Letter templates for reporting repairs

Why putting it in writing matters

For most problems inside your home, a landlord’s repairing duty is only engaged once they know about the problem — or ought reasonably to have known. That makes the date you reported it one of the most important facts in the whole history, and it is the fact that is hardest to prove after the event if every report was made by phone.

A written report fixes that date. It also tends to change how the report is handled, because it creates a record inside the landlord’s own system that someone has to close. If everything so far has been by phone, the single most useful thing you can do is send one message now summarising what you reported and roughly when — it will not recreate the earlier calls, but it starts the written trail from today.

Our guide on reporting repairs to your landlord covers the process in more detail, and the evidence guide sets out what to keep alongside the letters.

What makes a report effective

• Be specific about location. Name the room and the wall. A repairs team schedules a job from the description you give them.
• Say when it started. Approximate is fine — “around last November” is far better than nothing.
• Say who it affects. Children, older people, and anyone disabled, pregnant or unwell. This genuinely affects how urgently a repair is prioritised, particularly with damp and mould.
• Ask for a reference and a date. Two concrete things you can chase. A report with no reference number is easy to lose.
• Keep it factual. Anger is understandable, but a calm, dated, specific letter is the one that gets forwarded to someone who can act.

Which letter should you send?

Send them in order. Each one refers back to the last, and that sequence is what turns a series of complaints into a record.

• First report — nothing is in writing yet, or everything so far has been by phone. This is the letter that fixes the date, and the date is what everything later rests on.
• Chaser — you reported it, and nothing happened. It cites the original report and its date, and sets a deadline of its own.
• Formal complaint — reporting and chasing have not worked. For social tenants this step is not optional if you want the Ombudsman later.
• Awaab’s Law deadline — you rent from a council or housing association in England under a tenancy, and a statutory deadline has passed. This is the only one of the four that cites a fixed period the landlord was legally required to meet — which is why the builder checks your tenure before offering it.

That last check is not box-ticking. Awaab’s Law covers social housing let under a tenancy; a licence — which is what some supported and temporary accommodation is — falls outside it, as do shared ownership and long leases. Someone can rent from a housing association in England and still have no Awaab’s Law rights, so a letter asserting them would give the landlord something to answer other than the disrepair. If your tenure is uncertain, use the ordinary complaint letter and check your agreement first.

The builder asks where you live and who your landlord is before anything else, because those two answers change which law your letter rests on. A complaint in Wales cites sections 91 and 92 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016; the same complaint in England cites section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Sending the wrong one gives your landlord something to answer other than the disrepair.

If you rent from a council or housing association in England

You have something private tenants do not: a statutory clock. Since 27 October 2025, your landlord must normally investigate a reported hazard that may present a significant risk of harm within 10 working days, give you a written summary of what it found within 3 working days of that investigation, and complete the safety work within 5 working days. An emergency — an imminent and significant risk — must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours.

Those are working days, not calendar days, and the clock starts when your landlord becomes aware of the problem — which is why the written report matters so much. The Awaab’s Law letter in the builder names the duty and asks for the written summary you are owed. Full detail is on our Awaab’s Law page.

None of this applies to private landlords, and none of it applies in Wales — where there is no fixed statutory deadline, which makes your dated written report the only fixed point a claim has. See housing disrepair in Wales.

If the repair still does not happen

Escalation works in steps, and skipping them usually slows things down rather than speeding them up. Report it, chase it, then complain formally — the three templates above follow that order.

If you rent from a council or housing association, the formal complaint stage matters more than it looks. You normally have to finish your landlord’s own complaints procedure before the Housing Ombudsman will consider the case, and the Ombudsman is free to use. Skipping straight past the complaint usually means being sent back to it.

If you rent privately, your local council’s environmental health team can inspect the property and require your landlord to deal with serious hazards. That route is also free.

Worried that complaining could get you evicted? In England, no-fault (section 21) evictions in the private rented sector ended on 1 May 2026. A private landlord now has to rely on a specific legal ground and give a reason, so asking for repairs no longer exposes you to a no-fault notice. In Wales the position is different: a landlord can still give a “no fault” notice under section 173 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, with six months’ notice. If you think a notice is a response to asking for repairs, you can raise that as retaliatory eviction in your defence, and the court may decide it is not reasonable to let the landlord evict you.

