Who is responsible for repairs in a leasehold flat?

In England and Wales, responsibility for repairs in a leasehold flat is usually decided by the lease, not by a general statute. Scotland is different because most ultra-long residential leases converted to ownership, and Northern Ireland leasehold flats are often discussed through Housing Executive or private-tenancy rules rather than the England-and-Wales freeholder model.

How do you tell what your lease makes yours and what stays the freeholder's?

For a typical long leasehold flat in England and Wales, you tell who is responsible for repairs by reading the lease’s demise, retained-parts wording, repairing covenants and service-charge machinery, because section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 applies only to leases under seven years. The common rival answer that the landlord must repair the structure and exterior is only right for short leases: “Section 11 (repairing obligations) applies to a lease of a dwelling-house granted on or after 24th October 1961 for a term of less than seven years.” LEASE puts the long-lease position more practically: “If you own a leasehold flat your lease should say which parts of the building you’re responsible for, and which are the responsibility of your landlord.” In a block of flats, legal responsibilities of a freeholder usually cover the retained structure, roof, foundations, common parts and services only if the lease says so; what the freeholder is responsible for and what the landlord owes leaseholders then gets funded through the service charge. In Scotland, titles and the Tenement Management Scheme replace the freeholder model; in Northern Ireland, start with the flat lease or Housing Executive lease.

Do freeholders owe leaseholders a duty of care?

Freeholders in England and Wales owe leaseholders and others a statutory duty of care where the lease puts a maintenance or repair obligation on the freeholder, but that duty follows the repairing obligation rather than creating a general duty to repair everything. Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 says: “Where premises are let under a tenancy which puts on the landlord an obligation to the tenant for the maintenance or repair of the premises, the landlord owes to all persons who might reasonably be expected to be affected by defects in the state of the premises a duty to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that they are reasonably safe from personal injury or from damage to their property caused by a relevant defect.” That is why the answer to whether freeholders have a duty of care to leaseholders is yes, but only in relation to defects tied to their repair responsibilities. Scotland has a similar occupiers’-liability rule for repairing landlords, and Northern Ireland has its own occupiers’ liability duty where the landlord is in repair default.

Who owns the roof, and who has to repair it?

In England and Wales, a leasehold flat roof is usually retained by the freeholder or landlord and repaired under the lease, but there is no statute that automatically makes every long-lease roof the freeholder’s responsibility. The important statutory correction is that section 11 is not the usual long-lease answer: “Section 11 (repairing obligations) applies to a lease of a dwelling-house granted on or after 24th October 1961 for a term of less than seven years.” In practice, leases often put the structure, roof and exterior with the freeholder and let the freeholder recover the cost from leaseholders; GOV.UK describes the market pattern by saying: “Typically, the leaseholders in a building pay for the repair and maintenance of common parts of the building through a service charge.” A leasehold house is different: “If you own a leasehold house rather than a flat, you’ll usually be responsible for all repairs and maintenance.” In Scotland, the statutory default is unlike England because “A top flat extends to and includes the roof over that flat,” but the roof is also scheme property for shared maintenance.

Do leaseholders have to pay for roof repairs, or does the freeholder?

Leaseholders usually have to pay for roof repairs through the service charge if the lease lets the freeholder repair the roof and recover the cost, even though the freeholder or management company arranges the work. GOV.UK’s service-charge guidance gives the practical answer for roof funds: “You might have to pay into a fund to help cover any unexpected maintenance or repairs, like replacing the roof.” In England, if any one leaseholder’s contribution to qualifying works is more than £250, the statutory consultation threshold is triggered unless dispensation is obtained: “For the purposes of subsection (3) of section 20 the appropriate amount is an amount which results in the relevant contribution of any tenant being more than £250.” The same £250 threshold applies in Wales under its regulations. The freeholder may pay the contractor first, but that does not mean the freeholder bears the ultimate cost; the lease decides whether the cost comes back to leaseholders. In Scotland, roof costs normally follow title deeds and the Tenement Management Scheme, not section 20.

What happens if a leaky roof does not get fixed?

