Landlord repair responsibilities in the UK by nation

Last updated 26 Oct 2026

Private landlords in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must keep the structure, exterior and main services of a rented home in repair, and in Great Britain the home must also be fit to live in. The duty during a tenancy usually starts once you know about the problem, and the work must then be done within a reasonable time.

Each nation sets out the duty in its own law, and the details differ. This page compares them, with the section numbers and the dates they came into force.

Repair duties at a glance

Nation	Main law	Key duties	Starts when	Time to fix	Tenant's route
England	Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, ss 9A and 11	Structure, exterior and installations; fit for habitation	When you are made aware	Reasonable time	County court; council
Scotland	Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, ss 13 and 14	The repairing standard, incl. your fittings, alarms, damp	When told or aware	Reasonable time; fixed limits for damp	First-tier Tribunal
Wales	Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, ss 91 to 97	Structure, exterior and installations; fit for habitation, incl. alarms and EICR	When you become aware	Reasonable time	County court; council
Northern Ireland	Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006, arts 7 to 11	Structure, exterior, interior, installations, your appliances and furnishings	When you actually know	Not set	Council environmental health

England: section 11 and fitness for human habitation

The repairing covenant. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies a promise by the landlord into every tenancy it covers. You must:

keep in repair "the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes)";
keep in repair and proper working order the installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation, "including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences";
keep in repair and proper working order the installations "for space heating and heating water".

Which tenancies. Section 13 applies section 11 to a lease granted on or after 24 October 1961 "for a term of less than seven years". That covers almost every private tenancy.

What it does not cover. Section 11(2) does not make you repair damage the tenant is liable for under the duty to use the home "in a tenant-like manner". Nor does it make you rebuild after "fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident", or maintain anything the tenant may remove. Appliances such as cookers fall outside section 11 itself, but your tenancy agreement may still make you responsible for them.

How good the repair must be. Section 11(3) says regard is had to "the age, character and prospective life of the dwelling-house and the locality in which it is situated".

No contracting out. A tenant's promise to repair these items "is of no effect" under section 11(4). Under section 12, any term that tries to exclude or limit your section 11 duties is void unless the county court authorised it.

Fitness for human habitation. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 inserted section 9A, in force from 20 March 2019. The home must be fit "at the time the lease is granted" and must "remain fit for human habitation during the term of the lease". It reached tenancies that were already periodic on 20 March 2019 from 20 March 2020.

What makes a home unfit. Section 10 lists repair, stability, freedom from damp, internal arrangement, natural lighting, ventilation, water supply, drainage and sanitary conveniences, and facilities for cooking and waste water. It also covers "any prescribed hazard" under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. A home is unfit only if it is "not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition".

When the duty starts. GOV.UK's guide for landlords on the 2018 Act says "the landlord is considered responsible from when he or she is made aware of the hazard by the tenant". A hazard in the common parts of a block or HMO "would make the landlord immediately liable". You then have "a reasonable amount of time", which depends on the circumstances.

Access. Both section 11(6) and section 9A(8) let you enter to view the condition of the home at reasonable times, after at least 24 hours' notice in writing. See notice to enter for inspections and repairs.

Scotland: the repairing standard

Which tenancies. Section 12 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 applies the repairing standard to "any tenancy of a house let for human habitation". The exceptions include social tenancies, some agricultural and croft tenancies, and holiday lets that are not short-term lets.

What the standard requires. Under section 13, the house must:

be "wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation";
have its structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes, in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order;
have installations for water, gas, electricity (including residual current devices), sanitation, fixed space heating and hot water in a reasonable state of repair and proper working order;
have any fixtures, fittings, appliances and furnishings you provide in repair and safe to use;
meet the tolerable standard, which includes equipment to detect and warn of fire and of carbon monoxide;
be "substantially free from damp and mould", added from 6 October 2026;
have common parts that can be safely accessed and used, a food storage area and food preparation space, and secure common doors in a tenement, all added from 1 March 2024.

The duty. Section 14 says you must ensure the house meets the standard "at the start of the tenancy" and "at all times during the tenancy". During the tenancy, the duty applies once the tenant notifies you or you "otherwise become aware". You must finish the work "within a reasonable time".

Damp and mould timescales. Since 6 October 2026, section 14 also sets fixed limits for damp and mould. A competent person must investigate within 10 working days, the tenant gets a written summary within 3 working days, and any safety work must start within 5 working days. See damp and mould rules by nation.

Before the tenancy. Section 19 requires you to "inspect the house before the tenancy starts" and tell the tenant about any work needed to meet the standard.

Enforcement. Under section 22, a tenant or the council can apply to the First-tier Tribunal, but only after telling you the work is needed. If the Tribunal finds a breach, section 24 says it must make a repairing standard enforcement order with a deadline. Under section 28, failing to comply with the order without reasonable excuse is an offence. So is letting the house while an order has effect, unless the Tribunal consents.

Wales: fitness and repair in occupation contracts

Which contracts. Since 1 December 2022, sections 91 to 97 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 apply to secure contracts, periodic standard contracts, and fixed term standard contracts of less than seven years. They are fundamental provisions, part of every such contract. Section 11 of the 1985 Act no longer applies to occupation contracts in Wales (section 13(1ZA)).

Fitness. Under section 91, you must ensure the home is fit for human habitation "on the occupation date of the contract" and "for the duration of the contract". In a flat, this includes the structure, exterior and common parts of the building.