Either way, if you receive an eviction notice after complaining, get free advice quickly from Shelter, Shelter Cymru or Citizens Advice — there are deadlines involved, and they are short.

Keeping the correspondence in order as you go makes every one of these routes easier. The repair chronology builder puts the dates into a single timeline you can print.

Common questions

Should I email my landlord about repairs, or post a letter?

Email or a tenant portal message is usually better, because it is dated automatically and you keep a copy without doing anything. Post is fine too, but keep a copy of what you sent and, if the repair is serious, consider sending it in a way you can prove arrived. The important thing is that the report exists in writing and you can find it again later.

What should I include in a letter to my landlord about repairs?

Your address, what is wrong and which rooms are affected, roughly when it started, how it is affecting your household, and a clear request to inspect and repair. Ask for a repair reference number and an appointment date — that gives you something concrete to chase. Be specific: "damp on the north wall of the back bedroom" is easier to act on than "damp in the flat".

How long does a landlord have to respond to a repair request?

For most repairs there is no fixed deadline: the standard is a reasonable time once the landlord knows, and what counts as reasonable depends on how serious the problem is — a dangerous electrical fault is not a dripping tap. But if you rent from a council or housing association in England, serious hazards do have statutory deadlines under Awaab’s Law. A potential significant hazard, including serious damp and mould, must normally be investigated within 10 working days, with a written summary 3 working days after that and safety work complete within 5. An emergency must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours. Those are working days, and the clock starts when the landlord becomes aware.

I live in supported or temporary accommodation. Does Awaab’s Law cover me?

It depends on whether you have a tenancy or a licence, and that is not always obvious from the paperwork. Awaab’s Law covers social housing let under a tenancy; accommodation occupied under a licence is generally outside it, as are shared ownership and long leases. The government’s own guidance tells residents of supported and temporary housing to check which they have. That is why the builder asks — if you are not sure, it will not generate the Awaab’s Law letter, because asserting a statutory deadline that turns out not to apply weakens everything else you send. Your agreement should say, and Shelter or Citizens Advice will tell you free of charge.

Do these templates work in Wales?

Yes, but choose Wales in the builder before you copy the text. Welsh housing law is different: your landlord’s duties come from sections 91 and 92 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, not section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and you are a contract-holder rather than a tenant. The formal complaint letter cites whichever Act actually applies to you. Awaab’s Law does not apply in Wales at all, so that letter is not offered there.

Do I need a solicitor to send one of these?

No. These are letters you send yourself, and doing so does not need a solicitor, a fee or anyone’s permission. Most repair problems are resolved without a claim ever being made, and the free routes — the landlord’s complaints procedure, the Housing Ombudsman, environmental health — are worth exhausting first.

What should I avoid putting in a letter to my landlord?

Avoid guessing at legal consequences, threatening things you do not intend to do, and estimating what compensation you think you are owed — none of it strengthens the letter and all of it can be quoted back at you. Stick to what is wrong, when you reported it, how it is affecting your household, and what you want done. Avoid saying you will withhold rent. And do not overstate: if the mould is in one room, say one room, because the landlord’s inspection will find out either way and an exaggeration undermines everything else you said.

What if my landlord ignores my letter?

Send a chaser that refers back to the original report and its date, then raise a formal complaint under your landlord’s complaints procedure. If you rent from a council or housing association and the complaint does not resolve it, you can take the case to the Housing Ombudsman, which is free. If you rent privately, your council’s environmental health team can inspect the property and require the landlord to act.

Can I stop paying rent until the repairs are done?

Withholding rent is risky and can put your tenancy at risk, so do not do it on the strength of a template. There is a narrow, formal process for paying for repairs yourself and offsetting the cost, but it has strict steps and getting them wrong leaves you in arrears. Get free advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice before going anywhere near this.

Does sending one of these letters start a claim?

No. These are templates you send to your landlord yourself. Sending one does not start a claim, does not commit you to anything, and does not involve us. Its purpose is to get the repair done and to create a written record of what you reported and when.

Already reported it and nothing has changed?

If you have reported a problem, chased it, and it is still not fixed, you can check whether your situation may be suitable for review. It is free, takes a few minutes, and it never tells you that you definitely have a claim — plenty of people are better served by the free routes above, and the check says so when that is the case.