Making a complaint about rented accommodation

Reporting disrepair issues to your landlord

If there are disrepair issues in your house, you landlord has a legal responsibility to make repairs in a timely manner. They should not charge you for any costs associated with these repairs unless the disrepair was caused by you, your household, or your visitors.

Most landlords will make repairs when they’re made aware of an issue. Don’t be afraid to report an issue to your landlord, as this could lead to the situation becoming worse.

If your landlord does not make repairs in response to your complaint, you should contact them in writing, setting out the issues in your house and the action you want your landlord to take. You are legally entitled to know your landlord’s postal address, so this information should be provided in your tenancy agreement. Writing to your landlord will protect you from a retaliatory (revenge) eviction if you have to involve the Council. You can use our sample letter to help you.

How to manage disrepair issues with your landlord

• Do: notify your landlord as soon as you aware of a problem
• Do: give your landlord enough time to make repairs – for example, if your boiler is broken, they may need to order specialised parts to repair it
• Do: grant access to your landlord and any tradespeople they employ in order to make repairs
• Do: Complain to your landlord in writing if they do not make the necessary repairs
• Don’t: Withhold your rent. This will not make your landlord do repairs, and may jeopardise your tenancy
• Don’t: wait until after you’ve moved out to complain to us – this makes it extremely difficult for us to take action

Make a complaint about your landlord not making repairs after you have written to them

We can help you if you have written to your landlord and they will still not make repairs.

You must complete and submit the below form before we can inspect your house and write to your landlord:

• Housing service request form

If you have not registered an account already you will need to register an account. Then go to the Service Requests section, select 'submit a service request' and then select the 'Disrepair and Illegal Eviction' option. 

Please make sure you provide all the information we ask for, including contact details for both yourself and your landlord. If you are unable to complete it online, please contact 024 7697 5495.