What must a landlord repair? Section 11 and where the duty stops

In England, Section 11 is the core private-rented repair covenant, but it is not the whole law on housing condition. Wales now uses Renting Homes rules for occupation contracts, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statutory repair regimes.

What must a landlord repair under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985?

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, an English landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, the installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation, and the installations for space heating and hot water. The Act says the landlord must “keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),” and must also “keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.” These are the core legal repair responsibilities for most short residential tenancies in England, including repairs to gutters, drains, external pipes, heating and hot water systems. They do not make the landlord responsible for every item inside the home. Section 11 generally applies to leases under seven years, and a tenancy clause cannot contract out of it because Section 12 prevents agreements that “exclude or limit the obligations of the lessor.”

Which laws govern a landlord's repairing obligations?

In England, a landlord’s repairing obligations are governed mainly by Section 11 and Section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Housing Act 2004 hazard regime, gas and electrical safety rules, and any extra duties in the tenancy agreement. Section 9A adds the fitness duty: the dwelling must be “fit for human habitation at the time the lease is granted” and remain fit during the term. The Housing Act 2004 operates “by reference to the existence of category 1 or category 2 hazards,” so councils can enforce hazards even where the issue is not a straightforward Section 11 repair. In Wales, Section 11 does not apply to current occupation contracts; the repairing duties are in Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and Section 13 says that in Wales “section 11 does not apply if the dwelling-house is subject to an occupation contract.” Scotland uses the repairing standard, and Northern Ireland’s Private Tenancies Order 2006 contains a statutory duty to “keep in repair.”

Is the boiler, heating and hot water the landlord's responsibility?

Yes: in England, the boiler, heating and hot water are the landlord’s responsibility where they are installations for space heating or heating water, and Section 11 requires them to be kept in repair and proper working order. Shelter’s practical summary is direct: “A landlord is responsible for fixing most problems with heating, hot water and power in rented accommodation, including a broken boiler.” Section 11 also says the landlord must keep “the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water” in repair and proper working order. There is no private-landlord 24-hour statutory boiler deadline in England; Shelter states that “The law does not say how long a reasonable time is.” A 24-hour period exists for emergency action in English social housing, not ordinary private lets, though government guidance says a boiler failure may make a technician’s attendance within 24 hours reasonable.

What does it cost to repair or replace a boiler in a rental?

A boiler repair in a rental typically costs about £300, while a like-for-like gas boiler supply-and-install average is about £3,000, but Section 11 fixes the repair duty rather than the price. Checkatrade’s May 2026 repair guide says, “Most homeowners spend around £300 on average for a typical boiler repair, including parts.” For replacement, the same market source gives the more useful like-for-like figure: “The average gas boiler cost for supply and installation is £3,000.” The landlord normally bears the cost of a statutory heating repair because Section 11 says a tenant covenant to repair is “of no effect” so far as it tries to shift those Section 11 matters, except for tenant-like use and removable chattels. For tax, HMRC says replacement fixtures may still be a repair: “As these items are fixtures of the building, the cost of replacing these may be an allowable expense as a repair to the building.”

Do different repair rules apply in Scotland?

Yes: Scotland has its own repairing standard, not Section 11, and it expressly requires the house to be wind and watertight. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 says the repairing standard includes that “the house is wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation.” It also gives the timing test: work needed during the tenancy must be completed “within a reasonable time of the landlord being notified by the tenant, or otherwise becoming aware” that it is required. Scotland also has a heating detail that England’s Section 11 does not: government guidance says a fixed heating system must be capable of maintaining “21⁰C in at least one room and 18⁰C elsewhere” when it is minus 1⁰C outside. Enforcement is through the First-tier Tribunal, not the old Private Rented Housing Panel.

Are the windows the landlord's responsibility?

