.

Source: GOV.UK guidance on damp and mould in rented homes

Contract-holder

The legal name in Wales for someone who rents their home under an occupation contract. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has used it in place of ‘tenant’ for most renters since 1 December 2022. Each person a landlord makes an occupation contract with is a contract-holder, though no one under 18 can be one. Sections 91 and 92 make the landlord’s fitness and repair duties terms of most contracts.

Read: Housing Disrepair Claims in Wales

Source: Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Council landlord (local authority)

You may also see: council housing · local authority landlord · council tenant

A council that owns and lets homes, in England usually on secure, introductory or flexible tenancies. It has the same core repairing and fitness duties as other landlords, and Awaab’s Law applies to its social homes. Because a council cannot take housing enforcement action against itself, its tenants usually rely on its complaints process and then the Housing Ombudsman. In Wales, councils let homes on occupation contracts as community landlords.

Read: Council Housing Disrepair Claims

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1; Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Counterclaim

A claim that a defendant makes against the claimant within the same court case, rather than starting separate proceedings. In housing, a tenant facing a landlord’s claim, typically for possession because of rent arrears, may counterclaim for disrepair. The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims does not cover claims that begin as counterclaims, but it still expects both sides to exchange information and try to settle early.

Source: Civil Procedure Rules: set-off, counterclaims and experts; Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

D

Damages

You may also see: compensation · special damages

Money a court orders one party to pay another to make up for loss caused by a breach of a legal duty, such as a landlord’s failure to meet a repairing or fitness obligation. The Pre-Action Protocol asks a tenant’s Letter of Claim to give details of any special damages, meaning specific financial losses such as damaged belongings. What, if anything, is awarded depends on the facts of each case.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims; Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10

Decent Homes Standard

You may also see: DHS

The government’s minimum standard for the condition of social rented homes in England. Under the current version, last updated in 2006, a decent home is free of Category 1 hazards, is in a reasonable state of repair, has reasonably modern facilities and services, and provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. The government has announced a reformed standard, also covering private renting, to apply from 2035.

Source: The Decent Homes Standard: 2006 guidance and the 2026 reform

Defective Premises Act 1972, section 4

You may also see: section 4 Defective Premises Act · DPA 1972 · landlord’s duty of care

A statutory duty of care owed by a landlord who has an obligation, or a right, to maintain or repair the premises. It requires the landlord to take reasonable care to see that people who might be affected by defects, not only the tenant, are reasonably safe from personal injury or damage to their property caused by a ‘relevant defect’. It applies once the landlord knows, or ought to have known, of the defect.

Read: Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims

Source: Defective Premises Act 1972, section 4

Disrepair

You may also see: housing disrepair · out of repair

Damage or deterioration to something a landlord must keep in repair, such as a leaking roof or a broken boiler, that has not been put right. In England the main repairing duty is section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985; in Wales, section 92 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. A defect present from the start, such as poor design, is not usually disrepair unless it causes damage, but it may still make a home unfit.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Appellate decisions on notice and on the structure of a home (Find Case Law); Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

E

Early notification letter

You may also see: letter notifying the claim

A letter telling a landlord that a housing conditions claim is coming, sent before the detailed Letter of Claim. The current Pre-Action Protocol in England does not use this name, but it says such a letter may be appropriate where detailed information is not yet available, particularly if the situation is urgent, so that the landlord has notice of the claim at the earliest opportunity.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

Emergency hazard

You may also see: imminent and significant risk of harm · Awaab’s Law emergency

Under Awaab’s Law, a hazard in a social home in England that poses an imminent and significant risk of harm to an occupier’s health or safety: one a reasonable landlord, knowing about the household, would make safe within 24 hours. The landlord must investigate and, if needed, complete the safety work within 24 hours of becoming aware, or secure suitable alternative accommodation. It can involve any prescribed hazard except crowding and lack of space.