If a leaky roof in England or Wales is not fixed, the leaseholder or occupier may have a repairing-covenant claim, the council may use statutory-nuisance or HHSRS powers, and an ignored abatement notice can become a criminal offence. Environmental Protection Act 1990 section 79 covers “any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance,” and section 80 says an abatement notice “shall specify the time or times within which the requirements of the notice are to be complied with.” If the recipient ignores it, “If a person on whom an abatement notice is served, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or fails to comply with any requirement or prohibition imposed by the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence.” Where the council finds a category 1 hazard, “they must take the appropriate enforcement action in relation to the hazard.” The court can also order specific performance of a repairing covenant, including repair of parts outside the flat. In Scotland, a private landlord must repair within a reasonable time after notice.

Who is responsible for the pipes, drains and electrics?

In a long leasehold flat in England and Wales, responsibility for pipes, drains and electrics depends on whether the item is inside the demised flat, serves only that flat, or is part of the retained building system, because section 11 is mainly a landlord-to-tenant short-lease duty and not the demise rule for long lease ownership. Section 11’s short-lease covenant includes “the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),” but the same Act limits that regime to leases under seven years. Ofwat gives the general property-boundary rule for water infrastructure: “You are responsible for the drains, water pipes and plumbing fixtures on your property.” For a blocked drain, the practical question is whether the run serves only your flat or is part of a shared drain; a management company cannot make it your bill simply because it has not found the manhole. Electrics inside the flat are usually yours as leaseholder, while communal wiring and landlord systems usually sit with the freeholder through the lease and service charge. Abodient can store the lease and tenancy records, keep related documents searchable by property or tenancy, and help you find the wording that decides who pays.

Who is responsible for the windows?

In England and Wales, window responsibility in a long leasehold flat is decided by the lease, although original windows may be treated as part of the structure rather than landlord’s fixtures. The statutory short-lease rule only says the landlord must keep “the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes)” in repair, and that does not govern most long leases because “Section 11 (repairing obligations) applies to a lease of a dwelling-house granted on or after 24th October 1961 for a term of less than seven years.” The Court of Appeal’s practical warning is that windows are not automatically fittings: “The Court of Appeal held that the windows were not "landlord's fixtures", but formed part of the original structure of the building.” In a converted house split into two leasehold flats, the cost of replacing rotten wooden windows with uPVC double glazing is not automatically split by floor or by flat; it follows the repair covenant and service-charge apportionment in the leases. In Scotland, a window serving only one flat is generally part of that flat.

Who owns the front door of a leasehold flat?

In England and Wales, the front door of a leasehold flat is owned and controlled according to the lease, but an original entrance door may be part of the demised flat rather than a landlord’s fixture. The Court of Appeal treated the point as lease construction, stating: “It is common ground that, in order to determine whether the doors were "landlords fixtures" within the meaning of clause 3(4), it is necessary to construe the Leases applying ordinary principles of contractual interpretation.” In that case, the court’s conclusion was clear: “The entrance doors in the present case were part of the original structure of the flats.” Fire safety rules do not answer ownership; the Fire Safety Act brings into scope “all doors between the domestic premises and common parts,” but that is a safety-management rule, not a transfer of title. A leaseholder should therefore check both the demise clause and any alteration, decoration, fire-door and consent covenants before replacing a front door. In Scotland, a door serving only one flat is generally part of that flat.

Who is responsible for damp in a leasehold flat?

Damp in a long leasehold flat in England and Wales is the responsibility of whoever the lease makes responsible for the source of the damp: internal condensation and finishes may be the leaseholder’s, while leaks through retained structure, roof, walls or communal services may be the freeholder’s. There is no general long-lease statute that makes a freeholder responsible for all damp. The Homes Act fitness route is mainly for shorter tenancies, because GOV.UK says: “The Homes Act applies to any tenancy with a fixed term of less than 7 years.” The older repair rule also does not turn design condensation into disrepair; in Quick, the Court of Appeal said: “In my judgment, there must be disrepair before any question arises as to whether it would be reasonable to remedy a design fault when doing the repair.” For a landlord renting out their leasehold flat, the position with their own tenant is different: condensation mould is generally the landlord’s problem unless tenant default is wholly or mainly the cause. In Scotland, rented housing must be wind and water tight.

