You have reported the leaking roof. You have sent photographs of the mould. You have chased the broken boiler. Perhaps you have messaged your landlord or letting agent several times.
And nothing seems to happen.
If your landlord is ignoring repairs, repeatedly delaying work or sending contractors who fail to solve the problem, you do not necessarily have to accept the situation.
Private landlords have responsibilities for the condition of the homes they rent. The exact legal position differs between England and Wales, but tenants in both countries have options when necessary repairs are not being dealt with.
The important thing is knowing what to do next — and creating evidence as you go.
What repairs is a landlord responsible for?
Landlords are not responsible for every problem that occurs inside a rented property.
Tenants can normally be responsible for damage they cause themselves and for everyday matters covered by their tenancy agreement.
However, there are important repairs that generally fall to the landlord.
In England, landlords are normally responsible for areas including:
- The structure and exterior of the property
- Roofs, walls and external windows
- Drains and external pipes
- Basins, sinks, baths and sanitary fittings
- Water and sanitation installations
- Heating and hot water systems
- Gas installations
- Electrical wiring
- Common areas where the landlord has responsibility
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 contains important repairing obligations relating to the structure and exterior and installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water.
Private landlords must also keep rented properties safe and free from serious health hazards.
The law in Wales is different. Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, landlords have obligations to ensure qualifying homes are fit for human habitation and to keep important parts of the property and essential installations in repair. Once the landlord becomes aware that repairs are required, they should be carried out within a reasonable time and to a reasonable standard.
Step 1: Make sure the repair has been reported properly
One of the biggest issues in housing repair disputes is proving that the landlord knew about the problem.
A conversation six months ago may be difficult to prove if nothing was recorded.
If you initially reported the repair by telephone, follow it up in writing.
Email, text message or your landlord’s repair portal can all help create a record.
Your message should explain:
- What the problem is
- Which room or area is affected
- When you first noticed it
- Whether it is getting worse
- Whether it is affecting your ability to use the property
- Whether there is an immediate safety concern
Be specific.
Instead of:
“There is mould in the bedroom.”
Explain that mould is covering a particular wall, whether the wall is damp, whether water is entering the property, whether previous attempts to remove the mould have failed and whether it is spreading.
The more clearly the problem is described, the easier it becomes to demonstrate what the landlord was actually told.
Step 2: Keep evidence of everything
If your landlord is ignoring repairs, start building a repair record.
Do not assume you will remember every telephone call three months later.
Keep:
- Photographs
- Videos
- Emails
- Text messages
- WhatsApp messages
- Repair reference numbers
- Letters
- Contractor appointment details
- Screenshots of online repair reports
- Details of missed appointments
- Records of previous repair attempts
Photographs should ideally be dated.
If the problem changes, take new photographs.
For example, if a small area of damp develops into extensive mould over several months, photographs showing that progression can be much more useful than one photograph taken at the end.
If water enters the property only when it rains, record a video when the leak is active.
If the boiler repeatedly loses pressure or stops working, record when it happens.
You are creating a timeline of the problem.
Step 3: Give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to respond
There is no single legal deadline that applies to every ordinary housing repair.
How quickly a landlord should act depends heavily on the problem.
A dripping tap and a dangerous electrical fault should obviously not be treated with the same urgency.
A major leak, broken heating during cold weather, exposed electrics or a problem that creates an immediate risk to somebody in the property is likely to require a much faster response than a minor maintenance issue.
If the landlord has acknowledged your report, ask for a clear timetable:
When will the property be inspected?
When will the repair begin?
What work is actually going to be carried out?
Do not be afraid to ask for dates rather than accepting repeated statements such as “someone will be in touch”.
In Wales, official Rent Smart Wales guidance says landlords should carry out necessary works within a reasonable time after becoming aware of them. It also recommends tenants keep written evidence of repair reports and suggests contacting Rent Smart Wales or the local environmental health team if they remain unhappy with the response after 14 days. That 14-day period is useful guidance, not a universal legal deadline for every repair.
Step 4: Report the problem again if the repair fails
A contractor attending your property does not necessarily mean the problem has been fixed.
This distinction matters.
A landlord may arrange for mould to be cleaned or painted over, but if the mould is being caused by water penetration, defective ventilation or another problem with the property, it may return.
A roof may be patched but continue leaking.
