What repairs is my landlord responsible for?

The rule behind every answer

Most of the A to Z below comes down to one question: is the broken thing part of the structure or exterior of the home, or an installation for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating or hot water? If it is, the landlord is responsible for repairing it in almost every residential tenancy. If it is not, the answer usually depends on what your tenancy agreement says, and on who caused the damage.

Two other rules sit alongside it. In England, a rented home must be fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy, which can cover problems that are not strictly “disrepair”. And for social tenants in England, Awaab’s Law sets fixed deadlines for dealing with some serious hazards.

Heating, boilers and hot water

Your landlord. Boilers, radiators, storage heaters, hot water cylinders and the pipes connecting them are installations for space heating and heating water, which the landlord must keep in repair and proper working order. Where the landlord provides gas appliances, it must also have them safety-checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer and give you a copy of the record.

Losing heating or hot water, especially in cold weather, is usually treated as urgent. See broken heating and boilers and how long a landlord has to make repairs.

Leaks, roofs, gutters, windows and external doors

Your landlord. These are part of the structure and exterior. That includes a leaking roof, broken gutters and downpipes, cracked or rotten window frames, and external doors that do not shut or lock. A leak from a pipe inside the home is also usually the landlord’s, because pipes are part of the water installations. See leaks and water ingress and defective windows and doors.

Water coming from a neighbouring flat or shared part of the building can still be your landlord’s to deal with if it owns or controls that part.

Toilets, sinks, baths, showers and drains

Usually your landlord. Toilets, basins, sinks and baths are named in the law as sanitary installations the landlord must keep in repair and working order, and drains are part of the structure and exterior. A shower is usually treated the same way where the landlord installed it.

The exception is a blockage you caused. If a toilet or sink blocks because of what was put down it — wipes, nappies, fat — clearing it is usually the tenant’s job. If it blocks because of a fault in the pipes or drains, it is the landlord’s.

Electrics, sockets and lighting

Your landlord, for the wiring, sockets, switches, fuse box and fixed lights, which are installations for the supply of electricity. Private landlords in England must have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years and give you a copy of the report.

You, usually, for small things like replacing light bulbs and resetting a tripped switch. Dangerous electrics are urgent: report them straight away. See electrical and safety hazards.

Damp and mould

Often your landlord, but it depends on the cause. Damp from leaks, rising damp, broken gutters or defective windows is usually the landlord’s to fix. Condensation mould can be too, where the home cannot reasonably be kept free of it — for example, because of missing ventilation or poor insulation. See is condensation mould my landlord’s responsibility? and damp and mould.

Pests

Often your landlord, where pests get in through defects it must repair, or were there before you moved in. See is my landlord responsible for pest control?

Ovens, cookers, fridges, washing machines and dishwashers

It depends on your tenancy agreement. Appliances are not part of the structure or the installations the law names, so the main repairing duty does not cover them. Many tenancy agreements make the landlord responsible for repairing appliances it supplied, and many landlords do so whatever the agreement says. Appliances you bought yourself are yours to repair.

Two safety rules apply regardless. A gas cooker or other gas appliance the landlord supplies must be kept safe and checked every year. And anything the landlord supplies must be safe to use. If an appliance the landlord supplied breaks, report it in writing and check what your agreement says.

Carpets, flooring and decorating

Floorboards and floor joists are part of the structure, so they are the landlord’s. Carpets and other floor coverings are not, so whether the landlord must repair or replace them depends on your agreement. Ordinary wear and tear over time is not something a landlord can charge you for.

Decorating is not usually the landlord’s duty. But where the landlord carries out a repair, it should put right the decoration that the repair work damaged.

Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms

In England, private and social landlords must make sure there is at least one smoke alarm on every floor used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler or wood burner, but not a gas cooker. Once you tell the landlord an alarm is faulty, it must repair or replace it. Testing alarms and changing batteries is usually the tenant’s job.

Locks, keys and security

A broken lock on an external door or window is usually the landlord’s, because doors and windows are part of the exterior and the home must be secure. Lost keys, or a lock you damaged, are usually yours to replace.

Gardens, fences, sheds and TV aerials

Keeping a garden tidy is usually the tenant’s job. Fences, sheds, outbuildings and TV aerials are not named in the main repairing duty, so responsibility depends on your agreement — though paths and steps that form part of the way into the home can count as the exterior.

Furniture

Who repairs furniture the landlord supplied depends on your agreement. Upholstered furniture a landlord supplies must meet fire safety standards.

What tenants are usually responsible for

The courts describe a tenant’s duty as using the home in a “tenant-like manner”: looking after it, and doing the small jobs any reasonable occupier would do. In practice that usually means:

• Changing light bulbs, smoke-alarm batteries and fuses.
• Unblocking a sink or toilet you blocked.
• Keeping the home reasonably clean and ventilated.
• Repairing damage you, your household or visitors cause, beyond ordinary wear and tear.
• Reporting problems to the landlord promptly, so they do not get worse.
• Letting the landlord in, at reasonable times and with notice, to inspect and carry out repairs.

More on this, and on when a landlord can charge you, is in what repairs are tenants responsible for?