This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

Most councils and housing associations will carry out repairs once they know about them. If they refuse to do so, take too long, or do them badly there are several things you can do. This section looks at your options.

Getting evidence

Before you take any further action, you should collect all the evidence you can of the repairs that are needed and what you have done to get your landlord to carry them out.

For example, you could:

• take photographs showing where the repairs need to be done
• keep damaged belongings (eg clothes damaged by dampness)
• keep a record of any phone calls you make or receive about problems
  
• date and keep copies of any letters you send to your landlord
• keep copies of any doctor's notes or hospital reports which show that your health has been affected by the problem
• keep receipts for any money you need to spend because of the repair problem (eg if to replace belongings damaged by mould).

It may also be helpful to get an expert to do an inspection. If you are a housing association tenant, you can ask your council's environmental health department to do this. If you are a council tenant, the environmental health department may agree to visit but you may have to pay for an independent surveyor. You can find one on the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors website.

Using the right to repair scheme

If you rent from the council, many repairs will be covered by the right to repair scheme. It means that they should be done within a certain time. If they're not, you can claim a small amount of compensation.

Using the official complaints procedure

Councils, housing associations, or housing cooperatives should have a formal complaints procedure you can use if you're not happy about any aspect of your tenancy. See our pages on making a complaint for more information on how to do this.

Your tenants' handbook should have details of the complaints procedure, and you may also be able to find information about this at your council's website.

Complaining to the Ombudsman

If you have gone through the official complaints procedure and are still not satisfied with the result, you may be able to complain to the ombudsman:

• If you are a council tenant you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.
• If you are a housing association tenant you can complain to the Housing Ombudsman Service.

If the ombudsman agrees with your complaint, they can recommend that your landlord takes steps to put things right, and may suggest that they pay you compensation as well. Most councils and housing associations will take whatever steps the ombudsman suggests.

Taking action with other tenants

If other tenants are affected by the same repair problem (eg dampness), you can join forces to approach your landlord. If your landlord still doesn't cooperate, you may wish to launch a campaign to get the work done. You may be able to join or form a residents association.

Doing the repairs yourself and withholding rent

You do not have the right to withhold the rent. If you do so, the landlord might try to evict you. However, it may be possible for you to arrange for the repairs to be done yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. In most cases this will involve getting your landlord to agree to this beforehand.

If you decide to take this course of action, it's very important that you follow the correct procedure, otherwise you could risk eviction. Always talk to an adviser at a Shelter advice centre or Citizens Advice before taking any action. Use our directory to find one. Whatever you do, don't just stop paying the rent!

What about help from environmental health?

Getting help from environmental health may be an option if conditions in your home are harmful to your household's health or cause a 'statutory nuisance' to your neighbours or the public.

A statutory nuisance is something that is damaging to health or affects other people in their homes. An example of this might be air pollution, loud music, fumes or gases escaping.

In most cases, the council's environmental health department will not take action if you are a council tenant. In some areas, they may agree to come to inspect your home, however, you may have to take court action yourself.

Taking legal action

It may be possible to take your landlord to court. However, this can be complicated, slow and expensive. It should be a last resort, and you should only consider it if you have already tried all the other options, and you can afford it. Talk to an adviser at Citizens Advice or a solicitor at a law centre or independent firm before making any decisions.

You may be able to get free initial legal advice by contacting Community Legal Advice on 0845 345 4 345. 

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