Tenants guide

Housing standards and repairs

If you rent your home from a private landlord and you are unhappy about disrepair or the condition of the property, we can:

give you advice about how to resolve the issues with your landlord
inspect your home and rate any hazards using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System
liaise with your landlord to get the repairs carried out
take enforcement action to get the repairs carried out

If you rent your home from a social landlord, there is a different process for housing standards and repairs. Visit www.gov.uk/social-housing to find out more.

Health and safety problems in your private rented home

Typical things you might be worried about include damp and mould, no heating, fire safety risks, dangerous electrics, concerns about gas safety, and other safety issues in your home.

Report the repairs

You should always report the repairs to your landlord or letting agent before contacting us. You should put your concerns to them in writing.

You need to give them a reasonable time to carry out the repairs and allow them access to the property to inspect what needs to be done and carry out the works. 'Reasonable time' is dependent on the type of repairs needed. If you are not satisfied with your landlord's response, you can ask us to inspect the property.

Ask us to inspect a property

To request an inspection for a private rented property complete the online form below. The form will take 5 minutes to complete.

Request an inspection for rented properties

To find out how we use your information see our privacy notice (opens in a new window).

More information about getting repairs carried out to your property is available on the Shelter website.

When we take action

We must act if we find any Category 1 hazards in your home. This could mean us serving a notice on your landlord to carry out the improvements, or we serve a notice indicating that we will take emergency action to carry out the works.

For less serious hazards, we may give your landlord notice that we are aware of the problem, and provide them with advice on how to solve it.

Taking action yourself

You can take action yourself if your landlord or letting agent is renting out a property in poor condition, and/or fails to carry out necessary maintenance. The Home (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 gives you the right to take your landlord to court if the property is not fit for human habitation. The law allows you to seek redress, including financial compensation, where appropriate.

You can find more information in the GOV.UK tenants guide