Who is liable when water leaks in from the flat above?

In England and Wales, liability for water leaking from the flat above depends on the cause of the leak, the leases, negligence and the buildings-insurance policy, not simply on the fact that the water came from another leaseholder’s flat. LEASE states the practical rule directly: “Responsibility for fixing a leak and paying for repairs depends on the cause of the leak, what your lease says, and the terms of insurance policies for your building.” If a plumber working upstairs caused the leak, the upstairs leaseholder, their contractor, their insurer, the landlord of that flat or the block policy may become relevant, but the managing agent and letting agent blaming each other does not decide liability. For damage to ceilings and structure, block buildings insurance is often the first practical route because “Most comprehensive buildings insurance policies will include cover for leaks between or within flats.” Expect an excess, because “There is likely to be an excess on the policy, which could range from £500 to £2,500 or more.” Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own repairing standards and insurance arrangements.

Is a sprinkler or other fire-safety equipment inside your flat yours or the freeholder's?

A sprinkler head, smoke detector or other fire-safety equipment inside a leasehold flat in England and Wales is not automatically yours or the freeholder’s: ownership and repair follow the lease, while fire-safety law may still regulate equipment that protects other residents. The Fire Safety Order excludes “domestic premises, except to the extent mentioned in paragraph (1A) or article 31(10),” and the listed building-wide items include “the building's structure and external walls and any common parts.” Home Office guidance adds the operational point that the 2022 Regulations do not apply within individual flats “other than in respect of measures installed within flats for the safety of other residents of the building (e.g. sprinklers, smoke detectors connected to a communal fire alarm system, etc).” That means a suspected sprinkler leak in a top-floor flat ceiling should be checked against the lease, the fire strategy and the system design before assuming it is the leaseholder’s private repair. Smoke alarms inside an English rented flat are usually the relevant landlord’s duty, not the freeholder’s.

What do you owe your own tenant when the fault is the freeholder's?

If you let out your leasehold flat in England or Wales, you still owe your own tenant your landlord duties, but you may have a defence where you used reasonable endeavours to get access or consent from the freeholder and could not obtain it. Section 11 expressly provides that, where repair requires rights over a part the landlord does not control, “it shall be a defence for the lessor to prove that he used all reasonable endeavours to obtain, but was unable to obtain, such rights as would be adequate to enable him to carry out the works or repairs.” The fitness covenant has a similar limit for “works or repairs requiring the consent of a superior landlord or other third party in circumstances where consent has not been obtained following reasonable endeavours to obtain it.” In an active Sunday leak, your immediate job is to help your tenant mitigate loss: tell them to move belongings, collect evidence, stop using affected electrics if unsafe, report the emergency to the managing agent and insurer, and keep chasing. The freeholder’s fault does not make your tenant wait silently until office hours.

Can you recover the cost of rehousing your tenant from the freeholder?

A 2026 Upper Tribunal case, Southern Land Securities v Rettie, held that where a tenant must vacate so repairs can be done, the tenant vacates at their own expense, so freeholders are not automatically liable for rehousing costs and a payout can still flow back through the service charge. The judgment states: “If it is necessary for the tenant to vacate, then she is under an obligation; if she is under an obligation, she must do so at her own expense, and the landlord is under no obligation to compensate her by paying for temporary accommodation or storage charges.” That does not mean rehousing cost is never recoverable: Moorjani says that if a landlord’s repairing breach makes premises uninhabitable, “a properly pleaded claim for that cost may in principle be recoverable.” For a buy-to-let leaseholder, the measure may be loss of rent rather than hotel bills if the freeholder knew the flat was let. Shelter’s private-rented position is also important: “Most private landlords do not have an obligation to provide the tenant with alternative accommodation, but the tenant could ask for somewhere else to stay.”

How can a freeholder force a leaseholder to repair their own flat?

