Introduction

In most cases in the private rented sector, landlords are expected to keep any property they let to tenants, in a good state of repair and well maintained. Equally, tenants are expected to ensure they act in a 'tenant-like manner' and not cause damage to the property besides anything that would class as 'fair wear and tear'.

To ensure landlords understand these obligations in full, this guidance will cover the obligations placed on them and their tenants during the life of a tenancy. In it we will discuss what is meant by a repair as opposed to an improvement, the scope of Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, what the landlord is responsible for under the Defective Premises Act 1972, and information on other areas of the law where a repair may be necessary. 

Obligation to keep in repair (Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985)

Every residential tenancy of less than 7 years has a term implied into it under which the landlord undertakes various repairing responsibilities. These are:

• 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, electricity and for sanitation, including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences (this does not extend to fittings and appliances which make use of water, gas or electricity) and

• To keep in repair (and proper working order) the installations in the premises for space heating and heating water.

Additionally, if the tenancy was granted from 1988 onwards, the landlord is under an extended responsibility to keep in repair the structure and exterior of any part of the building that is connected to the property.

What is the landlord not required to repair?

You as the landlord are not responsibe for -

• carrying out works or repairs which the tenant would normally repair while acting in a tenant-like manner

• rebuilding or reinstating the premises in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other catastrophic weather event, or

• repairing or maintaining anything which the lessee is entitled to remove from the dwelling-house.

What is meant by keeping in repair?

Repair is not defined in the Landlord and Tenant Act, which can occasionally cause issues when trying to work out whether work would be considered a repair (and therefore required) or an improvement or renewal (which is not).

For most people, repair is understood though as fixing something that is broken by returning it to the same standard as before. This is broadly correct and it gets to the heart of the essential difference between a repair and an improvement; for a repair to be needed, there must be something to repair in the first place and an original condition to return it to.

In contrast, the absence of something from the original design, such as damp proof coursing, does not constitute disrepair because there is nothing to repair. In this case, the landlord is free to choose whether they want to make an improvement to the property that is over and above the standard it was originally designed to.

As a result, landlords are generally only required to keep the property to the same standard it was originally designed in. However, in some cases, an improvement may be the most practical way to prevent further disrepair. In the case of Stent v Monmouth DC, the original design of the property had a defective door that allowed for water ingress. In this case the most effective means of stopping the disrepair from water ingress was to improve the property by replacing the door with a sealed aluminum one. 

In any case, it is always worth considering whether a small improvement as preventative work may save you money in the long run by preventing further persistent disrepair.

What standard of repair is required?

The standard of repair will depend on a number of factors as the landlord should consider the age, character, and prospective life of the dwelling house and the locality in which it is situated.

Essentially this means that the repair should reflect the rest of the property; an expensive property in a high-value area is likely to need a higher standard of repair than one that is not.

What is a reasonable time to make a repair?

This will depend on the severity of the risk to the tenant and the circumstances surrounding it. For example, if a boiler broke down in winter, then most landlords would consider it reasonable to act very quickly to fix the issue or provide some means of heating temporarily. In contrast, a boiler breaking down during a heatwave is a less serious issue that may not require an emergency plumber callout.

Ultimately, most landlords sensibly opt to err on the side of caution when it comes to disrepair. If there's any risk to the tenant's health then it makes sense to prioritise fixing the issue as soon as possible.

Accessing the property for repairs

Landlords are entitled to access the property on 24 hours advance notice to inspect the property's condition or to make repairs. More detailed guidance on this is available in our guidance on accessing the property.

Who enforces a breach of this repairing obligation?

As Section 11 implies a contractual term into the tenancy, it would be the tenant who takes action for these breaches through court action.

Does the landlord require notice of disrepair?

Whether or not notice is required depends on the type of tenancy agreement and where exactly the disrepair is located.

Disrepair to the exterior of the property

The landlord's liability in these cases is triggered without notice from the moment the disrepair occurs.

Disrepair to the interior of the property

For joint tenancies where the tenants have a controlling interest over the whole house or flat, a landlord will need to be notified of the disrepair and given a reasonable amount of time to repair it before they can be held liable for the damage.

For room-only tenancies it is important to understand what is being let to the tenant; they have a controlling interest over their room but the landlord will share right of way through the communal parts. In these cases, notice is required for the room but it will not be required if the disrepair is found in the common parts of the property.

Communal parts of flats

The case of Edwards v Kurasamy dealt with the issue of when a landlord requires notice for the communal parts of blocks of flats. 

To do this they offered a number of different scenarios and answers for them -

• Where a landlord has agreed to repair the structure and exterior of the property then the requirement for notice will not usually apply in flats. It is a defence if the entire property is demised to the tenant but most flats demise only the interior walls. In these situations, the landlord is immediately responsible for the exterior of the property.

• Where the area in question is not demised to either landlord or tenant, but they share a right of way, the landlord may require notice before being liable for disrepair. This is because the landlord has largely given up his right of way to the tenant, who would have the easiest opportunity to see and notify the landlord of any disrepair. The landlord's right of way also contained no power to affect repairs in this instance.

• Finally, if a landlord owns an entire block of flats then the notification requirements would not be needed. The landlords obligations would arise at the point the repair was needed.

Liability under the Defective Premises Act

In addition to a landlord's contractual obligations to keep the property in repair, the landlord also has a duty of care to ensure they meet their obligations for those visiting or residing within it. Failure to meet this duty of care can lead to the landlord being found negligent.

To be found negligent a number of conditions must be met -

• a defect must have arisen that the landlord is responsible for fixing. Responsibility can come from the contract itself or via statute.

• the landlord must know or ought to have known about the defect

• someone must be injured by the defect

As with Section 11, a landlord is not obliged to make improvements to the property, only to make it safe by fixing the disrepair that they are responsible for. They are not responsible for defects that occur due to the tenant's actions or their failure to comply with their own obligations.

Is notice of the defect required to make the landlord liable?

No, if the injury was reasonably forseeable and the landlord ought to have known about the disrepair then the landlord can be held liable regardless of whether they have been notified.

Who is responsible for enforcing this obligation?

If the landlord was responsible for the injury, then the person who is injured would be able to sue the landlord for damages under the tort of negligence.

What is the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)?

Introduced in the Housing Act 2004, the HHSRS is a set of standards used to identify potential hazards in a property during an inspection. Typically these inspections are performed by a local authority environmental health officer as part of a risk assessment of the property.

The government has produced detailed guidance for landlords and other property professionals on this topic. It covers the 29 separate hazards, how the level of risk is assessed as well as the various enforcement methods available to local authorities to ensure

Can I be required to make improvements and repairs under HHSRS?

While a number of the 29 hazards are likely to be the result of disrepair, they can also identify hazards that can only be fixed via improvements to the property.

Unlike the obligations to keep a property in repair, where a sufficiently serious hazard has been identified, the local authority can require you to make improvements to the property as well as fixing any repairs.