Windows are the landlord’s responsibility in England when, on the facts and wording of the letting, they form part of the structure or exterior or their disrepair creates another enforceable housing-condition issue; they are not automatically covered just because they are windows. Section 11 covers “the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house,” but it does not list windows. The 2019 Upper Tribunal warning is the key point: “Whether windows are part of the structure of a building is a question that has been the subject of judicial determination before, and it is a matter of construction in each case.” That means double glazing, blown windows and defective frames are case-by-case Section 11 issues, not a universal yes or no. Scotland is broader in practice because wind and watertightness matters: government notes that there should not be gaps between window frames and walls where wind or rain gets in.

Do landlords have to fit window restrictors?

English private landlords do not have a stand-alone statutory duty to fit window restrictors on every rental window, but missing restrictors can be treated as a hazard where a fall risk exists. The Housing Act 2004 is risk-based: if a council considers that a category 1 hazard exists, it “must take the appropriate enforcement action.” England’s 2026 HHSRS operating guidance is sharper than older advice, saying: “All windows with an opening section greater than 100mm, through which a person may fall a single storey or more, shall have a fall-prevention device that restricts opening to less than 100mm.” That is an assessment baseline, not a separate universal offence, because the landlord guide says baseline indicators “act as a checklist of reasonable standards.” For new building work, Approved Document K says suitable opening limiters or guarding should be provided where someone may fall through an above-ground window.

Are there grants for double glazing in a rental?

Yes, there can be grants or funded schemes for double glazing in a rental, but eligibility depends on the nation, the tenant’s circumstances, EPC rating and the scheme route rather than on being a landlord. In England, Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund energy-performance measures for qualifying low-income private-rented homes, and the guidance expressly includes “fabric measures (such as insulation, draughtproofing, double glazing, and energy efficient doors).” The same guidance says the grant will “fully fund upgrades for one property per landlord,” while later properties require a 50% landlord contribution. Across Great Britain, ECO4 can include glazing because Ofgem says, “Window glazing can be installed as either ‘single to double’ or ‘improved double glazing’.” Scotland is different: Home Energy Scotland says, “Grant funding is not available for glazing,” though a PRS landlord loan may improve single glazing only.

Is the garden covered by Section 11?

In England, the garden is not generally covered by Section 11 because Section 11 is limited to the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house, including drains, gutters and external pipes. The Act says the landlord must “keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house,” and the Supreme Court has made the boundary sharper: “The fact that a piece of property is a necessary means of access to a building cannot be sufficient for it to constitute part of the exterior of that building.” That means fences, gates, sheds, paths and garden trees are not Section 11 items merely because they are outside the home, despite a common landlord-guide claim to the contrary. HHSRS can still treat unsafe yards, paths and gardens as hazards. Scotland is the outlier because “house” includes a yard, garden, garage, out-house or other area enjoyed with the living accommodation.

Is the landlord responsible for appliances like a cooker or washing machine?

In England, Section 11 does not make a landlord automatically responsible for repairing a cooker or washing machine, because it excludes appliances that merely use water, gas or electricity rather than installations that supply them. The statute covers installations for supply and sanitation, but says this does not include “other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity.” If the tenancy agreement or inventory makes a landlord-provided appliance part of the letting, repair may be contractual; if the tenancy is silent, Citizens Advice says the landlord can be asked to repair or replace it, “but they don’t have to agree.” A landlord-supplied gas cooker still has to be kept safe under gas safety rules. Scotland and Northern Ireland go further for landlord-provided appliances, while no GB or NI statute makes PAT testing itself a private-landlord legal requirement.

Is a blocked toilet the landlord's responsibility?

A blocked toilet is the landlord’s responsibility in England if the problem is with the sanitary installation, drains or pipework, but not if the blockage was caused by the tenant’s failure to use the premises in a tenant-like way. Section 11 covers sanitation and expressly includes “basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences,” which is why a toilet fault sits inside the statutory repair duty. But the same section says the landlord is not required “to carry out works or repairs for which the lessee is liable by virtue of his duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner.” In practice, the landlord often pays to investigate first because only the investigation shows whether the blocked toilet is a defect, ordinary blockage, or tenant misuse. Northern Ireland similarly covers sanitary conveniences, Wales covers sanitation service installations, and Scotland’s repairing standard covers sanitation installations in proper working order.

