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Landlord glossaryTenant rights

Disrepair

A property condition falling below the landlord’s repairing obligations under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 or the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Tenants can sue for damages and specific performance. Disrepair is not in itself a defence to a possession claim, but a damages counterclaim can be set off against rent arrears, which can drop the arrears below the Ground 8 threshold, and it weighs against the landlord on the reasonableness test for discretionary grounds.

Reviewed by Erdem VolkanLast reviewed 16 September 2026How we check facts

Law
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11; Fitness Act 2018
Tenant’s remedies
Damages and an order to do the work
In a possession claim
A counterclaim can reduce the arrears
Starts from
When the landlord is told about the defect

Why it matters

What Disrepair means for a landlord

Disrepair is both a claim a tenant can bring and a counterclaim inside a landlord’s own possession case, which is why it matters so much in arrears disputes. Damages for a defective boiler or a leaking roof can be set off against rent owed and pull the arrears below the Ground 8 threshold, and a poor repair record weighs against the landlord on discretionary grounds. Repairs that were reported but never logged become arguments later. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 a tenant can also go to court directly without involving the council.

Worked example

How it plays out

Nadia’s tenant in Liverpool stops paying rent, saying the boiler failed twice last winter and a window leaks. Nadia serves notice on Ground 8. At the hearing the tenant counterclaims for disrepair, with dated photos and texts reporting both problems months earlier. The judge assesses damages for the months the heating and window were defective and sets them against the arrears, which fall below three months’ rent, so Ground 8 fails. A repair log showing quick responses would have left little to counterclaim.
An illustrative example. Names, places and figures are made up.

Common mistakes

Where landlords go wrong

  1. 01Treating a repair report as informal because it came by text or WhatsApp.
  2. 02Serving a possession notice while known disrepair is outstanding.
  3. 03Doing a repair without recording when you were told and when it was fixed.
  4. 04Trying to make the tenant responsible for structural or heating repairs in the agreement, which section 11 does not allow.

What to do

A short checklist

  • Log every repair report with the date it arrived.
  • Reply in writing with a date for inspection or repair.
  • Keep invoices and photos of completed work.
  • Clear outstanding disrepair before serving any possession notice.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 16 September 2026. A guide to the rules in England, not legal advice: for a dispute or a possession claim, speak to a solicitor.

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