Repair. Section 92 requires you to keep the structure and exterior in repair, including drains, gutters and external pipes. You must also keep the service installations in repair and proper working order: water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water. The standard is what is reasonable for "the age and character of the dwelling".

Alarms and electrical reports count as fitness. The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 list 29 matters that decide fitness, starting with damp and mould. Regulation 5 requires a mains-wired, interlinked smoke alarm on each storey. You also need a carbon monoxide alarm in each room with a gas, oil or solid fuel appliance. Regulation 6 requires a valid electrical condition report, at most 5 years old. A home that breaks either regulation "is to be treated as unfit for human habitation".

Limits. Under section 96, you are not liable where the problem is wholly or mainly caused by the contract-holder's "lack of care". Under section 97, the duties "do not arise until the landlord ... becomes aware that works or repairs are necessary". You comply if you do the work "within a reasonable time" after that.

Guidance. Welsh Government guidance for landlords says that once you are aware, repairs "must be carried out in a reasonable time and to a reasonable standard". Where a dispute cannot be resolved, fitness "will be a matter for the court to determine". Councils can separately inspect homes for hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

Northern Ireland: article 7 and the fitness standard

What you must repair. Article 7 of the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 goes further than the law in England. The landlord must keep in repair:

the structure and exterior, including drains, gutters, external pipes and "exterior paintwork in reasonable order";
the interior, apart from the tenant's duties;
installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water;
appliances, fixtures, fittings and furnishings you provided under the tenancy.

The tenancy can change it. Article 6 applies articles 7 to 11 "only in so far as those provisions are not inconsistent with any express provision in the contract of tenancy". nidirect's repairs page for private tenants puts it this way: "The landlord is always responsible for gas and electrical appliances and furniture safety." Other repairs fall to you where the statement of tenancy terms is not clear.

The tenant's part. Under article 8, the tenant must take proper care of the home "as a good tenant" and make good damage they or their visitors cause. They must also keep the interior "in reasonable decorative order".

Shared parts. Article 9 requires you to keep the shared parts the tenant uses in good order, and access routes "adequately lit and safe to use".

Limits and knowledge. Article 10 excludes repairs the tenant is liable for, things you did not provide, and rebuilding after fire, flood or "other inevitable accident". Under article 11, you need "actual knowledge (whether because of notice given by the tenant or otherwise)" before the duty to do works arises. The standard of repair takes account of the property's age, character and prospective life.

Fitness standard. Article 46 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 sets the fitness standard, applied to private tenancies from 1 April 2007. It includes being "free from serious disrepair" and having adequate lighting, heating and ventilation.

Alarms and electrics. The Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 added article 11B: you must keep enough working smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms. The 2024 alarm regulations applied to new tenancies from 1 September 2024 and to all others from 1 December 2024. The 2024 electrical safety regulations require inspection and testing at least every 5 years. The first test was due before a new tenancy, or by 1 December 2025 for an existing one.

Enforcement. nidirect's housing standards page tells tenants to contact the council's environmental health officer, who "can take action against landlords".

What is not in force yet

Awaab's law for private landlords in England. Section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will add fixed timescales for hazards, but it waits on regulations. The government's consultation closes on 18 December 2026.
The Decent Homes Standard in private renting in England. It is announced for 2035 and its regulations are not yet made. See the Decent Homes Standard for private rented homes.
A tenant complaint route in England. The PRS Landlord Ombudsman will hear tenant complaints, including about repairs, but membership is not yet required. See the PRS Landlord Ombudsman and Database.

Frequently asked questions

Who is responsible for repairs in a rented property in England? The landlord, for the structure and exterior and for the water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water installations, under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The tenant must use the home in a tenant-like manner and put right damage they cause.

How long does a landlord have to do repairs? In England, Scotland and Wales the law says a reasonable time, which depends on how serious the problem is. Scotland sets fixed working-day limits for damp and mould. Northern Ireland's Order does not set a time.

Is a landlord responsible for repairs they do not know about? Generally not during the tenancy. Section 14 in Scotland, section 97 in Wales and article 11 in Northern Ireland start the duty once the landlord is notified or aware. In England, GOV.UK's guide says the same for fitness, except that hazards in common parts make the landlord liable at once.

Can a tenancy agreement make the tenant responsible for repairs? In England, a term that shifts section 11 repairs to the tenant has no effect unless a county court authorised it. In Wales, the repair duties are fundamental provisions of the contract. In Northern Ireland, articles 7 to 11 give way to any express term in the tenancy.

Does a landlord have to fix damage the tenant caused? No. Each nation excludes damage caused by the tenant's own lack of care or breach. The tenant, or their visitors, must put it right.

Keep the repair record with Letbook

Letbook is a compliance tracker for private landlords in all four nations. Tenants can report an issue through their portal, and each report, reply and closure is kept on the property's dated timeline with your notes and documents. It also tracks gas safety, electrical reports and alarm checks for each nation and emails you before they lapse. Letbook does not assess whether a home meets a fitness or repairing standard. Sign up free.

Sources

This page relies on these commencement dates: 20 March 2019 for section 9A in England, 1 March 2024 and 6 October 2026 for the Scottish additions, 1 December 2022 for the Welsh Act, and 1 April 2007 for the Northern Ireland Order. Facts checked on 26 October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.