In England and Wales, a freeholder forces a leaseholder to repair their own flat by enforcing the lease: notice, determination of breach, possible section 146 action, and sometimes a Jervis v Harris self-help clause. Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 section 168 blocks immediate forfeiture for a long residential lease breach: “A landlord under a long lease of a dwelling may not serve a notice under section 146(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20) (restriction on forfeiture) in respect of a breach by a tenant of a covenant or condition in the lease unless subsection (2) is satisfied.” Section 146 then says forfeiture is not enforceable “unless and until the lessor serves on the lessee a notice—”. For repairing covenants with at least three years left, the Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 gives the leaseholder 28 days: “the lessee may within twenty-eight days from that date serve on the lessor a counter-notice to the effect that he claims the benefit of this Act.” If the lease contains a Jervis clause, “The landlord's claim sounds in debt not damages,” letting the landlord do works and recover actual spend. Scotland generally uses owner-maintenance rules, not this forfeiture route.

Do leaseholders have to give the freeholder a key to the building?

Leaseholders in England and Wales do not have a general statutory duty to give the freeholder a spare key to the building or flat; they must comply with the lease and any lawful access covenant, usually by providing access on notice. The Upper Tribunal described the usual access obligation this way: “The obligation must involve the tenant in doing what is reasonably required to facilitate access; in the case of premises which are locked, that is likely to require the tenant to be present at the notified time with the key required to unlock the door, and to make use of it to allow the landlord to enter.” Fire-safety rules point the same way: the Fire Safety Regulations fact sheet says access for flat entrance-door checks can include “the responsible person agreeing with residents a date, so access can be granted.” Insurance renewal may be a reason to request access details or evidence that common areas can be accessed, but it is not itself a statutory key-handover rule. In Scotland, access for tenement maintenance is normally on reasonable notice.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.13 — “Section 11 (repairing obligations) applies to a lease of a dwelling-house granted on or after 24th October 1961 for a term of less than seven years.” Source
• LEASE, Repairs and maintenance in leasehold properties — “If you own a leasehold flat your lease should say which parts of the building you’re responsible for, and which are the responsibility of your landlord.” Source
• Defective Premises Act 1972 s.4 — “Where premises are let under a tenancy which puts on the landlord an obligation to the tenant for the maintenance or repair of the premises, the landlord owes to all persons who might reasonably be expected to be affected by defects in the state of the premises a duty to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that they are reasonably safe from personal injury or from damage to their property caused by a relevant defect.” Source
• GOV.UK, Annex A: the leasehold system and the leaseholder protections — “Typically, the leaseholders in a building pay for the repair and maintenance of common parts of the building through a service charge.” Source
• LEASE, Repairs and maintenance in leasehold properties — “If you own a leasehold house rather than a flat, you’ll usually be responsible for all repairs and maintenance.” Source
• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 s.2 — “A top flat extends to and includes the roof over that flat.” Source
• GOV.UK, Leasehold property: service charges and other expenses — “You might have to pay into a fund to help cover any unexpected maintenance or repairs, like replacing the roof.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 reg.6 — “For the purposes of subsection (3) of section 20 the appropriate amount is an amount which results in the relevant contribution of any tenant being more than £250.” Source
• Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.79 — “(a)any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;” Source
• Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.80 — “and the notice shall specify the time or times within which the requirements of the notice are to be complied with.” Source
• Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.80 — “If a person on whom an abatement notice is served, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or fails to comply with any requirement or prohibition imposed by the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence.” 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
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “(a)to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),” Source
• Ofwat, Supply pipes — “You are responsible for the drains, water pipes and plumbing fixtures on your property.” Source
• Edwards v Kumarasamy [2021] EWCA Civ 989 — “The Court of Appeal held that the windows were not "landlord's fixtures", but formed part of the original structure of the building.” Source
