Landlord repair responsibilities: section 11 explained
By TenancyDesk · Sources checked
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a landlord of a tenancy under seven years must keep in repair the structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes, and keep the water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water installations in repair and working order. The tenancy agreement cannot pass these to the tenant. Section 9A adds that the home must be fit to live in.
- The law
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 11 and 9A
- Applies to
- Tenancies of less than seven years, including periodic ones
- Landlord repairs
- Structure, exterior, water, gas, electrics, sanitation, heating, hot water
- Cannot be moved
- A clause making the tenant do these repairs has no effect
- Access
- At reasonable times, with 24 hours’ written notice
- Fit to live in
- Section 9A, since 20 March 2019
What repairs is a landlord responsible for?
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 writes a repairing promise into every tenancy it covers, whatever the agreement says. The landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the home, including drains, gutters and external pipes. The landlord must also keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation, including basins, sinks, baths and toilets, and the installations for space heating and heating water.
In a flat, the duty reaches beyond the front door. Where the landlord owns or controls other parts of the building, section 11 covers those parts and the installations in them that serve the flat, as long as the disrepair affects the tenant’s use of the flat or the common parts. If the landlord cannot get the rights needed to reach a part of the building owned by someone else, having tried everything reasonable is a defence.
GOV.UK’s own list for tenants puts the same duty plainly: the structure and exterior, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings including pipes and drains, heating and hot water, gas appliances, pipes, flues and ventilation, electrical wiring, fire safety, and any damage the landlord causes while repairing.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations · GOV.UK: private renting, repairs
Which tenancies does section 11 cover?
Section 11 applies to a lease of a home granted for a term of less than seven years, which takes in every assured periodic tenancy, the form almost every private tenancy in England has taken since 1 May 2026. Our guide to assured periodic tenancies explains that change.
The tenancy agreement cannot contract out of it. Section 11(4) says a tenant’s promise to repair has no effect so far as it covers the landlord’s list, and section 11(5) closes the obvious routes round it: a clause making the tenant pay for those repairs, or pay towards them, falls in the same way. Only a county court can authorise an exclusion, under section 12, and only where both sides agree and it is reasonable.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations
What is the tenant responsible for?
Section 11(2) sets three limits on the landlord’s duty. The landlord does not have to repair damage the tenant is liable for under the duty to use the home in a tenant-like manner, which means looking after it as a reasonable occupier would: not blocking drains, not leaving it unheated in a freeze, fixing what they break. The landlord does not have to rebuild after fire, flood, storm or other accident, which is what buildings insurance is for. And the landlord does not have to maintain anything the tenant is entitled to take away.
Appliances are a grey area worth settling in writing. Section 11 covers the installations that supply water, gas and electricity, not other fixtures, fittings and appliances that use them. A cooker or washing machine you provide is usually yours to repair under the agreement rather than under section 11, but gas appliances you supply must be checked every year under the gas safety rules regardless. See our gas safety guide.
GOV.UK tells tenants they should only carry out repairs if the tenancy agreement allows it, and that they are responsible for damage they, their family or friends cause.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations · GOV.UK: private renting, repairs
How good does the repair have to be?
Section 11(3) says the standard depends on the age, character and prospective life of the home and the locality it is in. A Victorian terrace is not expected to perform like a new build, but its roof must still keep the rain out and its boiler must still heat the water.
Repair is not improvement. Section 11 does not oblige a landlord to upgrade a sound but dated kitchen or to add double glazing. Other rules can, though: a home must be fit to live in under section 9A, below, meet the minimum EPC rating, and in future meet the Decent Homes Standard.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations
Fitness for human habitation: section 9A
Since 20 March 2019, section 9A of the same Act has written a second promise into tenancies of homes in England: that the home is fit for human habitation when the tenancy starts and stays fit throughout it. A home can be unfit without being in disrepair, for example through serious damp from poor design, inadequate ventilation, or a hazard such as a dangerous staircase.
Section 9A has its own limits. It does not make the landlord liable for unfitness caused mainly by the tenant’s own breach, require work that would break another law, or require work that needs a freeholder’s or other third party’s consent that could not be obtained after reasonable efforts. Councils can also act on serious hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Damp and mould are covered in our guide to Awaab’s Law.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A, fitness for human habitation · GOV.UK: private renting, repairs
Getting in to inspect and repair
Section 11(6) gives the landlord, or anyone the landlord authorises in writing, the right to enter at reasonable times of day to view the condition of the home, on 24 hours’ written notice to the occupier. Keep a copy of every notice. If a tenant refuses access, record the dates you asked, because that history matters if the repair is later disputed.
GOV.UK tells tenants to report repairs straight away, especially faults that could damage health such as faulty wiring, and says the landlord should tell them when the repair can be expected. Logging each report with its date and the date the work was done is the simplest protection a landlord has.
Sources: Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations · GOV.UK: private renting, repairs
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What happens if repairs are not done?
A tenant whose landlord does not repair can contact the council’s environmental health team, which GOV.UK says must take action if it thinks the problems could harm the tenant or cause a nuisance. A tenant can also take the landlord to court for breach of section 11 or section 9A, asking for the work to be ordered and for compensation.
Since 1 May 2026, a landlord can no longer end a periodic tenancy without a reason, so a repair complaint cannot be answered with a section 21 notice. Every possession claim now needs a ground under section 8.
Sources: GOV.UK: private renting, repairs · Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations
Common questions
Is a landlord responsible for repairing a boiler?
Yes. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes the landlord keep the installations for space heating and heating water in repair and proper working order. A boiler is one of those installations, so its repair falls to the landlord unless the tenant caused the fault by misuse.
Can a tenancy agreement make the tenant responsible for repairs?
Not for the items section 11 lists. Section 11(4) says a tenant’s covenant to repair has no effect so far as it covers the structure, exterior and the water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating installations. The tenant can still be made responsible for damage they cause and for looking after the home properly.
How much notice must a landlord give to enter for repairs?
At least 24 hours in writing, at a reasonable time of day, under section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The right covers viewing the home’s condition and state of repair. In an emergency such as a gas leak or flood, entry may be needed sooner.
Does section 11 apply to a periodic tenancy?
Yes. Section 11 applies to tenancies of less than seven years, and a periodic tenancy counts. Since 1 May 2026 almost every private tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy, so section 11 applies to nearly every private let.
Who pays for repairs after a flood or fire?
Section 11(2) says the landlord’s repairing covenant does not require rebuilding or reinstating the home after fire, storm, flood or other inevitable accident. In practice the landlord’s buildings insurance usually pays, and the home must still be made fit to live in under section 9A.
Official sources and scope
Checked on 11 November 2026. This is general information for private landlords in England, not legal advice or a complete compliance assessment. Follow the current official guidance for your tenancy and get advice about exceptions, missed deadlines or disputes.
- Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11, repairing obligations
- Legislation: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A, fitness for human habitation
- GOV.UK: private renting, repairs
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