How quickly must a landlord do a repair? Emergencies, reasonable time and rehousing

Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, private-rented repair speed is usually governed by urgency and reasonable time, not a fixed 24-hour statutory clock. The major exception is Awaab’s Law for social landlords in England from 27 October 2025.

How quickly does a landlord have to fix a repair?

A private landlord normally has to fix a repair within a reasonable time after notice or awareness, but England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not set a fixed number of hours or days for ordinary private-rented repairs, including a boiler, hot water or a heating issue. In England, section 11 requires the landlord “to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water,” but Shelter’s legal guidance is explicit that “There is no statutory definition of reasonable time.” Wales writes the timing test into statute: “The landlord complies… if the landlord carries out the necessary works or repairs within a reasonable time after the day on which the landlord becomes aware that they are necessary.” Scotland uses the same practical test: work must be “completed within a reasonable time” after notice or awareness. A broken boiler in winter is therefore urgent, but the common 24-hour figure is trade advice, not the general private-landlord law.

What counts as an emergency repair?

An emergency repair is one that creates an immediate or serious risk to health, safety or the property, such as a dangerous gas fault, unsafe electrics, severe leak, loss of heating or hot water in cold weather, or a blocked drain that makes sanitation unusable. The clearest statutory 24-hour definition is Awaab’s Law for social housing in England, where “imminent and significant risk of harm” means a risk “that a reasonable lessor with the relevant knowledge would take steps to make safe within 24 hours.” That definition does not create a private-tenancy emergency clock across England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. A broken boiler can be an emergency when it removes heating or hot water in conditions that put occupants at risk; a blocked drain can be an emergency when it prevents toilets, baths or sinks being used safely. Gas Safe’s “immediately dangerous” category is different: it is a gas-safety disconnection category, not a tenancy-law repair label.

How long do you have to restore heating after the gas is capped?

After a gas supply or appliance is capped in Great Britain, there is no statutory deadline to restore heating or hot water, and Northern Ireland has no equivalent fixed statutory restoration deadline for private landlords; the practical duty is to provide emergency heating while arranging qualified gas remedial work. HSE’s Great Britain guidance says: “If a heating appliance has been disconnected, you must provide the tenant with emergency heating, while arranging for appropriate remedial work by a Gas Safe registered engineer.” HSE also states the wider timing point plainly: “Although there is no prescribed timeframe for these duties, good practice would be the demonstration of regular, annual maintenance checks and subsequent repairs.” The capped appliance must not simply be turned back on to beat the wait, because Gas Safe says the disconnected installation “must not be used until the necessary work has been carried out to repair the defect(s).” In Northern Ireland, the same answer is not a 24-hour legal clock: private repair times are not fixed in days.

How long do you have to fix an appliance like a washing machine?

In England and Wales, a private landlord has no statutory repairing duty for a landlord-provided washing machine under the main repairing covenant, while Scotland and Northern Ireland do cover landlord-provided appliances but still use a reasonable-time standard rather than a fixed deadline. England and Wales section 11 covers supply installations but excludes “other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity,” so a washing machine is usually contractual rather than statutory unless the tenancy promises repair. Scotland’s repairing standard is broader: it includes “any fixtures, fittings and appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy,” and the work must be completed “within a reasonable time” after notice or awareness. Northern Ireland similarly includes “any appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity which the landlord has provided under the terms of the tenancy.” A week is common market advice for non-emergency appliances, but it is not the statutory deadline.

How long does a live-in landlord have to fix a lodger's heating?

A live-in landlord has no fixed statutory number of days to fix a lodger’s heating, but must still act promptly enough to keep the home safe, especially during winter. In England, section 11 does not usually govern a lodger licence because Shelter’s professional guidance says: “It does not apply to licence and lodger agreements.” In Wales, a person sharing accommodation with the landlord is treated as a lodger where the arrangement falls within the accommodation-shared-with-landlord exclusion; the standard occupation-contract repair regime will usually not apply unless the law brings that arrangement inside it. Scotland treats taking in a lodger as a typical “occupancy arrangement,” not the ordinary private residential tenancy model. Northern Ireland also has no fixed day-count for this lodger scenario. The gas-safety position can still matter separately, and industry practice treats a broken boiler in winter as something to chase within 24 hours, but that figure is guidance rather than a universal lodger-law deadline.

