Ask the council to check if your rented home needs repairs

Landlords are responsible for dealing with most repairs to rented accommodation. If you’ve reported repairs to your landlord and they haven’t done anything, then the council may be able to help you.

If you're a tenant in private rented accommodation or a housing association tenant, you can ask the council for help. In some cases, if the landlord doesn't do the required work, they can be prosecuted and fined. The council may also be able to do the work and charge the cost back to the landlord.

If you rent from the council

If you're a tenant of the council, this information will be of limited use to you. Some Environmental Health departments may serve informal notices on the council. However, because the Environmental Health department is part of the council, this means that it can’t take formal action against itself.

If you're a council tenant and your landlord's failure to make repairs is affecting your health or causing a nuisance, you could take action yourself in the magistrates’ court. You will need help from a specialist adviser or a solicitor to do this.

Taking court action can be expensive and legal aid isn't available for someone to represent you, but you may be entitled to advice and assistance to prepare for court action. Taking court action should be a last resort so it's best to consider other options first.

• More about other options for council tenants

If you rent from a private landlord

In some cases, a private landlord may evict a tenant rather than do repair work. Make sure you know whether you're at risk of eviction before you ask the local authority for help.

• More about private tenants and the risk of eviction

What the council can help with

If your landlord has failed to have repairs carried out, the Environmental Health department of the council can inspect your home. They may be able to force your landlord to take action if:

• there's a hazard in your home which is a risk to your health or safety

• your home is in such a state that it's harmful to your health or is a nuisance, called a 'statutory nuisance'

Check what counts as a hazard

A hazard is any risk of harm to your physical health, mental health or safety caused by a problem in your home. This could be because of how the property was built or because of repairs that haven't been done.

Councils use the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to decide if your repair problem is a hazard. They have duties and powers to take action to deal with properties that have serious hazards.

Examples of hazards in the HHSRS could include:

• fire risks - for example, unsafe cladding, faulty electrical equipment or lack of fire alarms

• damp or mould

• excess cold or heat

• asbestos or dangerous gases - for example, carbon monoxide from faulty gas boilers

• overcrowding

• problems keeping a property secure - for example, faulty locks or lack of burglar alarms

• too much noise or poor lighting

• risk of infection - for example, from pests, a poor water supply or drains

• risk of accidents - for example, from trips or falls, electrical hazards or parts of the building collapsing

Check what counts as a statutory nuisance

A statutory nuisance is something that is harmful to your health or is a nuisance.

The state of a property is generally harmful to your health if it makes a well person become ill or if it worsens the health of a sick person.

Something can be harmful to your health if it's actually harmful or if it's likely to cause you harm. The harm can be to your physical or mental health.

Examples of lack of repair that may be harmful to your health include:

• dampness, condensation and mould growth

• damaged asbestos

• faulty or dangerous gas or electrical installations

• vermin or insect infestations

• fumes or gases

• unacceptable noise levels

If a repair problem isn’t harmful to your health, the council can still take action if it’s a:

• public nuisance - this is where the comfort or quality of life of the public or a group of people is affected,for example, offensive smells, noise and problems with rubbish or sewage

• private nuisance - this happens when an owner or occupier of a property significantly interferes with the use and enjoyment of neighbouring property, for example, leaking overflows, blocked pipes and gutters

Where the council are satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists or there’s a likelihood of one arising or recurring, they have a legal duty to take action. Before taking formal action, the council may first serve an informal notice to give the landlord the chance to deal with the problem.

Contacting the council about an inspection

If you've reported repairs to your landlord and they haven't done anything, you could contact the council. Tell them about the repair problem and why you think it counts as a hazard or statutory nuisance.

It's usually the Environmental Health department that deals with inspections. If they think that an inspection would be appropriate, they must carry one out. This applies to all residential accommodation. That includes ordinary homes, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and common parts of buildings which have one or more flats.

If you'd prefer your landlord not to know that you contacted the council, you can ask them to keep your complaint confidential. Councils have duties to keep the housing conditions in their area under review, so they could tell your landlord that they're carrying out an inspection on this basis.

In cases where there may be a risk to your health and safety, your landlord can't refuse access to an environmental health officer (EHO). It's a criminal offence if they do refuse access.

You don't have to pay for an inspection to be carried out.

A letter is available for you to contact the local council which you can adapt according to your circumstances.

• Letter to the local council about lack of repairs

Check what happens during an inspection

An EHO will inspect your home and record any problems.

If you live in a high-rise building, the EHO should also inspect other parts of your building. This includes the cladding on the outside of the building and areas that are used by all residents - for example, corridors and stairs.

The officer will work out if anything is a hazard or statutory nuisance. 

Inspectors use guidance produced by the government when deciding if something is a hazard. You can find HHSRS guidance on GOV.UK.

You can check what the council will do if they decide your landlord has to do repairs.

Complaining about the council

You may want to complain about the council if you don’t think it has acted properly. For example, if it refuses to carry out an inspection, is slow to carry one out or carries out the inspection but appears to be delaying taking action against your landlord.

If you’re not satisfied with the way the council has acted, you could ask it to reconsider its decision or contact your local councillor, MP or Assembly Member to put pressure on the council.

You can contact a local councillor through your council or by attending the councillor's advice surgery. You can also find out who your local councillor, MP or Assembly Member is and contact them using the WriteToThem website.

You could also make a formal complaint using the council's internal complaints procedure. If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman in England or the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Contact your Councillors, MP, or Welsh AMs for free at the Write to Them website.