• Edwards v Kumarasamy [2021] EWCA Civ 989 — “It is common ground that, in order to determine whether the doors were "landlords fixtures" within the meaning of clause 3(4), it is necessary to construe the Leases applying ordinary principles of contractual interpretation.” Source
• Edwards v Kumarasamy [2021] EWCA Civ 989 — “The entrance doors in the present case were part of the original structure of the flats.” Source
• Fire Safety Act 2021 s.1 — “(b)all doors between the domestic premises and common parts (so far as not falling within sub-paragraph (a)).” Source
• GOV.UK, Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 guide for tenants — “The Homes Act applies to any tenancy with a fixed term of less than 7 years.” Source
• Quick v Taff Ely Borough Council [1985] EWCA Civ 1 — “In my judgment, there must be disrepair before any question arises as to whether it would be reasonable to remedy a design fault when doing the repair.” Source
• LEASE, Water leaks — “Responsibility for fixing a leak and paying for repairs depends on the cause of the leak, what your lease says, and the terms of insurance policies for your building.” Source
• LEASE, Buildings insurance — “Most comprehensive buildings insurance policies will include cover for leaks between or within flats.” Source
• LEASE, Buildings insurance — “There is likely to be an excess on the policy, which could range from £500 to £2,500 or more.” Source
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 art.6 — “(a)domestic premises, except to the extent mentioned in paragraph (1A) or article 31(10);” Source
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 art.6 — “(a)the building's structure and external walls and any common parts;” Source
• Home Office, Check your fire safety responsibilities under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 — “The Regulations do not apply within individual flats, other than in respect of measures installed within flats for the safety of other residents of the building (e.g. sprinklers, smoke detectors connected to a communal fire alarm system, etc).” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “then, in any proceedings relating to a failure to comply with the lessor’s repairing covenant, so far as it requires the lessor to carry out the works or repairs in question, it shall be a defence for the lessor to prove that he used all reasonable endeavours to obtain, but was unable to obtain, such rights as would be adequate to enable him to carry out the works or repairs.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.9A — “(e)to carry out works or repairs requiring the consent of a superior landlord or other third party in circumstances where consent has not been obtained following reasonable endeavours to obtain it.” Source
• Southern Land Securities Ltd v Rettie [2026] UKUT 308 (LC) — “If it is necessary for the tenant to vacate, then she is under an obligation; if she is under an obligation, she must do so at her own expense, and the landlord is under no obligation to compensate her by paying for temporary accommodation or storage charges.” Source
• Moorjani v Durban Estates Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 1252 — “As to the cost of alternative accommodation, it had not been pleaded, but Griffiths LJ was at pains to point out that if breach of a landlord’s repairing covenant forces a tenant to find alternative accommodation because the leasehold premises had become uninhabitable, then a properly pleaded claim for that cost may in principle be recoverable.” Source
• Shelter England, Problems during repair work — “Most private landlords do not have an obligation to provide the tenant with alternative accommodation, but the tenant could ask for somewhere else to stay.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.168 — “A landlord under a long lease of a dwelling may not serve a notice under section 146(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20) (restriction on forfeiture) in respect of a breach by a tenant of a covenant or condition in the lease unless subsection (2) is satisfied.” Source
• Law of Property Act 1925 s.146 — “A right of re-entry or forfeiture under any proviso or stipulation in a lease for a breach of any covenant or condition in the lease shall not be enforceable, by action or otherwise, unless and until the lessor serves on the lessee a notice—” Source
• Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 s.1 — “the lessee may within twenty-eight days from that date serve on the lessor a counter-notice to the effect that he claims the benefit of this Act.” Source
• Jervis v Harris [1996] Ch 195 — “The landlord's claim sounds in debt not damages; and it is not a claim to compensation for breach of the tenant's covenant to repair, but for reimbursement of sums actually spent by the landlord in carrying out repairs himself.” Source
• Dorrington Residential Ltd v 56 Clifton Gardens Ltd [2022] UKUT 266 (LC) — “The obligation must involve the tenant in doing what is reasonably required to facilitate access; in the case of premises which are locked, that is likely to require the tenant to be present at the notified time with the key required to unlock the door, and to make use of it to allow the landlord to enter.” Source
• Home Office, Fire doors: Regulation 10 fact sheet — “This could include the responsible person agreeing with residents a date, so access can be granted.” Source