Can you recharge the cost of a repair to the tenant who caused it?

Yes, an English landlord can usually recharge a repair cost to the tenant who caused the damage, but cannot use a blanket clause to make the tenant pay for the landlord’s own Section 11 repairing duty. Section 11 says a tenant covenant to repair is “of no effect” so far as it tries to shift the statutory repair matters, except for the tenant-like-manner and removable-chattel exceptions. That is the line between a worn-out boiler, which remains the landlord’s problem, and a blocked toilet caused by misuse, which can be charged back if the evidence supports it. The recharge still has to be reasonable: if an emergency plumber was genuinely needed, the cost is easier to justify than if the landlord chose an obviously excessive call-out without reason. Wales uses a “wholly or mainly attributable to lack of care” test, Scotland has a proper-use exception, and Northern Ireland requires tenants to make good wilful or negligent damage.

Can a tenant withhold rent over an unfixed repair?

In England, a tenant should not simply withhold rent over an unfixed repair, because there is no general rent-strike right and rent arrears can still put the tenancy at risk. GOV.UK’s instruction is blunt: “You should carry on paying rent while you’re waiting.” Shelter gives the same warning: “You should not stop paying your rent if your landlord does not do repairs.” English common law recognises a narrow recoupment route where the tenant has actually paid to carry out the landlord’s repairing obligation and deducts the proper cost, but that is not the same as withholding part of a day’s rent because a repair is late or recurring. Wales is different if the supplementary term applies: the contract-holder is “not required to pay rent” for any day the dwelling is unfit. Scotland has tribunal rent relief only after a failed enforcement order, not self-help withholding.

Are landlords responsible for communal areas?

Yes, landlords can be responsible for communal areas where the tenant is entitled to use them and disrepair affects enjoyment of the dwelling or those common parts. Section 11 extends beyond the flat itself in defined cases, but the Act says the landlord need not carry out works unless the disrepair affects the tenant’s enjoyment of the dwelling or “of any common parts” the tenant is entitled to use. In English HMOs, the manager has a direct management duty to keep common parts “maintained in good and clean decorative repair.” GOV.UK’s practical position is that “Your landlord is usually responsible for repairing common areas, for example staircases in blocks of flats.” Wales has a similar occupation-contract common-parts rule, Scotland’s repairing standard includes common parts being safely accessed and used, and Northern Ireland requires a landlord to keep in good order parts of the building or curtilage the tenant may use.

How soon must you act once you know about a defect?

No UK nation fixes a general hours-or-days deadline for a private landlord’s first response to a repair report; the rule is reasonable time from notice or awareness. In England, Shelter states the position plainly: “The law does not say how long a reasonable time is.” Scotland uses the same concept in statutory form: required work must be completed “within a reasonable time of the landlord being notified by the tenant, or otherwise becoming aware” that work is required. Northern Ireland’s duty arises only once the landlord has actual knowledge: “A landlord is not under a duty to carry out works by virtue of Articles 7 and 9 unless he has actual knowledge.” The repeated 24-hour figure is not a private-rented deadline; it is an English social-housing emergency action period. Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s 21-day figures are tribunal or council notice windows, not first-response clocks.

What happens if a landlord does not do the repairs?

