Your bedroom wall has a dark bloom of mould that keeps coming back however much you wipe it. The boiler died three weeks ago and the agent keeps saying someone will come. You have texted, you have called, and nothing changes, and every cold morning you wonder whether you are simply meant to put up with it.
You are not. A home that is damp, cold, or unsafe is your landlord's problem to fix, and the law gives you clear ways to make that happen. This guide walks through a disrepair case in the order things actually unfold, from the first sign of a problem to compensation, so you know what to do at each step and what your landlord is on the hook for.
Here is the whole thing at a glance.
- 1
Report it in writing
Tell your landlord about the problem by text, email or letter, and keep a copy. Their duty to repair only starts once they know.
- 2
Give them a reasonable time
A day or two for an emergency like no heating, a couple of weeks for most other repairs.
- 3
Gather your evidence
Dated photos, your messages, a short diary, and a note from your GP if your health is affected.
- 4
Escalate if they ignore you
Bring in the council's environmental health team or the housing ombudsman to put official pressure on.
- 5
Claim repairs and compensation
If it comes to it, a formal letter of claim and, as a last resort, the county court can order the work done and money back.
What counts as housing disrepair
Disrepair is when part of your home is broken, damaged or unsafe and it is your landlord's job to put it right. Damp and mould, a leaking roof or pipes, broken heating or hot water, faulty wiring, a front door that will not lock, infestations that come from the state of the building. All of these count.
The simple test: if something is unsafe or has stopped working and your landlord is responsible for it, it is usually disrepair. Fair wear and tear, and damage you caused yourself, are a different matter.
Your landlord must fix
- The structure and outside: roof, walls, windows, external doors, gutters and drains
- Heating and hot water, including the boiler and radiators
- Basins, sinks, baths, toilets and the pipes behind them
- Gas pipes, electrical wiring and the fixed electrics
- Damp and mould caused by the building, like a leak or failed damp proofing
Usually down to you
- Your own furniture, appliances and decorations
- Small upkeep like light bulbs and smoke alarm batteries
- Damage you, your family or your guests caused
- Keeping the home reasonably heated and ventilated
- Anything the tenancy fairly makes your responsibility
Your landlord cannot sign these core duties away in the tenancy agreement. A clause that says repairs are down to you does not override the law, whatever it claims.
One limit is worth knowing. The duty is to repair, which means putting something back to working order, not to upgrade it. Your landlord has to mend a broken single-glazed window, but does not have to swap it for double glazing, and a dated but working kitchen is not disrepair. The exception is the higher bar of fitness to live in, below, which a landlord does have to meet however old the home is.
The most common types of disrepair
Disrepair shows up in a handful of familiar shapes. Here are the ones we see most often, what each usually involves, and whether it is your landlord's job to put right. Open any one for the detail.
Damp and mould
Black mould creeping across walls or ceilings, a musty smell, or plaster that stays wet. Where it comes from a leak, rising damp or poor ventilation it is your landlord's responsibility, and serious damp can make a home unfit to live in whatever the cause.
Damp and mould: your landlord's obligationsBroken heating or no hot water
A dead boiler, radiators that will not heat, or no hot water coming through. Heating and hot water are core Section 11 duties, so this is squarely your landlord's job, and losing heating in winter counts as an urgent repair.
What to do if your landlord won't fix the boilerFaulty or dangerous electrics
Exposed wiring, sockets that trip or scorch, or rooms with no power. The fixed electrics are your landlord's responsibility, and they must hold a valid electrical safety report (an EICR) renewed at least every 5 years.
Landlord electrical safety obligationsGas safety problems
A faulty gas appliance, a missing annual gas safety check, or a smell of gas. Your landlord must have every gas appliance checked each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and a missing certificate is a criminal offence.
Gas safety certificate breaches and compensationLeaks and water damage
A leaking roof, overflow or pipe, water staining the ceiling, or windows that let the rain in. Anything to do with the structure and the pipework behind your walls is your landlord's to fix, and a slow leak is often what feeds damp and mould.
What your landlord must fix when water leaks inPlumbing, drains and sanitation
Blocked drains, a toilet that will not flush, a sink or bath that will not drain, or no running water. The basins, sinks, baths, toilets and the pipes that serve them all sit with your landlord under Section 11.
Whose job is a blocked drain or broken toiletPest infestations
Rats, mice, cockroaches or bedbugs getting in because of the state of the building, such as gaps in the brickwork, broken air bricks or faulty drains. Where the infestation traces back to disrepair, dealing with it is your landlord's job.
When your landlord is responsible for pestsStructural problems
Cracks spreading across the walls, a sagging or collapsing ceiling, crumbling plaster, or rotten window frames and doors. The structure and exterior of the building are squarely your landlord's responsibility.
Cracks, plaster and subsidence explainedBroken windows, doors and locks
Windows that will not open or close safely, rotten frames, or an external door or lock that will not secure. External doors and windows are part of the structure your landlord must keep in repair, and a door that will not lock is a safety risk too.