Source: Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025

Environmental health (local housing authority)

You may also see: environmental health officer · EHO · council housing enforcement

The council team, usually environmental health, that can inspect rented homes for health and safety hazards using the HHSRS and take formal action against the landlord. It also deals with statutory nuisances. A council cannot take this enforcement action against itself, so GOV.UK tells council tenants to complain to the council as their landlord and then to the Housing Ombudsman.

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1; Statutory nuisance: Environmental Protection Act 1990, sections 79 to 82

F

Fitness for human habitation (England)

You may also see: section 9A · Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 · unfit for human habitation · fit to live in

A promise by the landlord, implied into most tenancies in England by section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, that the home is fit for human habitation when the tenancy starts and will stay fit throughout. A home is unfit if it is so defective in matters such as repair, stability, damp, ventilation, natural light, water supply, drainage, cooking facilities or a prescribed hazard that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation.

Source: Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10

Fitness for human habitation (Wales)

You may also see: section 91 · FFHH · 29 matters and circumstances

In Wales, the landlord’s duty under section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to ensure the home is fit for human habitation on the day the contract-holder moves in and for the whole contract. Fitness is judged against 29 prescribed matters and circumstances, including damp and mould, and a home is treated as unfit if required smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms or a valid electrical condition report are missing.

Read: Housing Disrepair Claims in Wales

Source: Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

H

Hazard awareness notice

A notice a council can serve under the Housing Act 2004 to tell a landlord, or another responsible person, that a hazard exists in a home. Unlike an improvement notice, it does not require any work to be done. GOV.UK says councils use it where a hazard is minor or where they are confident the landlord will carry out the improvements needed.

Read: HHSRS: Housing Health and Safety Rating System

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System)

You may also see: HHSRS assessment

The risk-based system councils in England use under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 to assess health and safety hazards in homes. An officer scores each hazard by how likely harm is and how serious it would be, judged against the people most vulnerable to it. For inspections begun from 23 June 2026, England uses 21 hazard types and three bands, High, Medium and Low, and the score decides whether a hazard is Category 1 or 2.

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

Housing Ombudsman

You may also see: Housing Ombudsman Service · social housing ombudsman

The free, independent service that makes final decisions on complaints from residents about landlords in its scheme. Councils and housing associations in England must belong to it. It normally considers a complaint only once the landlord’s own complaints process has been completed, and it can order a landlord to apologise, pay compensation or carry out works. It also monitors the Complaint Handling Code. Wales has a separate ombudsman.

Source: Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code; Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

I

Improvement notice

A formal notice a council serves under the Housing Act 2004 requiring the person responsible, usually the landlord, to carry out specified work to remove or reduce a hazard within a stated period. For a Category 1 hazard, the work must at least ensure the hazard stops being Category 1. Unlike a hazard awareness notice, it requires the work to be done.

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

Installations

You may also see: service installations · heating and hot water installations

The systems a landlord must keep in repair and proper working order under section 11: those supplying water, gas and electricity, those for sanitation, including basins, sinks, baths and toilets, and those for space heating and heating water. Section 11 itself does not extend to other fixtures, fittings and appliances that use the supply, such as a cooker, though a tenancy agreement may. Section 92 in Wales calls them ‘service installations’.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

J

Joint inspection

Under the Pre-Action Protocol, an inspection of the home by different experts, one instructed by each side, at the same time. It is the fallback when the landlord and tenant cannot agree to use a single joint expert. Within 10 working days the experts should send both sides an agreed schedule of works, setting out the defects and works they agree on with a timetable, and where and why they disagree.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

L

Landlord’s right of entry

You may also see: landlord access · access for repairs · 24 hours’ notice

The landlord’s right to come into a rented home to check its condition. In England, section 11 and the fitness duty imply a term letting the landlord, or someone it authorises in writing, enter at reasonable times of day after at least 24 hours’ notice in writing, and Awaab’s Law adds a similar term. In Wales, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 allows entry at reasonable times, on at least 24 hours’ notice, to inspect or repair.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10; Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Letter of Claim

