If repairs are needed
Notify the landlord in writing when repairs are required, remembering to date your letter. Keep copies of your letters and the landlord's responses, and take photographs of items in need of repair. Give the landlord a reasonable period of time to carry out repairs.
Where you are responsible, as the tenant, carry out repairs within a reasonable period of time. Keep receipts for any costs as you could be liable for work carried out incorrectly.
What to do if repairs are not done
If the landlord fails to carry out repairs you can:
- seek advice from a solicitor, Citizen's Advice Bureau, Shelter, or other housing advice centre
- apply for a court order to force your landlord to carry out the repairs
- carry out the repairs yourself
If you plan to carry out repairs yourself, you may do so and claim the costs back or deduct them from your rent. However, there are strict procedures you must follow which includes providing sufficient advance notification in writing to your landlord and keeping receipts.
Your landlord may take you to court claiming money owed. You would have to prove that you were forced to get work done when the landlord failed to carry out necessary repairs. You would also need to prove that you have followed the correct procedure.
If matters get this far and you are considering this option, seek advice from the council (need to insert Housing Solutions contact number), a solicitor or an advice agency. Shelter [hyperlink] also have advice on their webpages.
If matters get this far, seek advice from the council - call the housing solutions team on (020) 8825 8888, a solicitor or an advice agency. Shelter also have advice on their webpages.
Legal aid
If you are entitled to help under the legal aid scheme, a housing solicitor can bring a claim for compensation on your behalf, but only if the disrepair is a serious risk to your or a family member's health and safety or your landlord has issued a claim for possession on the grounds of rent arrears.
Issuing a claim yourself
You can issue a claim for disrepair yourself. You will need to comply with the pre-action protocol on disrepair and consider whether court action is affordable. Please consider the information from the Citizen's Advice Bureau.