Your rights depend on your tenancy agreement. You have some repairing rights even if you don't have a tenancy agreement.

• Rights in a protected tenancy
• My landlord won't carry out repairs
• Can I withhold my rent?
• My landlord wants entry to inspect the property
• My landlord wants me to move out while carrying out repairs

Rights in a protected tenancy

Your rights depend on your tenancy agreement. If your tenancy agreement doesn't mention repairs, certain repairing obligations may apply depending on the nature of your tenancy. Seek advice if you are in this situation. These obligations include those obliging your landlord to:

• keep the outside of the house in good condition (for example, the paintwork, drains and gutters)
• keep the structure in good repair
• keep the interior of the building in good repair
• keep the heating in working order
• keep the toilets in working order

If the tenancy agreement doesn't mention repairs you must:

• repair any damage you or anybody in the household or lawful visitors have caused
• keep interior decoration in reasonable order
• not to carry out any alterations without the landlord's consent - this consent shouldn't be unreasonably withheld

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My landlord won't carry out repairs

You may be able to get help from the local council if your home is damaging your health or is unfit or in substantial disrepair. You may also get some help if your home doesn't meet the basic fitness standards.

You may be able to:

• get a notice of disrepair or unfitness served on your landlord
• go to court to force your landlord to carry out repairs
• request a fitness inspection to be carried out on the property - this applies to specific types of property only

Get a notice of disrepair or unfitness

You can ask the Environmental Health Department of your local council to inspect the property. The environmental health department will issue a certificate of disrepair if it decides that your landlord should repair the property. If your landlord doesn't carry out the repairs the council can take the landlord to court to force her/him to carry out the repairs or may carry out the work themselves, claiming the money back from the landlord.

Take court action

You can take your landlord to court if s/he has not carried out repairs mentioned in your tenancy agreement or if applicable to you, default repairing obligations are not being met. You can only take court action if you have told your landlord about the repairs. If you go to court you may be able to:

• force your landlord to carry out repairs
• get money from your landlord

Contact a local advice agency if you are considering taking your landlord to court.

Requesting a fitness inspection

If your tenancy began after April 1^st 2007 and if the property you're in does not have a certificate of fitness already and is not prescribed, you may be able to request a fitness inspection to be carried out on it. You may also request a fitness inspection if the property has fallen into disrepair since a certificate of fitness was issued.

If the property fails to get a certificate of fitness in these circumstances, the rent for the property shall be controlled. Get advice from Housing Rights Service if you are considering taking this course of action.

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Can I withhold my rent?

You may be able to carry out the repairs yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. However, you must follow the correct procedure exactly and give your landlord a chance to carry out the repairs themselves.

Get advice from Housing Rights Service on 028 9024 5640 if you are considering withholding rent.

Keep the rent money separate

If you do decide to withhold rent, keep the money you should have been paying as rent in a separate bank account, because:

• it shows that you are withholding the rent to pay for repairs
• it proves you're not using the problem as an excuse to not pay rent
• it will help you keep track of how much rent you have withheld.

Give your landlord with a statement of this separate account every time you would normally have paid your rent.

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My landlord wants entry to inspect the property

You are obliged to allow the landlord or his / her agent entry to the property to inspect the state of repair provided:

• reasonable notice is given
• the visit is at a reasonable time.

If you refuse access, your landlord must get a court order to enter the property.

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My landlord wants me to move out while carrying out repairs

You can't prevent your landlord from carrying out necessary repairs. If you landlord asks you to move out it may be in your best interests to do so. It may be a good idea to get a written agreement to confirm you can move back in once the repairs have been carried out.

Your landlord may find you alternative accommodation while the repairs are being carried out. You will usually have to pay rent for the alternative accommodation. Your landlord shouldn't ask you to pay full rent on both properties.