Complaints about private landlords
This content applies to England only.
Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland
If you rent your home from an individual, a company or an organisation that is not the council or a housing association, they are classed as a private landlord.
If you are having problems dealing with a private landlord, you may be able to complain in one of three ways:
Complaining to your landlord
If your landlord has a complaints procedure, you should use this before taking any further action. Ask about it at your landlord’s office, or get information from their website.
If your landlord does not have a complaints procedure, or if you cannot get any information about it, complain by letter. The landlord may investigate, ask questions, ask you to send copies of documents, and/or inspect your property. Then the landlord should write to you to tell you the result.
If at the end of the complaints procedure, you are not happy with the result, or if the landlord has failed to reply to your complaint letter, you may be able to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or go to court.
Complaining to the council's tenancy relations officer
Most councils have a Tenancy Relations Officer (TRO). The TRO can help if your landlord is breaking the law. The TRO may get involved if, for example, your landlord:
- is threatening to evict you illegally (ie without giving you proper notice)
- is harassing you
- refuses to carry out repairs
- refuses to give you a rent book.
The TRO can contact your landlord and explain the law to him or her. If your landlord ignores this advice, the TRO can prosecute the landlord. If your landlord is convicted, s/he will have a criminal record and a fine or in serious cases a prison sentence, and may also have to pay you compensation.
Your local council office should be able to give you information about the TRO, or you can get information from the council website or from your local advice agency – use our directory to find one.
Complaining to the council's environmental health department
Every council has an environmental health officer (EHO). The EHO can help if there is a health and safety hazard in your home, and it is the landlord’s responsibility, for example:
- dangerous electrical wiring or gas pipes or appliances
- dangerous structural disrepair
- rising damp or leaky roofs
- noisy machinery
- other hazards (eg asbestos).
The EHO will inspect your home and make a decision. The EHO may then speak to the landlord informally to request that work is done, or issue a formal order that will make the landlord to carry out work.
You can find out about the EHO at a council office, or get information from the council website or from a local advice agency – use our directory to find one.
