We will investigate health and safety concerns about private rented housing, particularly if your landlord is refusing to or has simply not fixed an issue. The government states your landlord is always responsible for repairs to:
- the property’s structure and exterior.
- basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings including pipes and drains.
- heating and hot water.
- gas appliances, pipes, flues and ventilation.
- electrical wiring.
- any damage they cause by attempting repairs.
Your landlord (if they are the freeholder of the building) is also usually responsible for repairing common areas and structures, for example staircases in blocks of flats. Check your tenancy agreement if you’re unsure.
You may be able to carry out minor repairs if your tenancy agreement says you can, but check your agreement first. You cannot be forced to do repairs that are your landlord’s responsibility.
We recommend you contact your landlord first
We recommend you contact your landlord at least twice before asking us to get involved, provided you feel comfortable to do so. This should either be by email, letter or text, so you have some record of having contacted them.
If you live in a housing association home, they will have a formal complaints procedure you can use to raise issues with your landlord.
We've put together some handy template letters to help you let your landlord know about the issues:
It's really important you carry on paying rent while you’re waiting for repairs to be carried out to protect your tenant's rights.
How we can help
If you have contacted your landlord and they have not helped/have not resolved the issue, we can assess health and safety hazards in your home including, but not limited to faulty electrical wiring, structural disrepair, damp concerns, leaks, black mold, noisy appliances and more.
What to expect when you submit a complaint
Our private sector housing officer will contact you to arrange a time to visit to carry out a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) assessment. Before we visit we must write to your landlord (this is called serving notice). This lets us come into your property and take photographs to help record and understand the issue. We will then visit you and carry out an inspection, before sharing our findings with you and your landlord. This could require your landlord to resolve the issue, and if they do not, we can put measures in place to enforce any necessary improvements. It could also involve us providing you with advice and guidance on how to resolve the issue – for example advice on heating and ventilation use.
Concerned about gas smells If you smell gas, call the National Grid’s gas emergency team immediately on 0800 111 999. The Health and Safety Executive also have handy advice and guidance on gas safety for tenants and landlords/letting agents.
Urgent/out of hours complaints We do not operate a 24 hour response to private housing complaints.
Concerned about anti-social behaviour Please do not use this form to make a complaint about anti-social behaviour (unless you live in a shared house (HMO) and it is in relation to another occupant/tenant). To report anti-social behaviour, please fill in our anti-social behaviour report form.
Anonymous complaints We are sorry but we cannot take anonymous complaints because we cannot take action without assessing the impacts of the problem on your life.
Please use this form to make a private housing complaint. As part of this form, we will ask you for your email address. This is so we can contact you to make an appointment and visit you, as well as keep you up to date on the progress of your case.