You may also see: letter before claim · letter before action

The letter in which a tenant sets out a housing conditions claim to the landlord under the Pre-Action Protocol. It should describe the defects and their history, how and when the landlord was told, their effect on the tenant, any special damages, and a proposed expert with draft instructions, and ask for the landlord’s records. The landlord should normally reply within 20 working days of receipt, which is treated as two days after the letter’s date.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

Limitation period

You may also see: time limit for a claim

The legal deadline for starting a court claim. If a claim is started after the limitation period for that type of claim has expired, the landlord can use that as a defence. The period depends on the kind of claim and its facts. Where the deadline is close, the Pre-Action Protocol says the tenant should ask the landlord to agree not to rely on a limitation defence while the Protocol is followed.

Read: Housing Disrepair Claim Time Limits

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

M

Maladministration

You may also see: severe maladministration · service failure

The Housing Ombudsman’s term for failings in how a landlord dealt with a matter. Under its scheme, findings can be of service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration. Examples include failing to meet legal obligations, relevant codes or the landlord’s own policies, unreasonable delay, and behaving unfairly, unreasonably or incompetently. Where it finds maladministration, the Ombudsman can order the landlord to put things right.

Source: Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code

N

Notice of disrepair

You may also see: reporting disrepair · O’Brien v Robinson

A landlord’s knowledge of a problem, which normally has to exist before it is liable for a defect inside the tenant’s home. The rule comes from O’Brien v Robinson; the Supreme Court in Edwards v Kumarasamy confirmed it but said it does not normally apply to parts not let to the tenant, such as common parts. Notice needs no special form, but a dated written report is easiest to prove.

In Wales, section 97 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 provides that the duty to keep the home fit during the contract, and the repairing duty, do not arise until the landlord becomes aware that work is needed.

Source: Appellate decisions on notice and on the structure of a home (Find Case Law); Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

O

Occupation contract

You may also see: secure contract · standard contract

The agreement under which most people rent their home in Wales. Since 1 December 2022 the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has treated most tenancies and licences of homes in Wales as occupation contracts. They are either secure contracts, which are periodic and the default for councils and housing associations, or standard contracts, which can be periodic or fixed-term. Sections 91 and 92 build fitness and repair duties into most of them.

Read: Housing Disrepair Claims in Wales

Source: Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

P

Penetrating damp

Damp caused by water getting into a building from outside through defects in its walls, roof, windows or floors, for example through a leaking roof or faulty guttering. Government guidance distinguishes it from condensation, which comes from moisture produced inside the home. Because the cause usually lies in the structure or exterior, penetrating damp often points to a repair that falls to the landlord.

Source: GOV.UK guidance on damp and mould in rented homes; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant

Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England)

You may also see: housing conditions protocol · housing disrepair protocol

The procedure the courts expect landlords and tenants in England to follow before a housing conditions claim is issued. It covers claims under sections 9A and 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, among others, and sets out the Letter of Claim, disclosure, the landlord’s response and the use of experts, with timescales it calls long stops. Wales has a separate protocol for housing disrepair cases.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

Prohibition order

An order a council can make under the Housing Act 2004 restricting or prohibiting the use of all or part of a home because of a hazard. It can, for example, stop a room being used, limit how many people may live there, or exclude a group particularly vulnerable to the hazard, until specified work is done. An emergency prohibition order takes effect immediately where a Category 1 hazard poses an immediate risk of serious harm.

Read: HHSRS: Housing Health and Safety Rating System

Source: HHSRS and council enforcement: Housing Act 2004, Part 1

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

You may also see: PSOW · Ombudsman Wales · Welsh ombudsman

The ombudsman that considers complaints about public services in Wales, including councils and housing associations acting as landlords. It is the Welsh route for social housing complaints, in place of England’s Housing Ombudsman. It expects you to have complained to the organisation first, and complaints about private landlords are outside its remit.