What do you do when you cannot get an engineer out in time?

If you cannot get an engineer out in time, you should make the property safe, provide temporary heating or facilities where appropriate, keep trying alternative qualified contractors, update the tenant in writing, and consider alternative accommodation if the home is unusable. HSE confirms the legal gas-repair position is not a day-count: “Although there is no prescribed timeframe for these duties, good practice would be the demonstration of regular, annual maintenance checks and subsequent repairs.” In Scotland, portable heaters are expressly only a stopgap: “It is not acceptable to rely on plug-in or portable heaters except on a temporary basis while repairs are being carried out, and such periods must be kept to a minimum.” In Northern Ireland, Housing Rights summarises the practical position as: “Private landlords don’t have set times for carrying out repairs.” Abodient’s maintenance workflow can help here because a tenant report can be triaged, contractors contacted and landlord approvals surfaced quickly instead of being buried in messages.

What should you do when a tenant reports a serious disrepair problem?

When a tenant reports serious disrepair, acknowledge it immediately, assess danger, arrange emergency services or a qualified contractor where needed, give written updates, provide temporary measures, and escalate to alternative accommodation if the property is unsafe to occupy. In Northern Ireland, the repair duty is triggered by knowledge: “A landlord is not under a duty to carry out works by virtue of Articles 7 and 9 unless he has actual knowledge… of the need for those works.” Wales states the same practical trigger in guidance: “Once the landlord is aware of the need for repairs, they must be carried out in a reasonable time and to a reasonable standard.” Scotland requires completion “within a reasonable time” after notice or awareness. In England and Wales, the risk is also regulatory: “If a local housing authority consider that a category 1 hazard exists on any residential premises, they must take the appropriate enforcement action in relation to the hazard.” Treat serious disrepair as a safety case, not routine maintenance.

Does a landlord have to rehouse a tenant while repairs are done?

A private landlord usually does not have to rehouse a tenant while repairs are done unless the tenancy, insurance arrangement, court order or uninhabitability situation makes that necessary; social landlords in England face a specific Awaab’s Law duty from 27 October 2025. For England social housing, the regulation says: “The lessor must secure the provision of suitable alternative accommodation to the lessee’s household, at no cost to the lessee,” once the relevant remediation period has ended unless the tenant refuses. That is not the general private-landlord rule. Shelter’s England advice says: “Most private landlords do not have to give you somewhere else to live during repair or building work, even if parts of your home cannot be used.” Shelter Scotland similarly says: “Private landlords and letting agents usually do not have to provide decant accommodation.” In Wales, the usual remedy for partial loss of use is rent reduction: “if you can only use half the property… you should get a 50% reduction of your rent.”

What must you provide if an emergency hazard cannot be made safe in 24 hours?

A private landlord has no 24-hour deadline and no duty to house a tenant elsewhere unless the tenancy says so; reasonable time applies instead, while Awaab’s Law’s 24-hour emergency duty applies only to social landlords in England from 27 October 2025. The regulation says: “These Regulations apply to lessors of social homes in England,” and the government’s private-rented-sector roadmap says: “We will consult on the details of this policy, including implementation timescales, in due course.” For English social landlords, the tenant guidance states: “If your landlord cannot make your home safe in the timescales set by the law (24 hours for emergencies and 5 working days for significant hazards), your landlord must offer to provide you and everyone who lives with you somewhere else to stay.” The social-landlord regulations also require written safety advice: “The lessor must give the lessee a document setting out the information mentioned… before the end of the initial remediation period or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.”

