Council and housing association landlords are normally responsible for most repairs. As a tenant, you are probably only responsible for some minor maintenance and for putting right any damage you have caused.
Download our disrepair factsheet for further information.
Landlords’ repairing obligations have not changed during the coronavirus pandemic.
You should inform your landlord of any repairs needed to the property by phone, email or online. They might not be able to get the problem fixed during the usual timescales but shouldn’t delay repairs unreasonably.
You normally have to allow your landlord access to carry out repairs but you can ask your landlord to postpone any repairs which are not urgent.
You should use your own personal judgement around letting somebody into your home.
What if my boiler breaks, or something else happens which is an urgent risk to my health?
If it is safe and reasonable, you are able to allow local authorities, landlords or contractors access to your property in order to inspect or fix any urgent health and safety issues. Anyone who comes to your property should follow Welsh Government guidance on social distancing.
Welsh Government recommends no work should be carried out in any household which is self-isolating unless it is to repair a fault which poses a direct risk to people’s safety. Inform your landlord if you are self-isolating, you should arrange for them to contact you either by phone, email or through a family member or friend.
Urgent health and safety issues might include:
Annual gas safety checks remain an important legal requirement but they should be rearranged if they cannot go ahead safely because someone in your home is at high risk or self isolating. Further guidance for tenants and landlords is available on the Gas Safe Register website.
It’s up to you to look after the property and avoid causing any damage wherever possible.
This involves:
In most cases, you will also be responsible for interior decoration. Your tenancy agreement should set out exactly who is responsible for what.
Your landlord will always be responsible for repairs (unless your tenancy is for a fixed term of 7 years or more) to:
Landlords have certain extra responsibilities for gas, electrical and fire safety in your home.
They must also make sure that your home is free from any hazards that could affect the health and safety of anyone in your household.
Your tenancy agreement may give your landlord extra obligations, such as the maintenance of fences or boundary walls around your home – check to see what it says.
Your home could be affected by any of the 3 common types of damp:
It isn’t always easy to work out who is responsible for sorting out problems with damp, because it’s often difficult to identify what’s causing the problem. But your landlord will usually be responsible if the damp is the result of:
Condensation is often caused by lack of ventilation, lack of insulation, and/or inadequate heating. Where this is the case, the landlord must take steps to remedy the problem, for example, by improving the heating or ventilation in the property. Bear in mind though that condensation can also be caused by drying clothes indoors or not using heating systems properly. If this is the case, your landlord is probably not responsible.
You can contact the council’s environmental health department if your landlord doesn’t fix the damp problem. They can inspect the property and take action against the landlord if they think there is damp and/or mould growth causing a hazard.
Your landlord is only responsible for maintaining any electrical appliances and installations that have been supplied with the property.
They are not responsible for repairing any appliances or installations that belong to you or which you have had installed. For example, if you have bought a dishwasher or tumble drier and had it installed, you will be responsible for its upkeep.
Your landlord is responsible for repairs to areas that are shared with other people, such as hallways, stairs, or lifts.
Your tenancy agreement should say who has responsibility for the upkeep of your garden. It is often the tenant’s responsibility, although this doesn’t mean that you will have to improve the garden if it is in a mess when you move in.
If the garden is shared with other tenants, you may all share responsibility for the upkeep, unless one tenant has agreed to take it on. However if the garden is not mentioned at all it is possible that neither you nor your landlord has responsibility.
Tenants are usually responsible for the internal decorations unless work is needed because of dampness or disrepair that is the landlord’s responsibility. Before carrying out any redecoration you should get your landlord’s consent.
Repairs in private tenancies
Repairs in social housing
Home safety
Getting adaptations
Problems with neighbours
Overcrowding
Mobile home site conditions
Flooding
If you have a housing problem, call our expert housing advice helpline
08000 495 495
If you have a non-urgent problem and would like to speak to an advisor
email us
We are sorry that we cannot provide this information in Welsh, however if you would like to speak to an adviser in Welsh please contact 08000 495 495.
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This page was last updated on: May 28, 2021
Shelter Cymru acknowledges the support of Shelter in allowing us to adapt their content. The information contained on this site is updated and maintained by Shelter Cymru and only gives general guidance on the law in Wales. It should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of the law.
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