Bad housing conditions

Your landlord must make sure your home is safe. If you have complained to your landlord and they haven’t sorted out the problems, then you can take action yourself and the council may be able to help you.

Repairs your landlord has to do

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must legally keep in good repair:

the structure of the property, including roofs and gutters, ceilings, walls and floors, windows and doors, staircases and steps, banisters and handrails, drainage and paths
installations in the property that supply gas, water and electricity, including baths, toilets and sinks
installations for heating water, including gas boilers and immersion heaters
space heating, such as storage heaters, radiators and gas fires.

They are not legally required to repair moveable appliances, such as heaters or fridges, but you can negotiate this with your landlord.

Gas and electrical appliances

Find out about your landlord’s responsibilities for gas and electrical appliances.

Electrical appliances

Your landlord is not legally required to get safety certificates for electrical appliances.

Damp and mould

Find out how to report issues with damp and mould.

If your landlord refuses to do repairs

What the Council can do to help

If your home is dangerous, the council can take action to force your landlord to make it safe. We will assess your home and identify any hazards and ask your landlord to deal with any hazards we find. If your landlord doesn’t fix the problem, we can serve them with a notice. If your landlord doesn’t comply with the notice we can do the work ourselves and charge them for it as well as prosecuting them.

The Council cannot make your landlord pay you compensation. You can ask the courts for this. Your claim will not be affected if the Council force your landlord to make your home safe.

For information to help you make a claim for compensation see the compensation for poor repairs page Shelter's website.

How to get other help and advice

Every tenancy places a duty on the landlord to maintain and repair the building’s structure. This covers elements like walls, windows, the roof, electrical systems, water supply, and drainage.

Your tenancy agreement is a legally binding contract. If the landlord fails to uphold their responsibilities under this contract, you have the right to seek compensation through the courts.

You can represent yourself. Shelter provides advice about what you need to show the court and how to make a claim.

Alternatively, you can find a lawyer who specialises in Housing Law using this searchable database.

Don’t stop paying your rent

In most cases it will not help your case if you withhold rent because your landlord hasn’t done repairs. If you are considering doing this we strongly recommend that you obtain independent legal advice from a solicitor or barrister specialising in housing law.

There is an exception to this, called a set-off, which allows you to use your rent to pay for a repair covered by Section 11. However you should get legal advice if you want to do this, as not paying your rent puts you at risk.

Get more information from Citizens Advice about withholding rent to pay for repairs and when you can use off-set as a defence.

If you damage the property

If you damage the property, it is reasonable that your landlord expects you to pay for the cost. You would need to negotiate this with your landlord. For example, you could ask your landlord to pay for the repair and arrange to pay a weekly sum to clear the costs.

Rats, bedbugs and other pests

For mice, bedbugs and any other infestation problems, you need to book a pest control visit. These services are chargeable and concession rates are available if you are on benefits. Your landlord is not legally obliged to pay for pest control, so you need to negotiate with them about payment.

If you want to report an infestation within a HMO (a house in multiple occupation) contact our Housing team on pshe@lewisham.gov.uk.

For rats entering the property from litter, waste or unmanaged land you can contact our Environmental Crime team on envirocrime.enforcement@lewisham.gov.uk.

If you suspect the pest is coming from a neighbour's property. Contact our Safer Communities service on asb.statnusuiance@lewisham.gov.uk.

Published on: 01/07/2025