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “(c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.” Source
• Shelter Legal, repairs under section 11 — “There is no statutory definition of reasonable time.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.97 — “The landlord complies with the obligations under those provisions if the landlord carries out the necessary works or repairs within a reasonable time after the day on which the landlord becomes aware that they are necessary.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.14 — “The landlord complies with the duty imposed by subsection (1)(b) only if any work which requires to be carried out for the purposes of complying with that duty is completed within a reasonable time of the landlord being notified by the tenant, or otherwise becoming aware, that the work is required.” Source
• Awaab’s Law, SI 2025/1042 reg.1 — “These Regulations apply to lessors of social homes in England (whenever the lease was granted).” Source
• Awaab’s Law, SI 2025/1042 reg.3 — ““imminent and significant risk of harm” means a risk of harm to the occupier’s health or safety that a reasonable lessor with the relevant knowledge would take steps to make safe within 24 hours.” Source
• HSE, dealing with gas safety defects — “If a heating appliance has been disconnected, you must provide the tenant with emergency heating, while arranging for appropriate remedial work by a Gas Safe registered engineer .” Source
• HSE, landlord gas safety FAQ — “Although there is no prescribed timeframe for these duties, good practice would be the demonstration of regular, annual maintenance checks and subsequent repairs.” Source
• Gas Safe Register, GIUSP explained — “The installation will be disconnected, with your permission, and must not be used until the necessary work has been carried out to repair the defect(s).” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “(b)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.13 — “(d)any fixtures, fittings and appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order,” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.7 — “(iii)any appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity which the landlord has provided under the terms of the tenancy, and” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.92 — “In this Part, “service installation” means an installation for the supply of water, gas or electricity, for sanitation, for space heating or for heating water.” Source
• Shelter Legal, repairs under section 11 — “It does not apply to licence and lodger agreements.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.244 — “A person lives in a dwelling as a lodger if the tenancy or licence under which he or she occupies the dwelling falls within paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 (accommodation shared with landlord).” Source
• Scottish Government, energy efficiency and condition standards — “A typical sort of occupancy arrangement would be an agreement to take in a lodger.” Source
• Housing Rights, repairs in Northern Ireland — “Private landlords don’t have set times for carrying out repairs.” Source
• Scottish Government, repairing standard statutory guidance — “It is not acceptable to rely on plug-in or portable heaters except on a temporary basis while repairs are being carried out, and such periods must be kept to a minimum.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.11 — “A landlord is not under a duty to carry out works by virtue of Articles 7 and 9 unless he has actual knowledge (whether because of notice given by the tenant or otherwise) of the need for those works.” Source
• Welsh Government, fitness for human habitation guidance — “Once the landlord is aware of the need for repairs, they must be carried out in a reasonable time and to a reasonable standard.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.5 — “If a local housing authority consider that a category 1 hazard exists on any residential premises, they must take the appropriate enforcement action in relation to the hazard.” Source
• Awaab’s Law, SI 2025/1042 reg.16 — “The lessor must secure the provision of suitable alternative accommodation to the lessee’s household, at no cost to the lessee, from the time that the initial remediation period ends until the appropriate time, unless the lessee refuses an offer to secure such provision.” Source
• Shelter England, moving out during repairs — “Most private landlords do not have to give you somewhere else to live during repair or building work, even if parts of your home cannot be used.” Source
• Shelter Scotland, decant accommodation — “Private landlords and letting agents usually do not have to provide decant accommodation.” Source
• Shelter Cymru, disruption and poor work — “For example, if you can only use half the property while the repairs are being carried out, you should get a 50% reduction of your rent.” Source
• GOV.UK, Awaab’s Law tenant guidance — “If your landlord cannot make your home safe in the timescales set by the law (24 hours for emergencies and 5 working days for significant hazards), your landlord must offer to provide you and everyone who lives with you somewhere else to stay.” Source
• GOV.UK, Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap — “We will consult on the details of this policy, including implementation timescales, in due course.” Source
• Awaab’s Law, SI 2025/1042 reg.17 — “The lessor must give the lessee a document setting out the information mentioned in paragraph (3) before the end of the initial remediation period or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.” Source