Read: Housing Disrepair Claims in Wales

Source: Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

R

Reasonable time

You may also see: reasonable period for repairs

The period a landlord is usually allowed to carry out a repair after it has notice of the problem. General law sets no fixed number of days: GOV.UK says the time depends on what the problem is and how serious it is. Fixed statutory deadlines apply only under particular schemes, such as Awaab’s Law for social housing in England. In Wales, section 97 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 uses the same reasonable-time test.

Source: Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10; Appellate decisions on notice and on the structure of a home (Find Case Law); Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Registered provider of social housing

You may also see: housing association · private registered provider · registered social landlord · RSL · PRP

A landlord listed on the register of social housing providers in England kept under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. Councils can be registered providers; the rest are private registered providers, usually called housing associations, which GOV.UK says are also known as registered social landlords, the term Welsh law still uses. They must belong to the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, and Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard apply to their social homes.

Read: Housing Association Disrepair Claims

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code; Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; The Decent Homes Standard: 2006 guidance and the 2026 reform; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Relevant defect

In section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, a defect in the state of the premises that arises from, or continues because of, the landlord failing to carry out its obligation to maintain or repair them, or that would be such a failure if the landlord had had notice of the defect. The landlord’s statutory duty of care under section 4 concerns injury and property damage caused by relevant defects.

Read: Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims

Source: Defective Premises Act 1972, section 4

Repairing obligation

You may also see: repairing covenant · repairing duty · landlord’s repairing covenant

A legally binding promise to keep a property, or parts of it, in repair. In England, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies one into most tenancies of homes let for under seven years, covering the structure, exterior and key installations, and any term that tries to exclude or limit it is void unless a court has authorised it. In Wales, section 92 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 does the same job.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Rising damp

Moisture from the ground rising up through walls and floors that are in contact with it, often because a damp-proof course or membrane is defective. Government guidance says it is usually found in older properties and is often misdiagnosed: it can be identified visually, but chemical testing is the most appropriate way to confirm it. Because it is a different problem from condensation, finding the real cause matters.

Read: Damp and Mould Claims

Source: GOV.UK guidance on damp and mould in rented homes

S

Schedule of works

You may also see: schedule of intended works · schedule of disrepair

A list of the defects in a home and the work needed to put each one right. Under the Pre-Action Protocol, the expert is asked for one with estimated costs and any urgent works; experts at a joint inspection should agree one with a timetable; and the landlord’s response should include a full schedule of intended works with start and completion dates. The Protocol’s specimen list of defects for tenants is a schedule of disrepair.

Read: Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

Section 11 (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985)

You may also see: s.11

The part of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 that makes a landlord responsible for keeping in repair the structure and exterior of a home, including drains, gutters and external pipes, and keeping in repair and proper working order the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water. It is implied into most tenancies of homes let for less than seven years, whatever the agreement says. It does not apply to Welsh occupation contracts.

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant

Secure tenancy

You may also see: secure tenant · council tenancy

The main type of council tenancy in England, defined in the Housing Act 1985. GOV.UK says a secure tenant can normally live in the home for the rest of their life as long as they keep to the tenancy conditions. New council tenants may be given a 12-month introductory tenancy first, and some councils grant fixed-term flexible tenancies. In Wales, council homes are normally let on secure occupation contracts instead.

Read: Council Housing Disrepair Claims

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

Set-off

You may also see: setting off disrepair against arrears

A defence in which someone being sued for money says the other side owes them money too, so the two should be balanced against each other. In housing, a tenant facing a claim for rent arrears may ask for compensation for disrepair to be set against the arrears. It is raised in court proceedings, so it is not the same as simply withholding rent, and the landlord may dispute the disrepair claim.

Source: Civil Procedure Rules: set-off, counterclaims and experts; Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims

Significant hazard

You may also see: significant risk of harm · Awaab’s Law significant hazard

Under Awaab’s Law, a hazard in a social home in England that poses a significant risk of harm to an occupier’s health or safety: one a reasonable landlord, knowing about the household, would make safe as a matter of urgency, but not within 24 hours. Phase 1 covers damp and mould. The landlord must investigate within 10 working days of becoming aware and, if a significant hazard is found, complete relevant safety work within 5 working days of the investigation.

