In short: Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you’re legally responsible for the structure and exterior, heating and hot water, and sanitation/plumbing, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires the whole property to be genuinely fit to live in throughout the tenancy. There’s no single fixed deadline in law, the standard is “reasonable time”, but in practice this means 24 hours for genuine emergencies (no heating in winter, gas leaks, total loss of water), a few days for urgent issues, and roughly 14–28 days for routine repairs. A parallel set of statutory hazard-response timeframes (Awaab’s Law) already applies in social housing and is due to extend to private rentals, though the exact start date and timeframes for the private sector are still subject to government consultation as of mid-2026.
The legal baseline: Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
For almost all tenancies under seven years granted since 1961 (which covers the overwhelming majority of assured shorthold tenancies), Section 11 implies a repairing covenant into the tenancy automatically, you can’t contract out of it, even if your tenancy agreement is silent or says otherwise. It obliges you to keep in repair:
- The structure and exterior of the property, walls, roof, foundations, windows, external doors, drains, gutters and external pipes
- Installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, and for sanitation, basins, sinks, baths and toilets
- Installations for space heating and heating water, the boiler, radiators, immersion heater, and the pipework serving them
This is a repairing obligation, not an improvement one, you’re required to fix what’s broken and keep it working, not necessarily upgrade or modernise. But if a repair can only reasonably be done by replacing an obsolete part or system, that generally falls within the obligation too.
Fitness for human habitation
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 goes further: it implies a term into the tenancy that the property must be fit for human habitation both at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. This covers things Section 11 doesn’t explicitly name, including:
- Freedom from serious damp and mould
- Adequate ventilation, natural lighting and heating
- Safe water supply and drainage
- Facilities for preparing and cooking food, and for disposing of waste
A tenant can sue directly under this Act if the property isn’t fit for habitation, without needing to first prove a specific breach of the Section 11 repairing covenant, which is why persistent, unaddressed damp and mould is a much bigger legal exposure than many landlords realise.
What “reasonable time” actually means
The law deliberately doesn’t fix a single number of days for every repair, because urgency depends on the fault, the season and who’s living there. In practice, most guidance and case law settle around three tiers:
- Emergency (act within 24 hours): total loss of heating or hot water (especially in winter), gas leaks or suspected carbon monoxide, no functioning smoke alarm, flooding, or anything posing an immediate risk to safety. These should be treated as same-day, no-excuses issues.
- Urgent (a few days, typically 3–7): partial heating loss, significant leaks that aren’t yet causing flooding, broken external doors/windows affecting security, faulty electrics that aren’t immediately dangerous.
- Routine (roughly 14–28 days): dripping taps, minor damp patches, cosmetic issues, non-essential appliance faults.
Courts assess “reasonable” against the actual circumstances, a boiler outage in January with a young child or elderly tenant in the property is treated far more seriously than the same fault in July with an unaffected household. Documenting when you were notified and when you acted is your best protection if a dispute ever arises.
Awaab’s Law and the move toward fixed statutory deadlines
Awaab’s Law, introduced following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould in a social housing property, came into force for social housing on 27 October 2025, setting hard statutory deadlines: investigate emergency hazards within 24 hours, investigate other significant hazards within 10 working days, and complete necessary safety works within a further set number of working days, with temporary safety measures required in the meantime if a full fix will take longer.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent 27 October 2025, first phase in force from 1 May 2026) contains the enabling power to extend an equivalent regime to the private rented sector, as part of a modernised Decent Homes Standard. As of July 2026, however, this extension is not yet in force, the government has said it will consult on the exact scope and timeframes before laying secondary legislation, and no confirmed start date has been announced. Landlords should treat this as “coming, not yet live” and keep an eye on gov.uk for the consultation outcome, because once implemented it’s expected to bring fixed, legally enforceable deadlines for damp, mould and other hazards similar to the social housing regime, rather than the more flexible “reasonable time” standard.
Practical takeaways
- Keep a written log of every repair report and your response time, this is your evidence if a dispute, Awaab’s-style claim, or Fitness for Human Habitation claim arises
- Treat any report of damp or mould seriously and promptly, given the direction of travel in the law
- Build emergency contractor cover (24/7 plumber, gas engineer, electrician) into your setup now rather than scrambling when winter heating fails
- If you use a managing agent, make sure your contract requires them to action emergencies immediately, without waiting for your sign-off (see our guide to what full management should include)
Related reading
Sources
- Repairs under section 11, Shelter Legal England
- Awaab’s Law: guidance for social landlords, timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector, GOV.UK
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules referenced are accurate to the best of available information as of July 2026 for England unless stated otherwise. Always check current government guidance (gov.uk) or consult a solicitor for your specific situation.
Last Updated on September 21, 2026