Broken windows, doors and locks explainedA cold home or poor insulation
A home you cannot keep warm because of draughts, failed insulation, or heating that simply cannot cope. Severe cold is a recognised hazard and can make a home unfit to live in, which your landlord has to put right.
Claiming for a home that is unfit to live inWhichever of these you are dealing with, the rest of this guide works the same way: report it in writing, give a fair deadline, gather your evidence, and escalate if you have to.
Is your landlord legally responsible for the repair
A handful of laws sit behind almost every disrepair case. They cover renters on an ordinary private or social tenancy. If you are a lodger who shares the home with your landlord, most of these duties do not apply and your rights are far more limited, so it is worth taking tailored advice. For everyone else, you never have to quote these laws, but it helps to know what each one gives you.
Repairs to the building and its services
Your landlord must keep the structure, outside, heating, water and electrics in repair, whoever the tenant is.
A home that is fit to live in
Your home has to be fit to live in for the whole tenancy. If it is not, you can take your landlord to court without waiting for the council.
Action on serious hazards
Serious hazards like damp, cold and mould have to be dealt with, and Awaab's Law is putting landlords on fixed deadlines, starting with social housing.
Gas and electrical safety
Gas appliances must be checked every year and the fixed wiring at least every 5 years, with the certificates handed to you.
One rule runs through most of this. For a problem inside your home, your landlord is generally only in breach once they know about it, so reporting it, and being able to prove you did, is what starts the clock.
Renting in Wales? Your protections are similar but sit in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and a few of the steps below work differently. The basics, report in writing, keep evidence, escalate, still apply.
How to report a repair to your landlord
Most disrepair claims that fail do so for one reason. The tenant cannot prove they told the landlord. So put every report in writing, even when you also pick up the phone. A text or email is fine, a letter is better for something serious. After a call, follow up with a message that sets out what you discussed.
Put this in your repair report
- What is wrong and which room it is in
- When you first noticed it, and any earlier times you reported it
- How it is affecting you, for example a cold flat or a child's cough
- A clear request to fix it, and a date you would like a reply by
- Photos of the problem attached to the message
How long is reasonable depends on the problem. No heating or hot water in winter, a gas leak, or dangerous wiring should be same day or next day. A couple of weeks is a fair starting point for most other repairs. Keep your tone calm and factual. You are building a record, not winning an argument.
Keep everything in writing even after repairs are promised. A verbal "we'll sort it" is hard to prove later. A text saying "thanks for agreeing to fix the boiler by Friday" turns a promise into evidence.
Gas and electrical safety checks your landlord must do
Two safety checks are not optional, and a missing one is a sign your landlord is cutting corners. Every gas appliance must be checked once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and you should get the record within 28 days. The fixed wiring must be inspected at least every 5 years, and you should get a copy of that report too.
A missing certificate is worth flagging even if your main complaint is something else. It strengthens the wider picture, and for gas it is a criminal offence by your landlord.
If you smell gas or suspect a carbon monoxide leak, leave it and call the free Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 straight away. If the wiring feels dangerous, switch off at the consumer unit. Deal with the safety risk first and the paperwork later.
What evidence you need for a disrepair claim
Evidence is what turns "my landlord is useless" into a case. Start gathering it the day you notice the problem, not the day you decide to act.
Evidence to keep from day one
- Dated photos or short videos, taken again as the problem changes
- Every message between you and the landlord or agent, kept in one place
- A short diary of what happened and when
- Receipts for anything the disrepair has cost or ruined, like a damaged sofa
- A note from your GP if your health has been affected
- Any letter or report from the council, if they have been out
You do not need all of this to begin. A handful of photos and a paper trail of ignored messages is often enough to get things moving.
What to do if your landlord ignores you
If reporting it and giving a fair deadline has not worked, you have official routes that cost you nothing and create a record your landlord cannot wave away.
Your local council's environmental health team can inspect the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which scores hazards as category 1 (serious) or category 2 (less serious). If they find a category 1 hazard, they have a legal duty to act, not just a choice. They can serve an improvement notice ordering the work done, which cannot require the work to start for at least 28 days, ban the use of part of the home with a prohibition order, or, where the risk is imminent, carry out emergency remedial action themselves and send your landlord the bill. This is one of the strongest moves you have, the council acts independently of your landlord, and its findings become powerful evidence if your case goes further. The steps are in how to report a landlord to the council.
If you rent from a council or housing association, the Housing Ombudsman can investigate and order compensation once you have been through the landlord's own complaints process. Private landlords are being brought into a similar redress scheme under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, so this route is widening.
Since 27 October 2025, Awaab's Law has given social housing tenants fixed deadlines for damp and mould and for emergency hazards, with more hazards being phased in through 2026 and 2027. It is also set to reach private renting, though not yet. A landlord who blows past one of these legal deadlines has clearly breached their duty, which strengthens your case.