Damaged plaster may be replaced while the source of the water remains unresolved.
A boiler may be restarted only to stop working again several days later.
If this happens, report it again immediately.
Explain that the previous repair has failed and that the underlying problem remains.
Take new photographs.
Keep the original repair records.
Repeated failed repairs can become an important part of the history of a housing conditions dispute.
Step 5: Escalate the repair in writing
If informal chasing is getting nowhere, make your next communication more formal.
State clearly that the repair remains unresolved despite previous reports.
Include:
- The date you first reported the issue
- Any later dates you chased it
- Details of contractor visits
- Repairs that have already failed
- The current condition of the property
- Any worsening of the problem
- What you want the landlord to do
Give the communication a clear subject such as:
Formal complaint – unresolved repairs at [property address]
If a letting agent manages the property, send the complaint to them and, where you have the details, the landlord.
This is also a good point to organise your evidence into one folder.
You should be able to show someone unfamiliar with the situation what happened from the first report to the present day.
Step 6: Contact your local council if you are a private tenant in England
If you privately rent in England and serious problems are not being addressed, your local council may be able to intervene.
GOV.UK specifically advises private tenants to contact the local council’s environmental health department where necessary repairs or mould are not being dealt with.
Councils can inspect rented homes using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, commonly known as the HHSRS.
Where serious hazards are found, councils have enforcement powers available to them.
And those powers became significantly stronger in 2026.
Landlords ignoring dangerous repairs can now face £7,000 fines in England
From 22 June 2026, councils in England gained a new power to impose financial penalties of up to £7,000 where private rented homes contain the most serious, Category 1 hazards.
These can include serious damp and mould, dangerous electrical problems, fire hazards, structural problems and other significant risks.
Councils also retain powers including requiring repairs and, in appropriate circumstances, carrying out emergency work and recovering the cost from the landlord.
This does not mean every outstanding repair automatically results in a £7,000 fine.
The new financial penalty relates to hazards assessed at the serious Category 1 level.
But it gives private tenants dealing with genuinely dangerous housing another reason to contact their local authority rather than endlessly chasing an unresponsive landlord.
What changed for private tenants under the Renters’ Rights Act?
Private renting in England changed significantly on 1 May 2026.
Most existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, and private landlords can no longer use the old Section 21 “no-fault” eviction process to remove tenants.
A landlord seeking possession now needs to rely upon an appropriate legal ground and follow the correct process.
That matters because fear of eviction has historically discouraged some private tenants from reporting serious problems.
It does not mean that a private tenant can never be evicted after complaining about repairs. Landlords still have legitimate possession grounds available where the legal requirements are met.
But the old ability to simply use Section 21 without giving a possession ground ended on 1 May 2026.
Does Awaab’s Law apply to private landlords?
Not yet.
This is an important distinction because there is a lot of confusing information online.
Awaab’s Law already imposes fixed repair timescales on social landlords in England for certain hazards.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides for Awaab’s Law to be extended to the private rented sector, but as of August 2026 those private-sector requirements have not yet been brought into force.
The Government’s implementation roadmap places the extension of Awaab’s Law to private landlords in Phase 3, with the implementation timetable still subject to consultation.
So a private tenant should not currently assume that their landlord is automatically subject to the same Awaab’s Law deadlines as a council or housing association landlord.
Existing repairing, safety and fitness obligations still apply.
What can private tenants in Wales do?
If you rent privately in Wales, your rights come primarily from the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 rather than the English legislation discussed above.
Your landlord has responsibilities concerning fitness for human habitation and repairs.
The key starting point remains the same:
Tell the landlord about the problem and keep evidence that you did so.
Rent Smart Wales recommends confirming repair reports in writing and keeping copies of messages, photographs and screenshots.
If the landlord continues to fail to deal with the problem, tenants can contact Rent Smart Wales or their local authority’s environmental health team.
Enforcement action may be available where necessary repairs or improvements are identified.
Should you stop paying rent if your landlord ignores repairs?
Do not simply stop paying rent because repairs have not been completed.
In England, official guidance is clear that tenants should continue paying their agreed rent even where repairs are required or there is a dispute with the landlord.
Rent Smart Wales also advises tenants to continue paying rent while property condition problems are being raised.
Withholding rent without understanding the legal consequences can create rent arrears and turn one dispute into two.
