Emergency hazards in housing association and council homes

This page is for housing association and council tenants.

We have different advice about hazards in private rented homes.

Advice on this page

Table: What your landlord must do
What is an emergency hazard?
Video: Emergency hazards in social housing
Tell your landlord about an emergency hazard
Emergency work and inspections
Free temporary rehousing
If more work is needed later
Information your landlord should give you
What if your landlord does not deal with an emergency properly?

Table: What your landlord must do

From 27 October 2025 councils and housing associations must deal with emergency hazards quickly.

What your landlord must do	When they must do it
Complete emergency work to make your home safe.	In 24 hours. This can include temporary repairs like a mould treatment.
Offer you free temporary housing.	If the emergency hazard cannot be fixed or removed in 24 hours.
Start further work to stop the emergency hazard coming back.	Within 12 weeks from when they found an emergency hazard in your home.

What is an emergency hazard?

Emergency hazards are problems with repairs or conditions in your home that are likely to cause you or anyone who lives with you serious harm unless they are fixed in 24 hours.

Emergency hazards include:

gas leaks
burst main pipes
electric shocks and dangerous wiring
serious damp and mould that causes breathing problems
no hot water or heating, especially if it's cold outside

This also includes ongoing problems in your home if:

it becomes more serious and is now an emergency
someone who lives in your home is now at risk of harm because your circumstances have changed

Example: an ongoing problem becomes an emergency

Sam and Beth live in a one bedroom council flat. There's damp and mould in the bedroom. The council knows about the problem but said it's not an emergency and that repairs would start in the next 3 months.

Beth has just given birth and there is now a newborn baby in the property.

Damp and mould is now an emergency hazard, because newborn babies are vulnerable to breathing problems caused by mould spores. Sam and Beth ask the council to do emergency repairs.

Video transcript

If you rent from a council or housing association, they must make your home safe in 24 hours from when you tell them about an emergency repair problem.

Emergency repair problems are called emergency hazards.

An emergency hazard is a serious problem that will cause harm to you or someone you live with unless it's fixed in 24 hours.

Emergency hazards include things like:

gas leaks
electric shocks and dangerous wiring
burst mains pipes
serious damp and mould problems that cause breathing problems
no hot water or heating - especially during cold weather

Ongoing problems can become emergency hazards if they become more serious and they're now an emergency.

Or someone who lives in your home is now at high risk of harm because your circumstances change. For example, because of changes in your health or a new baby.

What your landlord must do

If your landlord decides the problem is an emergency hazard they have 24 hours to make your home safe.

They have to offer you free rehousing if they cannot make your home safe in 24 hours.

You can stay there until your home is safe.

Initial work to make an emergency hazard safe could include temporary measures like:

a mould wash or treatment
boarding up a broken window

Your landlord might then need to do further work to make sure the problem does not come back.

What work is needed depends on the problem, but it could be things like a new boiler or a damp proof course.

Shelter adviser Jen explains which repair problems are emergency hazards, and what council and housing association landlords must do about them.

[Video length: 1:37]

Tell your landlord about an emergency hazard

Your council or housing association must tell you how to report emergency repairs.

Your landlord might have a phone number, an online form or an app for reporting emergencies.

Reporting repairs online is often a quick way to tell your landlord about the problem.

But make sure you follow what your landlord says about how to report emergency repairs.

If you're not sure how to report an emergency you can:

check your tenancy agreement
check the landlord's website
ask your landlord by phone

Here's an example of what you can say on the phone:

Hello, I live at [your address].

There's an emergency in my home. It is [describe the problem in your home].

I have pictures of the problem.

When can I expect someone to visit and fix the problem?

Please give me your name and the repair reference number.

Write down when you reported the problem and make a note for your records.

Keep copies of emails or screenshots from apps or online forms if you use them.

Emergency work and inspections

Your council or housing association must decide if the problem is an emergency hazard.

They do not have to visit your home. Your landlord could review photos or videos of the problem to decide if it's an emergency.

Your landlord must consider:

how the hazard affects you and anyone who lives with you
if there is anyone in the property who is vulnerable or at a higher risk from the hazard

Emergency work to make your home safe

Your landlord has 24 hours to make your home safe. This starts when they believe there's an emergency in your home.

