Landlords are under an implied duty in law to ensure that any property they let is fit to be lived in and to repair the property when necessary, they are also under the same duty in contract. They are not obliged to carry out repairs that are the tenant’s responsibility. Most tenancy agreements have a section explaining the landlord’s and the tenant’s responsibilities.

There are slightly different procedures for disrepair issues depending on whether the landlord is a social landlord (public) or a private landlord.  In both cases, the tenant must inform the landlord of the disrepair so that they can take action.  The landlord then has a reasonable period of time to carry out the repair. What is reasonable will depend on the issue at hand – for example, a toilet not functioning, when it is the only toilet in the household, will need to be fixed within at least 24 hours.

We can assist both tenants and landlords with disrepair issues. Please contact us.