If you are considering withholding rent, obtain proper advice about your individual circumstances first.
What if your landlord says the problem is your fault?
Disputes about damp and mould are particularly common.
Tenants may be told to:
- Open windows more often
- Use the heating more
- Stop drying clothes indoors
- Wipe mould away
- Use extractor fans
Tenant behaviour can sometimes contribute to condensation.
But simply blaming “lifestyle” does not establish that the tenant is responsible for every damp or mould problem.
Problems can also be associated with leaking pipes, penetrating damp, defective roofs, failed seals, inadequate ventilation, cold surfaces or other defects.
If your landlord says you caused the problem, continue documenting the condition.
Record any visible leaks or building defects.
Keep copies of the landlord’s response.
Where the cause is disputed and the problem is significant, an inspection may ultimately be necessary to establish what is happening.
What if the landlord keeps cancelling repair appointments?
Keep a record of every cancelled or missed visit.
Note:
- The appointment date
- Who was supposed to attend
- Whether you remained at home waiting
- Whether the appointment was cancelled
- The reason given
- When the replacement appointment was offered
One unavoidable cancelled appointment is very different from months of repeated failed visits.
The history matters.
If contractors repeatedly attend but cannot complete the repair because they have been given the wrong information or instructed to carry out the wrong work, record that too.
Can you take legal action if your landlord ignores repairs?
Potentially.
In England, the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims applies to residential housing conditions claims where the landlord knows about poor conditions but they remain unresolved.
Its aims include encouraging necessary repairs, early exchange of information, appropriate compensation and resolving disputes without unnecessary court proceedings.
A Letter of Claim can set out matters including the defects, their history, when the landlord was notified, the effects of the conditions and relevant evidence.
The landlord will then normally be expected to respond in accordance with the Protocol.
The legal process in Wales is different, so tenants should not assume that the English Housing Conditions Protocol applies to a property located in Wales.
Whether legal action is appropriate depends on the individual facts.
Can you claim compensation?
Possibly, but unresolved repairs do not automatically produce a fixed compensation payment.
A potential housing conditions claim can depend on issues including:
- What defects exist
- Whether the landlord was responsible for them
- When the landlord became aware
- How long the problem continued
- Whether reasonable repair attempts were made
- Which parts of the home were affected
- How seriously the tenant’s use of the property was affected
- Whether belongings were damaged
- What evidence exists
This is why websites promising a precise compensation amount before understanding the property and repair history should be treated cautiously.
Every case is different.
What evidence should you have before asking for help?
You do not need a perfectly organised legal file before seeking advice.
But gather what you can.
Useful evidence can include:
- Current photographs of the problems
- Older photographs showing how conditions developed
- Videos
- Your tenancy or occupation contract
- Repair reports
- Emails and text messages
- Screenshots
- Complaint correspondence
- Contractor visit details
- Evidence of failed repairs
- Receipts or photographs for damaged belongings
- A simple timeline
If you do not have everything, start now.
Do not decide that you have “no evidence” simply because your earliest reports were made over the telephone.
There may still be repair records held by the landlord, and current conditions can still be documented.
Landlord ignoring repairs? The key thing is to stop relying on verbal promises
When a landlord repeatedly says that somebody will attend “next week”, it is easy for months to disappear.
Change the way you deal with the problem.
Report it in writing.
Keep photographs.
Record every appointment.
Challenge failed repairs.
Escalate the issue formally.
Contact the appropriate authority if serious conditions remain unresolved.
And if the landlord has known about significant disrepair for a prolonged period and has still failed to properly address it, consider getting advice about what further options may be available.
Need help with unresolved landlord repairs?
If you are living with ongoing repair problems that have already been reported to your landlord, Housing Disrepair Advice can help you understand what options may be available.
We can look at the condition of the property, what you have reported, how long the problems have been ongoing, what the landlord has done and whether the repairs remain unresolved.
Where the circumstances are appropriate, you can then understand what the next step may be.
Do not wait for a serious problem to become dramatically worse simply because your landlord has stopped responding.
Keep reporting it.
Keep the evidence.
And know that being ignored does not necessarily mean you have run out of options.
This article provides general information and does not constitute individual legal advice. Housing law differs between England and Wales and the appropriate action will depend on the circumstances of each tenancy and property.