Who's Responsible for Repairs? A Landlord's Duties, Plainly

"Is that my job or theirs?" is the question behind most landlord–tenant friction. A dripping tap, a broken boiler, a patch of mould, a cracked window — who fixes it, how fast, and who pays? A lot of it is settled by law, not by whatever the tenancy agreement happens to say, and getting the split wrong in either direction causes trouble: ignore a repair you're responsible for and you risk a complaint, a council notice or worse; take on a job that was really the tenant's and you've spent money you didn't need to. Here's a plain-English map of who does what, how quickly you're expected to act, and why the thing that actually protects you is a dated record. This is general guidance, not legal advice — verify the current rules on GOV.UK and take advice on a specific dispute.

What the landlord must repair — by law

For a standard residential tenancy, the law places core repairing duties on the landlord that can't be signed away by a clause in the agreement. Broadly, you're responsible for keeping in repair and proper working order:

• The structure and exterior — walls, roof, windows, external doors, guttering and drains.
• Water, gas and electricity installations — pipes, wiring, and the fittings that supply them.
• Sanitary fittings — basins, sinks, baths and toilets.
• Heating and hot water — the systems that provide them, so the home can actually be heated.

On top of that sits a broader duty: the property must be fit for human habitation at the start of and throughout the tenancy. That's a wider test than the repairing list — it takes in things like damp, ventilation, and any serious hazard that makes the home unsafe to live in. If a problem makes the property unfit, dealing with it is your responsibility even if it isn't strictly a "repair" to one of the items above.

What's usually the tenant's responsibility

The tenant isn't off the hook. They're generally expected to:

• Use the property in a "tenant-like" way — the everyday care any reasonable occupier would take.
• Handle minor upkeep — changing light bulbs, replacing smoke-alarm batteries where that's their job, keeping the place reasonably clean and ventilated.
• Not cause damage — and put right (or pay for) any damage they, or their guests, cause beyond fair wear and tear.
• Report problems promptly — because you can only fix what you know about, and delay can turn a small job into a big one.

That last point cuts both ways. A tenant who reports a leak the day it starts has met their side; a landlord who then sits on it has not.

How fast do you have to act?

The standard the law uses is "within a reasonable time" of being told — and what's reasonable depends on the problem. A total loss of heating in winter, a dangerous electrical fault or a major leak is urgent and needs same-day or next-day attention; a dripping tap can wait for a scheduled visit. The direction of travel, though, is towards fixed timescales for the most serious hazards: Awaab's Law introduces defined clocks for investigating and fixing dangerous damp, mould and other hazards, starting in social housing and expected to extend to the private sector in time. Treating urgent repairs as urgent — and logging when you were told and what you did — is simply good practice ahead of that curve.

Access, safety checks and the overlap with compliance

Repairs don't sit on their own — they're tangled up with your safety duties. Your annual gas safety check, your electrical inspection (EICR), working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms and a sensible legionella risk assessment are how you catch problems before they become emergencies. To carry out repairs and checks you're generally entitled to access, but you must give the tenant proper notice (usually at least 24 hours) and pick a reasonable time, except in a genuine emergency. Respecting that notice requirement is part of doing repairs properly, not an obstacle to it.

Why the record is what protects you

When a repair becomes a dispute — a complaint to the council, a claim, a challenge to a possession case — the argument is almost never about whether you care. It's about what was reported, when, and what you did about it. A landlord who can show "reported on the 3rd, contractor booked on the 4th, fixed on the 9th, tenant confirmed" is in a completely different position from one relying on memory. That trail is also exactly what a council wants when it asks you to produce your records. So the discipline is simple: log every report, log your response, and keep it with the property's other paperwork.

What landlords should do now

1. Know your core duties — structure, exterior, services, heating, and the fitness-for-habitation standard — and don't assume the agreement changes them.
2. Give tenants an easy way to report repairs, so problems reach you early and in writing — and back it up with periodic mid-tenancy inspections to catch what goes unreported.
3. Triage by urgency — act fast on anything dangerous or a loss of heating, hot water or power.
4. Give proper notice for access, and keep your safety checks in date so repairs and compliance stay joined up.
5. Log the whole chain — reported, actioned, resolved, with dates — and store it with the property's records.

Repairs are the day-to-day face of being a landlord, and like everything else in the current regime, the outcome turns on evidence rather than good intentions. Keep the certificates in date, respond promptly, and write down what you did — and a repair stays a repair, instead of becoming a case you have to defend.

General guidance for UK landlords, not legal advice. Repairing obligations, the fitness-for-habitation standard, access rules and repair timescales are set by law and can change — always verify the current requirements at GOV.UK and take professional advice on a specific repair dispute or disrepair claim.