Source: Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025

Single joint expert

You may also see: SJE

One expert, such as a surveyor or environmental health practitioner, instructed on behalf of both landlord and tenant to inspect the home and report on its condition. It is the Pre-Action Protocol’s default: if the landlord does not object within 20 working days of receiving the Letter of Claim, the tenant’s proposed expert should be instructed as a single joint expert. Like any expert in civil proceedings, their overriding duty is to the court.

Source: Pre-action protocols for housing conditions and housing disrepair claims; Civil Procedure Rules: set-off, counterclaims and experts

You may also see: social housing landlord · social housing provider

A landlord providing social housing, mainly councils and housing associations. In England they are generally registered providers of social housing, and Awaab’s Law, the Decent Homes Standard and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code apply to them. In Wales, councils and housing associations are ‘community landlords’ under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and complaints about them go to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Source: Tenancy types and social landlords in England; Awaab’s Law: the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; The Decent Homes Standard: 2006 guidance and the 2026 reform; Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules; Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

Specific performance

You may also see: order to carry out repairs · court order for repairs

A court order requiring someone to do what they are legally obliged to do; in housing, an order that a landlord carry out repairs or other works. Section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lets a court order specific performance of a landlord’s repairing covenant, and the English fitness duty and Awaab’s Law make the same remedy available. A claim can ask for it alongside damages.

Read: Taking Your Landlord to Court for Repairs

Stage 1 complaint

You may also see: stage one complaint · first stage complaint

The first stage of a landlord’s complaints process under the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. The landlord must acknowledge, define and log the complaint within 5 working days of receiving it, and issue a full response within 10 working days of acknowledging it. Any extension must be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and the reason must be clearly explained to the resident.

Read: Landlord Complaint Deadline Calculator

Source: Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code

Stage 2 complaint

You may also see: stage two complaint · escalated complaint

The second and final stage of a landlord’s complaints process under the Complaint Handling Code. The landlord must acknowledge the escalation request within 5 working days and give its final response within 20 working days of acknowledging it, with any extension no more than 20 working days without good reason. Someone other than the stage 1 handler must consider it. Afterwards, the resident can take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

Read: Landlord Complaint Deadline Calculator

Source: Housing Ombudsman Scheme and the Complaint Handling Code

Statutory nuisance

You may also see: prejudicial to health · abatement notice · section 82 Environmental Protection Act

A legal category under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 that includes premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance. A council must take reasonably practicable steps to investigate a resident’s complaint and, if satisfied one exists, serve an abatement notice. Under section 82 a person affected can bring their own case in the magistrates’ court after at least 21 days’ written notice, including against a council landlord.

Source: Statutory nuisance: Environmental Protection Act 1990, sections 79 to 82

Structure and exterior

You may also see: structural disrepair · external repairs

The parts of a home that give it its essential appearance, stability and shape, such as the walls and roof, together with its outside. Section 11 expressly includes drains, gutters and external pipes. In Grand v Gill the Court of Appeal held that plaster on walls and ceilings is part of the structure, so damaged plaster can be disrepair rather than mere decoration. Section 92 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 uses the same phrase.

Source: Appellate decisions on notice and on the structure of a home (Find Case Law); Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Welsh fitness rules

T

Tenant-like manner

You may also see: Warren v Keen · tenant’s duty to look after the home

The tenant’s own legal duty to look after the home they rent and not to damage it. Section 11 and the English fitness duty do not require a landlord to put right damage that the tenant is liable for under this duty. GOV.UK says tenants are responsible for paying to put right damage caused by their family and friends, but cannot be forced to do repairs that are the landlord’s responsibility.

Read: What Repairs Are Tenants Responsible For?

Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the section 11 repairing covenant; Fitness for human habitation in England: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 9A to 10