How damp and mould claims work
Damp and mould is the most common disrepair complaint, and the rules around it have tightened. The cause matters far less than landlords often suggest.
Penetrating damp, where water gets in through a wall or roof, and rising damp are both building faults, so they sit squarely with your landlord. Condensation damp is sometimes blamed on the tenant for not heating or ventilating the home. But if the place has poor ventilation, no extractor fans, or heating that cannot cope, that points straight back at the building.
Under the fitness for habitation rules, serious damp and mould can make a home unfit to live in whatever the cause. If anyone in the home has started wheezing or coughing, see a GP and keep the note. For the detail, see damp and mould landlord obligations and tenant claims and what private renters can claim under Awaab's Law.
In social housing, Awaab's Law sets a clock running. Your landlord must investigate a damp and mould report within 10 working days, give you the findings in writing within 3 working days of finishing, and make the hazard safe within 5 working days of that. Emergencies have to be made safe within 24 hours. If the home cannot be made safe in time, your landlord has to offer you suitable alternative accommodation, at their expense, until it can.
How the pre-action protocol and a court claim work
Most cases never reach a courtroom. The credible threat of one, done properly, is usually enough. England has a set route for getting there, the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims. It is a sequence of steps both sides are expected to follow before a judge is involved, and it is where a lot of landlords finally act.
In plain English
- Letter of claim
- A formal letter setting out the disrepair, the history, and what you want done. Your landlord normally has 20 working days to reply.
- Single joint expert
- A surveyor both sides agree to use, who inspects the home and reports on what is wrong and what it will cost to fix.
- Specific performance
- A court order telling your landlord to actually carry out the repairs, not simply pay you and move on.
- General and special damages
- General damages are money for the discomfort and disruption. Special damages cover specific costs, like belongings ruined by damp.
If it does reach court, you would usually use the County Court, which can both order the repairs and award compensation. For lower-value claims, the small claims track keeps the cost and risk down. The full step by step is in the housing disrepair protocol guide.
How much compensation you can claim for disrepair
Compensation for disrepair is usually worked out as a share of your rent for the time the problem lasted. The worse the disrepair and the longer it dragged on, the bigger the share. A home you could barely use sits at the top of the range, a minor nuisance at the bottom.
Estimate your disrepair compensation
Courts usually work out compensation as a slice of your rent for the time the problem lasted. Set the three details below to see the rough range.
Rough compensation range
£1,800 – £2,880
Based on 25–40% of £1,200 a month over 6 months.
A rough guide, not a quote or legal advice. Real awards depend on the evidence and the judge. Damaged belongings and any effect on your health can be claimed on top, and a court can also order the repairs themselves.
On top of that rent-based figure, you can claim for what the disrepair cost you directly. A sofa ruined by damp, higher heating bills, a few nights in a hotel while the home was unliveable. If your health suffered and you have medical evidence, that can add a further award.
Two time limits matter. You generally have 6 years to bring a claim for the disrepair itself, and 3 years for any personal injury part of it. For a fuller breakdown of amounts by problem, see how much compensation you can claim for disrepair.
Can your landlord evict you for asking for repairs
This is the fear that keeps a lot of renters quiet, and the ground has shifted in your favour. From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 scrapped the Section 21 "no-fault" eviction. Your landlord can no longer ask you to leave for no reason, which is the route a retaliatory eviction used to take.
A landlord now needs a valid legal ground to end your tenancy, and "they complained about the mould" is not one. Pushing a tenant out for asking for repairs is exactly what the new rules are built to stop.
That does not make you untouchable, and a landlord can still seek possession on genuine grounds. But asking for a repair you are entitled to should not put your home at risk. There is more on where you stand in retaliation eviction and your tenant rights.
Worried that complaining will get you evicted? Since 1 May 2026 there is no more no-fault eviction. Your landlord needs a real legal ground to ask you to leave, and wanting repairs done is not one of them.
Mistakes that can weaken a disrepair claim
A few common missteps hand your landlord an easy defence. Avoiding them costs you nothing.
- Keeping it verbal. A phone call you cannot prove is worth little. Put it in writing.
- Refusing access. Your landlord has to be let in to inspect and repair. Blocking visits lets them argue you stopped them fixing it.
- Waiting months to report. The duty to repair starts when you tell them, so a long silence shortens the period you can claim for and weakens the picture.
Do not withhold rent to force a repair. It is not a recognised remedy for disrepair, and it can leave you in arrears and facing a possession claim. Keep paying, and claim the money back through the proper route.
A disrepair case is five steps done in order. Report it in writing, give a fair deadline, gather your evidence, escalate to the council or ombudsman, and claim if you have to. The law leans towards a tenant who wants a safe, working home.
What stops most people is not the law. It is not knowing how to word the letter, which body to go to, or whether the case is worth the effort. That is the part Remedy handles. Tell us what is going wrong in your own words and we will work out where you stand, help you pull the evidence together, and draft the letters that get repairs taken seriously. You can start a free assessment at remedylegal.ai.
