Find advice and guidance if you're renting

If you have an emergency such as a leaking water pipe, call your landlord immediately; if it's a gas leak, call National Grid on 0800 111 999.

However, if you become aware of general disrepair issues in your house, you should follow the steps below:

• Send your landlord a letter or written communication (Text, email, WhatsApp etc.) listing all the repairs or faults you believe exist and keep a record.
• Give your landlord or managing agent access details e.g. a time and date when they can enter your property to inspect the faults and carry out the repairs - the most serious should be repaired first.
• Keep in regular contact with your landlord or managing agent.
• A landlord is allowed to have a 'reasonable time' to do repairs, but the 'time' allowed will depend on the type of repair needed.

Damp and Mould

On the 7 September 2023 the government published guidance on damp and mould in the home.  The guide is aimed at registered social landlords (i.e. housing associations) and private landlords so that they adopt the best practices when dealing with complaints of damp and mould in a home, in addition to being proactive in identifying and tackling damp and mould.

Read more in the government's 'Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home' guidance

If you are a private tenant or a tenant of a home managed by a housing association and have a compliant of damp and mould or any other housing disrepair, you should contact your landlord or managing agent in the first instance giving them an opportunity to carry out remedial works.

If after a reasonable period of time the landlord has not addressed the damp and mould, or the housing disrepair, then contact our Housing Standards Enforcement Team by calling our Customer Service Contact Centre on 01744 676789.

Read more in 'Understanding damp and mould: A guide for landlords, businesses and tenants; tips on dealing with damp and mould'.