How to Write a Letter to a Landlord About Repairs UK: A Complete Guide

Most tenants who have a repair problem in their home deal with it the wrong way. They call their landlord, hear a vague promise that someone will come, wait for weeks and then call again. Nothing is written down, there is no record and the landlord faces no real pressure to act.

A letter changes everything. It creates a dated paper trail, triggers your landlord’s legal obligations, gives them a clear deadline and puts you in a much stronger position if the problem is not fixed. Whether the issue is damp, a broken boiler, a leaking roof, pest infestation or anything else that makes your home unsafe or unpleasant to live in, writing to your landlord properly is the most effective step you can take.

This guide explains your legal rights as a tenant, how to write a repair request letter that gets results, how to escalate when your landlord ignores you, and what additional steps are available if the problem remains unresolved.

Your Legal Rights: What Landlords Are Required to Fix

Private landlords in England are legally required to keep rental properties in a state of repair. The main legal obligations come from Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which requires landlords to maintain the structure and exterior of the property, including the roof, walls, windows and drains. It also requires them to keep in working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, and the installations for space heating and water heating. This means boilers, radiators, pipes, wiring and sanitary fittings are all the landlord’s responsibility.

Since 2019, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 has also required landlords to ensure properties are fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout. This means properties must be free from serious hazards including damp, mould, structural instability, inadequate heating, and anything assessed as a category one hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

If you live in a council property or housing association home, your landlord also has obligations under the social landlord regulatory standards, and has a duty to carry out repairs within published timescales. Check your tenancy agreement and your landlord’s repairs policy for the specific timescales that apply.

Tip: Your landlord cannot fulfil their repair obligation if they do not know about the problem. Once you have notified them in writing, the clock starts. If they then fail to carry out repairs within a reasonable time, they are in breach of their legal duty.

What Counts as a Reasonable Timescale for Repairs?

The law does not specify exact timescales for every type of repair, but the standard applied is what is reasonable given the nature and urgency of the problem. In practice, the following rough guide is widely applied.

• Emergency repairs (total heating failure in winter, serious water leak, gas leak, structural danger): immediate response, usually within 24 hours.

• Urgent repairs (partial heating failure, significant damp or mould, broken windows, faulty locks): within a few days to a week.

• Routine repairs (minor leaks, non-urgent damp, general maintenance): typically within 28 days, though this varies by landlord.

Many social landlords publish their specific timescales in a repairs policy. If yours does, reference those timescales in your letter. If a repair has exceeded the published timescale, say so explicitly.

Before You Write: What to Do First

Before sending a formal letter, take photographs of the problem. Date-stamped photographs are some of the most useful evidence you can have. Take them from multiple angles and capture the full extent of the damage or defect. If the problem is damp or mould, photograph the affected area and note whether it is spreading.

Make a note of when you first noticed the problem and how it has changed over time. If anyone has been affected in terms of health, whether worsening respiratory conditions, allergies or sleep disruption, note this too. If a doctor has been seen in connection with the problem, that is relevant evidence.

Check your tenancy agreement for the landlord’s contact details and any repairs reporting procedure. Some tenancy agreements require you to report repairs in a specific way. Following your landlord’s stated procedure before escalating is good practice.

The First Letter: A Clear Repair Request

The first letter should be straightforward and professional. You are not making a complaint yet. You are formally notifying your landlord of a problem and asking them to fix it within a reasonable time. The letter should be dated, sent by email with read receipt or by recorded post, and kept on file.

[Your name]

[Your address]

[Date]

[Landlord’s name]

[Landlord’s address or managing agent’s address]

Subject: Repair Request – [Your address], [Brief description of problem]

Dear [Landlord’s name],

I am writing to formally notify you of a repair that requires attention at the above property, which I rent from you under the tenancy agreement dated [date].

The issue is as follows: [Describe the problem clearly and specifically. Include where in the property the problem is, when you first noticed it, and how it has developed. For example: There is a significant damp patch on the external wall of the main bedroom, approximately one metre square, which has been present since [date] and has been growing in size. Black mould has now developed on the surface and on the surrounding skirting board.]

I have attached photographs taken on [date] which show the extent of the problem. [If relevant: The damp is causing condensation on windows, a persistent musty smell throughout the room, and has damaged items of furniture and clothing stored near the affected wall.]

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you have a legal obligation to maintain the structure of the property and to keep it in a state of repair. I am requesting that this repair is carried out within [14 / 21 / 28] days of this letter.

Please confirm receipt of this letter and advise me of when the repair will be carried out.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

[Contact details]

Tip: Send the letter by email if possible and keep the sent copy. If you send by post, use recorded delivery and keep the proof of postage. If you hand it over in person, photograph it or ask for a signed acknowledgement. The date of notification matters if things escalate later.

If Your Landlord Does Not Respond: The Follow-Up Letter

If you receive no response within the timeframe you specified, or if you receive a response but no action follows, send a follow-up letter. This should reference your first letter, note that the deadline has passed, and give a clear final deadline before you take further action.

Subject: Follow-Up: Repair Request – [Your address], [Brief description of problem]

Dear [Landlord’s name],

I am writing to follow up on my letter dated [date] regarding the [describe the problem] at [your address]. As of today’s date, the repair has not been carried out and [if applicable: I have received no response to my previous letter].

The problem has [if it has worsened, describe how: continued to worsen / caused further damage / begun to affect my health and the health of other occupants].

I am writing to give you a final opportunity to arrange the repair before I take further action. If the repair is not confirmed and scheduled within [7 / 14] days of this letter, I intend to contact the local council’s environmental health department and report the matter as a potential housing hazard. I may also seek legal advice about my rights under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

I would prefer to resolve this matter without escalation and hope you will arrange the necessary work promptly.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

[Contact details]

The key difference in this letter is the mention of escalation. You are not threatening litigation. You are clearly stating what your next steps will be if the matter is not addressed. That signals that you are informed about your options and serious about using them.