If an English landlord does not do required repairs, the tenant can seek a court order and compensation, and the council can enforce hazards, with some housing offences now carrying civil penalties up to £40,000. GOV.UK says, “The county court can order the landlord to do the necessary works and to pay you compensation.” If the council finds a category 1 hazard, the Housing Act 2004 says it “must take the appropriate enforcement action.” Failing to comply with an operative improvement notice is itself an offence, and the 2026 amendment says that in Housing Act 2004 section 249A, “for ‘£30,000’ substitute ‘£40,000’.” There is no private-disrepair compensation tariff: damages depend on loss, inconvenience, seriousness and duration. Wales can include non-payment for unfit days if the supplementary term applies; Scotland can impose tribunal orders and rent relief up to 90%; Northern Ireland councils may serve unfitness or disrepair notices.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.12 — “to exclude or limit the obligations of the lessor or the immunities of the lessee under that section,” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.9A — “fit for human habitation at the time the lease is granted” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.1 — “by reference to the existence of category 1 or category 2 hazards” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.13 — “section 11 does not apply if the dwelling-house is subject to an occupation contract” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.7 — “shall keep in repair” Source
• Shelter England, heating and hot water repairs — “A landlord is responsible for fixing most problems with heating, hot water and power in rented accommodation, including a broken boiler.” Source
• Shelter England, repair times — “The law does not say how long a reasonable time is.” Source
• The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 reg.5 — “emergency action period” means “the period of 24 hours beginning—” Source
• Checkatrade, boiler repair costs — “Most homeowners spend around £300 on average for a typical boiler repair, including parts.” Source
• Checkatrade, new boiler cost — “The average gas boiler cost for supply and installation is £3,000.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “A covenant by the lessee for the repair of the premises is of no effect so far as it relates to the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c), except so far as it imposes on the lessee any of the requirements mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (c).” Source
• HMRC Property Income Manual PIM3210 — “As these items are fixtures of the building, the cost of replacing these may be an allowable expense as a repair to the building.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.13 — “the house is wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation,” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.14 — “within a reasonable time of the landlord being notified by the tenant, or otherwise becoming aware” Source
• Scottish Government repairing standard guidance — “21⁰C in at least one room and 18⁰C elsewhere” Source
• Triplerose Ltd v Beattie [2019] UKUT 373 (LC) — “Whether windows are part of the structure of a building is a question that has been the subject of judicial determination before, and it is a matter of construction in each case.” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancy notes — “there should not be any gaps between window or door frames and walls” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.5 — “must take the appropriate enforcement action” Source
• HHSRS Operating Guidance Part 2 — “All windows with an opening section greater than 100mm, through which a person may fall a single storey or more, shall have a fall-prevention device that restricts opening to less than 100mm.” Source
• MHCLG HHSRS landlord and agent guide — “They act as a checklist of reasonable standards” Source
• Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance — “fabric measures (such as insulation, draughtproofing, double glazing, and energy efficient doors)” Source
• Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance — “fully fund upgrades for one property per landlord” Source
• Ofgem ECO4 delivery guidance — “Window glazing can be installed as either ‘single to double’ or ‘improved double glazing’.” Source
• Home Energy Scotland grant and loan — “Grant funding is not available for glazing.” Source
• Edwards v Kumarasamy [2016] UKSC 40 — “The fact that a piece of property is a necessary means of access to a building cannot be sufficient for it to constitute part of the exterior of that building.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.194 — “any yard, garden, garage, out-house or other area or structure” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity” Source
• Citizens Advice, appliance repairs — “but they don’t have to agree.” Source
• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 reg.36 — “any gas appliance (other than an appliance which the tenant is entitled to remove from the relevant premises)” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “to carry out works or repairs for which the lessee is liable by virtue of his duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.96 — “wholly or mainly attributable to lack of care by the contract-holder or a permitted occupier” Source
• GOV.UK private renting repairs — “You should carry on paying rent while you’re waiting.” Source
• Shelter England, withholding rent — “You should not stop paying your rent if your landlord does not do repairs.” Source
• Renting Homes (Supplementary Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2022 reg.11 — “The contract-holder is not required to pay rent in respect of any day or part day during which the dwelling is unfit for human habitation.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.27 — “only where it has decided that a landlord has failed to comply with a repairing standard enforcement order” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “of any common parts” Source
• Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 reg.7 — “maintained in good and clean decorative repair” Source
• GOV.UK private renting repairs — “Your landlord is usually responsible for repairing common areas, for example staircases in blocks of flats.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.11 — “unless he has actual knowledge” Source
• GOV.UK How to rent a safe home — “The county court can order the landlord to do the necessary works and to pay you compensation.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.30 — “commits an offence if he fails to comply with it.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Saving and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 reg.2 — “for ‘£30,000’ substitute ‘£40,000’.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.27 — “not exceeding 90% of the rent” Source