The short answer
Most repairs in a rented home are the landlord’s to pay for. The big items are set by law and cannot be passed to the tenant by a clause in the agreement. The tenant pays when they, the people living with them or their visitors caused the damage, and for the ordinary care any careful occupier takes. Between the two sits a small band of items, mostly appliances and gardens, where the tenancy agreement decides.
This page goes through the everyday cases. The law itself is explained in full in the blog guide to section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, linked at the end.
What the landlord pays for
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk, read 20 October 2026) requires the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes, and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation, and for space heating and heating water. In a flat it reaches parts of the building the landlord has an interest in, where the disrepair affects the tenant.
GOV.UK’s “Private renting: repairs” (read 20 October 2026) puts the same list in everyday words: the landlord is always responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior, fire safety, sanitary fittings including pipes and drains, heating and hot water, gas appliances and electrical wiring, and for any damage they cause when attempting repairs.
What the tenant pays for
Section 11(2) leaves out three things. The landlord does not have to:
- Carry out work the tenant is liable for under their duty to use the property in a tenant-like manner
- Rebuild or reinstate after destruction or damage by fire or similar events, which is a matter for insurance and the agreement
- Repair anything the tenant is entitled to take away with them, such as their own appliances
GOV.UK adds that the tenant must pay to put right damage caused by their family and friends, and damage they cause to another tenant’s flat, such as a leaking bath. It also says a tenant should only carry out repairs if the tenancy agreement says they can, and cannot be forced to do repairs that are the landlord’s responsibility.
The everyday cases
- A leak. From a pipe, the roof, a gutter or the bath’s plumbing: the landlord. From a bath the tenant left running: the tenant
- The boiler or heating. The landlord, as heating and hot water installations. If the tenant switched it off and pipes froze in an empty house, talk it through before deciding
- Locks and keys. A worn or broken lock on an outside door: plan to fix it yourself, quickly, because a home that will not lock is not safe to live in. A lost key or fob: the tenant. GOV.UK lists a fee for replacing a key or security device among the payments you can ask for, where the tenancy agreement includes it, limited to a reasonable cost you show the tenant in writing
- Blocked drains or toilet. The landlord, unless the blockage is wipes, fat or nappies the household put there, which falls under tenant-like use
- Appliances you supplied. A fridge, washing machine or oven listed as supplied with the let is set by your agreement. If it lists them as yours and says nothing more, expect to repair or replace them. Gas appliances are on GOV.UK’s landlord list in any case
- A power cut. If the whole street is off, it is the network’s fault, not a repair: the tenant can call 105, the power cut number. If only the property is off, it is usually a tripped switch or a faulty circuit, which is the landlord’s
- Damage the tenant caused. Broken door, burnt worktop, a hole in the wall: the tenant pays, either directly or from the deposit at the end with evidence
- Damage made worse by late reporting. The tenant should report problems promptly. If they sat on a leak for weeks and it spread, the extra damage may be claimable, but only with evidence of when they knew. The deposit scheme decides a dispute on evidence
- Gardens and light bulbs. Usually the tenant’s routine upkeep, if the agreement says so
When the tenant refuses access
Section 11(6) implies that the landlord, or someone authorised in writing, may enter at reasonable times of the day to view the condition and state of repair, on 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier. Give written notice, offer times, record each attempt, and never force entry. If access keeps being refused for a repair you are responsible for, take advice; the record shows you tried.
Step by step when a repair is reported
- Acknowledge it the same day, with what happens next and when
- Decide whose it is using the list above. If unsure, fix it first when it is urgent and settle the cost afterwards
- Give written notice before a contractor visits
- Keep the invoice and the photos. If you think the tenant caused it, the contractor’s note on the cause is your best evidence
- Tell the tenant it is done, and record the cost against the property
How LetCompliance keeps the record that answers “who pays”
- The report. Tenants report from their portal with up to three photos, dated on arrival. A repair reported by phone can be logged by you
- A suggestion, not a ruling. An AI reading of the report suggests the priority, the trade and who is probably responsible. Nothing changes until you apply it
- The job. Set the priority and the response clock: 24 hours for an emergency, 7 days for urgent, 14 days for routine. Send the work order to your own contractor from your directory, on the 3-day trial and paid plans from £7.99 a month, and give the tenant written notice of the visit
- The cost. The repair and its cost sit in the property’s history and go into Finance for your tax figures
- Damage at the end. On Portfolio and above, at £19 a month, the check-out compares with the check-in item by item, so a deduction for damage the tenant caused rests on evidence
Common mistakes
- A clause making the tenant responsible for the boiler or the roof. It does not override section 11
- Deducting for wear and tear, which is not damage
- Asking the tenant to arrange and pay for your repair, then refund them later
- No photo of the cause, so a “tenant damage” claim becomes your word against theirs
- Leaving a repair because the tenant is in arrears. The two are separate
Can a landlord charge a tenant for a repair?
Only for damage the tenant, their household or visitors caused, or a lost key or security device where the agreement provides for that fee. Charge the reasonable cost, show the evidence, and agree it or take it from the deposit at the end through the scheme.
Who pays if a tenant’s guest breaks something?
The tenant. GOV.UK says tenants must pay to put right damage caused by their family and friends.
Does the landlord have to fix a washing machine?
If you supplied it with the let and the agreement lists it, plan to. If it is the tenant’s own, it is theirs.
Can a tenant stop paying rent until a repair is done?
GOV.UK tells tenants to keep paying rent while they wait for repairs. Unpaid rent is arrears, whatever the reason, so deal with the repair and the rent separately.
What LetCompliance does not do here
- It does not decide liability. The triage is a suggestion and the decision is yours
- It does not supply contractors; the directory is your own list. A contractor can be found for you for a one-off sourcing fee
- It does not run an out-of-hours phone line
