J4 · 5 steps
Something needs fixing
The landlord must keep the home to the minimum standards and repair what goes wrong, and the Act gives you three escalating routes when they do not: a written request, the local authority's inspection service, and an RTB application. Five steps, in that order, and one rule that runs through all of them.
Checked 27 OCT 2026Describe what is wrong, attach a photograph, and give a reasonable time: days for heating, hot water or a leak, weeks for the rest. Email it and keep the sent copy. The letter builder writes it.
An RTB adjudicator looks first for the written request and the time you gave.
The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 set what every rented home must have: a sound structure, heating, hot and cold water, ventilation, fire safety, cooking and laundry equipment, no pests, safe electrics and gas. The standards check names the heading your problem falls under.
Each council's private rented inspection service enforces the Regulations and can serve an improvement notice on the landlord. Your county page gives the contact; the standards check writes the request.
You can ask the RTB to order the repair, to award damages for the loss you suffered, and to reduce the rent for the period the home fell short. Bring the written request, the photographs and any inspection report.
Withholding rent turns a repair dispute into an arrears dispute, and the arrears process is faster than the repairs process: a warning notice with 28 days to pay, then a 28-day termination notice. Pay the rent and pursue the repair.
Questions people ask
Can I fix it myself and take the cost off the rent?
Not without agreement. The Act lets you recover reasonable repair costs the landlord should have met, but deducting from the rent unilaterally risks an arrears notice. Ask in writing, get agreement in writing, and keep the receipt.
Who is responsible for mould?
It depends on the cause. Structural damp, a leak or poor ventilation that the building design causes are the landlord's. Condensation from drying clothes indoors with the windows shut is argued the other way. Photographs over time and an inspection settle it.
How long is a reasonable time?
The Regulations give no number of days. The standards check uses 3 days for a safety matter, 7 for heating, hot water or a leak, and 28 for everything else as planning figures for the letter. An adjudicator decides what was reasonable in your case.
Can the landlord end my tenancy because I complained?
A notice served to punish a complaint is not a valid ground. Keep the dates: a notice that follows a repair request closely is the kind of pattern an adjudicator notices.