Most private and social tenants in England and Wales are protected by a legal duty on their landlord to keep certain core parts of the property in repair — a duty that exists automatically by law in the vast majority of tenancies, regardless of what the tenancy agreement itself says.
Where the duty comes from
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies a legal covenant into most residential tenancies, requiring the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property — including drains, gutters and external pipes — to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation, such as basins, sinks, baths and toilets, and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for space heating and heating water. This applies to leases of a dwelling granted for a term of less than seven years, which covers the great majority of ordinary residential tenancies, including most assured shorthold tenancies used in the private rented sector, and applies to both private and social landlords. It does not apply to licence arrangements or most lodger agreements, where the legal relationship is different.
What “repair” is actually judged against
The standard a landlord is held to is not fixed in the abstract — the law requires the standard of repair to be judged with regard to the age, character and prospective life of the property, and the locality in which it is situated. In practice this means a Victorian terrace and a newly built flat are not necessarily held to an identical standard, though the core obligation to keep the listed elements in proper working repair applies to both.
What the duty does not cover
Section 11 has real limits. A landlord is not required to repair damage caused by the tenant’s own negligence or misuse, is not required to rebuild the property following destruction by fire, flood or other genuinely inevitable accident, and is not required to maintain items the tenant is legally entitled to remove from the property. The covenant also does not extend to fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the water, gas or electricity supply beyond the core installations specifically listed — for example, it covers the pipes and wiring themselves rather than every individual appliance plugged into them.
Landlords cannot contract out of this duty
A particularly important tenant protection: any term in a tenancy agreement that tries to exclude or limit the landlord’s obligations under Section 11, or that tries to penalise a tenant for relying on them, is legally void, unless a county court has specifically authorised that term. In other words, a landlord cannot simply write a clause into a tenancy agreement stating that repairs are “the tenant’s responsibility” for the categories of repair Section 11 covers and expect that clause to override the statutory duty — the law overrides the contract on this point.
What to do if a landlord won’t repair
- Report the disrepair to the landlord or agent in writing, keeping a dated copy — this creates a clear record of when the landlord was notified, which matters because a landlord’s duty to repair generally only bites once they know, or ought reasonably to know, about the problem.
- Keep photographs and, where relevant, evidence of any resulting damage, cost or ill health.
- If a landlord fails to act within a reasonable time, there is a formal pre-action protocol for housing disrepair claims that sets out the steps that should normally be followed before court proceedings are issued.
- Local authority environmental health teams also have separate powers to act against serious disrepair that poses a health and safety hazard, independently of any civil claim the tenant might bring.
Notice matters more than people expect
A recurring feature of disrepair disputes is that a landlord’s duty to repair under Section 11 is generally triggered by knowledge, not automatically by the defect existing. If a pipe is leaking inside a wall cavity where neither party could reasonably know about it, the landlord is unlikely to be in breach until they are told, or ought reasonably to have discovered it through a routine inspection. This is why a clear, dated written report to the landlord or agent matters so much in practice — it is often the single piece of evidence a disrepair claim turns on, since it fixes the point from which a “reasonable time to repair” starts to run.
FAQs
Does Section 11 cover things like broken kitchen appliances?
Generally no. The duty covers the structure, exterior and the core installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating — not every individual fixture or appliance in the property, unless the tenancy agreement itself separately promises to maintain those.
Can a landlord avoid the duty by putting a clause in the tenancy agreement?
No. Any clause attempting to exclude or limit the Section 11 obligations is void by law, unless specifically authorised by a county court, which happens rarely and in unusual circumstances.
Does this apply to all tenancies?
It applies to most residential tenancies granted for a term of less than seven years, which covers the majority of assured shorthold tenancies. It does not apply to licences or most lodger arrangements, where a different legal relationship exists between occupier and owner.