Escalation: What to Do If the Landlord Still Does Not Act

If two letters have produced no result, you have several routes available. Use them in order.

Report to the Local Council Environmental Health Team

Local councils have a duty to inspect properties and take action where they find hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. If a council inspector assesses a problem as a category one hazard, meaning one that poses a serious risk to health or safety, they must take action. This can include serving an improvement notice on your landlord requiring them to carry out specified repairs within a set timeframe. Failure to comply with an improvement notice is a criminal offence.

To report to environmental health, contact your local council and ask for the housing or environmental health team. Explain that you are a tenant with unresolved repair issues and ask for an inspection. Bring your correspondence with the landlord, your photographs and any evidence of health impacts.

Contact a Redress Scheme or the Property Ombudsman

If your property is managed by a letting agent, the agent is legally required to be a member of a government-approved redress scheme. You can complain to The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme if the agent has failed to act on repair issues. If the landlord is a member of a landlord association, you may also be able to raise a complaint through that body.

Take Legal Action Under the Homes Act

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 gives tenants the right to take their landlord to court if the property is not fit for human habitation. You do not need a solicitor to do this. The small claims court can hear claims up to £10,000 and the process is designed to be accessible without legal representation. Shelter’s guidance on taking your landlord to court explains the process in detail, including how to build your case and what evidence to gather.

Before taking legal action, seek advice from Shelter, Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor. A letter before action, sent to the landlord before any court claim, is a required step and gives the landlord a final opportunity to comply.

Specific Situations: What to Include for Common Problems

Damp and Mould

Damp and mould are among the most common and most serious repair issues in rented accommodation. In your letter, describe the location and extent of the mould or damp patch precisely, when it appeared and how it has grown, whether it appears to be penetrating damp from outside or condensation, and any health impacts including respiratory symptoms, asthma or allergies. Note that since the Awaab Ishak case in 2022, councils and housing associations are under particular scrutiny regarding mould and damp, and social landlords are now required to investigate and remediate hazardous damp and mould within defined timescales.

Heating and Hot Water Failure

Loss of heating or hot water is an emergency in cold weather. In your letter, state the date the heating or hot water failed, what you have done to check whether it is a fault you can address yourself (such as a tripped fuse or a simple boiler reset), and that you need urgent action. If you have children, elderly occupants or anyone with a health condition that makes cold temperatures especially dangerous, say so. Reference the landlord’s obligation under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act to keep heating installations in working order.

Structural Problems

Roof leaks, cracked walls, failing guttering and damp caused by structural defects are all the landlord’s responsibility under Section 11. Describe the problem precisely, including where it is, how it has developed and what the consequences are. If you have experienced water ingress, describe what happened and when. If possessions have been damaged, document them and retain evidence as you may be entitled to compensation.

Pest Infestation

If your property has mice, rats, cockroaches or other pests, responsibility depends on the cause. If pests have entered through gaps or holes in the structure of the property, that is the landlord’s repair obligation. If the infestation has arisen from the condition of the building itself rather than from how you are living in it, the landlord should address it. Describe how you discovered the infestation, what evidence you have found and what structural access points you have identified.

Protecting Yourself: Retaliatory Eviction

Some landlords respond to repair complaints by attempting to evict the tenant. Since 2015, the Deregulation Act 2015 has given tenants in England protection against retaliatory eviction. If a tenant complains in writing about a repair, the landlord cannot validly serve a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice within six months of that complaint if the council has also served an improvement notice. This protection does not cover all scenarios, but it is a significant safeguard. Keeping a dated written record of your repair complaint is essential for this protection to apply.

If you receive an eviction notice shortly after raising a repair complaint, get advice from Shelter or a housing solicitor immediately. Do not ignore it. The timescales involved are strict.

Getting Help

Free advice on tenant rights and repair issues is available from Shelter, whose online advice pages and helpline cover every aspect of the repair process from initial request to legal action. Citizens Advice also provides detailed guidance on your rights and the steps available when a landlord fails to act.

If you want help drafting a repair letter or escalation letter that is clearly structured and references your legal rights correctly, the team at LetterLab can help you get it right. A letter that references the correct legislation and sets clear deadlines is significantly more likely to prompt action than one that does not.

Checklist: Before You Send Your Repair Letter

1. Have you taken dated photographs of the problem?

2. Have you noted when the problem first appeared and how it has developed?

3. Does the letter clearly describe the specific repair needed and where in the property the problem is?

4. Have you referenced Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 or the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 as appropriate?

5. Have you set a clear, reasonable deadline for the repair to be carried out?

6. Have you asked for written acknowledgement of the letter?

7. Are you sending it by email with read receipt, or by recorded post, so you have proof of delivery?

8. Have you kept a copy of the letter and the photographs?

9. If this is a follow-up letter, have you referenced the original letter and noted that the deadline has passed?

10. If health has been affected, have you described that specifically?

The Key Takeaway: Written, Dated, Sent

A verbal repair request is easy to ignore and impossible to prove. A written letter with a specific description of the problem, a legal reference and a clear deadline is not. It creates a record, triggers your landlord’s obligations and gives you a foundation for every subsequent step if the problem is not fixed.

Most landlords, when they receive a properly written letter that demonstrates the tenant knows their rights, act. Those who do not have given you everything you need to escalate to environmental health, a redress scheme or the courts.

Describe the problem precisely. Reference the law. Set a deadline. Send it in writing. Keep the copy.