Making your home safe might mean using temporary fixes, like:

a mould wash or treatment
boarding up a broken window
only replacing the faulty part of a boiler

Your landlord has to offer you free temporary rehousing if they cannot make your home safe in 24 hours.

Asking for an in person inspection

You can ask your landlord to send someone to look at the problem if they:

decide it's not an emergency without visiting your home
say it's an emergency but they do not know how to make your home safe yet

Your landlord should send someone who has experience with the type of problem in your home.

For example, a surveyor, specialist engineer or tradesperson or an employee trained in repairs.

When your landlord can take longer than 24 hours

The 24 hours deadline only covers problems with your property.

It does not cover emergency hazards caused by:

you or someone who lives with you
problems in another property, for example a leak coming from another flat your landlord does not own

Your landlord might not have to fix problems caused by faulty appliances you own.

Free temporary rehousing

If your home cannot be made safe in 24 hours, your landlord must offer you rehousing that is:

free
available until your home is safe to return to
suitable for you and people who live with you, including children who stay overnight at least once a week

You still have to pay your normal rent while you are in temporary housing.

If you refuse to move, you landlord must give you information about how to stay safe until the emergency hazard is fixed.

Example: temporary rehousing because of an emergency hazard

Jay rents his house from a housing association. His boiler breaks just before Christmas. The temperature outside is below freezing.

Jay has health problems and having no heating puts him at serious risk.

Jay reports the problem to the housing association on their emergency repairs helpline.

The adviser logs it as an emergency repair.

An hour later someone from Jay's housing association drops off some electric heaters.

Jay's landlord must send a heating engineer out to check the boiler. If it cannot be fixed within 24 hours, they must offer Jay temporary rehousing.

If Jay refuses to move, the housing association should ask him to confirm in writing that he does not want to move and send him written advice on how to try and stay safe in cold conditions.

If more work is needed later

Sometimes more work is needed to make sure the emergency hazard does not happen again.

For example, you might need a new boiler or air vents to improve ventilation in your home.

Your landlord can send someone to inspect your property to decide if more work is needed. This could be a surveyor, contractor or someone who works for the council or housing association.

Ask for an in person inspection if your landlord has not already done one or if work to make your home safe has not started.

Your landlord should send someone to inspect your home who has experience or knowledge of the problem in your home. For example, a surveyor or an employee who is trained in repairs.

When further work should start

Your landlord should start this work within 12 weeks from when they first know there is an emergency in your home.

This could be from when:

you tell them about the problem
they discover there's an emergency hazard in your home - even if you did not know about it

Your landlord must make sure the emergency hazard does not come back until any further work is completed.

Example: dealing with an emergency hazard

Saul lives in a ground floor flat. His front room window is smashed. Saul is worried that someone could come in through the window. It also makes the property very cold.

Saul calls his housing association's emergency repairs helpline straight away. The person he speaks to asks him about the problem and how it affects him. They record the repair as an emergency. They tell Saul what to do to stay safe and that a contractor will arrive later today.

2 hours later the contractor arrives and boards up Saul's window. Saul's home is now safe but more work is needed to replace the window.

The contractor says that it's going to take a couple of days for the new window to arrive.

Saul's housing association must keep his home safe until they install the new window.

Information your landlord should give you

Your council or housing association should write to you after an investigation.

They must send you a letter or email within 3 working days. This should be in another language or accessible format if you need this.

The letter or email should tell you:

if a hazard was identified and what it is
what emergency action was taken to make your home safe
if a further investigation is needed
what further work is needed to stop a hazard coming back
target timescales for starting and finishing further work

They should keep you updated about the dates and progress of further work.

If your landlord decides no more work is needed, they must tell you why.

Your landlord's contact details should be on the document they give you. Contact them if the problem happens again.

What if your landlord does not deal with an emergency properly?

There are things you can do if your council or housing association does not follow the rules on fixing emergency hazards in your home.

Make a complaint

You can make a complaint to your landlord if they do not deal with emergency hazards in your home properly.

You have to complain directly to your council or housing association first.

Complain to the Housing Ombudsman

You can complain to the Housing Ombudsman about how your landlord deals with both:

the repair problem or emergency hazard
your complaint

Get help from your MP or councillor

Going through your landlord's complaints process can take a long time.

You could contact your local MP or councillor and ask them to speak to your landlord about the problem. This can sometimes help to get problems fixed more quickly.

Find your MP.

Find your local councillor.