Home maintenance
What can I do about home maintenance in my rented home?
Homes often have issues that require maintenance. These issues might be caused by shoddy building work, supplies, or everyday wear and tear.
GOV.UK has lots of information on Housing and useful tools:
- The government’s ‘How to rent a safe home’ guide helps current and prospective tenants ensure that a rented property is safe to live in.
- The government’s Living in your rented home guidance, provides information on what tenants and landlords must and should do
- The government’s online guidance tool 'Check how to get repairs done in your rented home' gives you tailored information about getting problems fixed in your rented home.
Read the Housing standards guidance for help and advice
For a safe and healthy home, let's look at a few of the problems you might come across.
Energy efficiency and heating
If you rent your home and you want to make it more energy efficient, contact your landlord to discuss your options. You must get your landlord’s permission to make improvements and agree what must be paid for by you.
Your landlord must meet the minimum energy efficiency standards for an energy performance certificate rating of E. View our landlord and tenancy guidance for energy efficiency.
Our home energy support pages have more information.
Damp and mould
Having a damp home can cause it to be cold and grow mould, which can contribute to sickness and allergies for you. You might experience damp and mould in your home for many reasons, such as poor or inadequate:
- design, materials, and construction of the home (for example, look for wet or dry rot and stains on walls or ceilings)
- maintenance, when damage is left to worsen
- living behaviours, such as not heating, cleaning, and airing your home as needed.
There are four main types of dampness and mould that affect a property:
This type of dampness is caused by water rising into the property from the ground in porous materials or at the junction of materials, and is usually caused by a missing, breached, or damaged Damp Proof Course (DPC).
A DPC is a layer of waterproof material that is designed to stop water rising through the structure. This type of dampness can only affect ground floor or lower ground floor rooms. This is characterised with a ‘tide-mark’ or markings to the wall showing where the water has soaked to. There may be white or brown stains where the water is drawn through the structure. This type of dampness is found all year round. If left untreated, it will cause the internal decorations to deteriorate and the inner wall surface to crumble. This may cause some mould growth, but the black mould growth (typically associated with condensation) is unlikely to be present for this type of dampness. This type of dampness can occur throughout the property, regardless of heating, furniture placement and ventilation, and can occur on internal and external walls.
The landlord is responsible for resolving rising damp.
Penetrating dampness can only be found in areas within a property that are linked with the external shell of the property. For example: external walls, or ceilings in the case of water penetrating through the roof.
This type of dampness is usually caused by a defect to the shell of the property. Such as:
- gaps around windows
- defective pointing
- missing lead trays
- damaged
- missing roof tiles
All of these defects allow water to penetrate the waterproof skin of the property, travelling from the outside in. This type of dampness is found all year round but is especially noticeable during or after heavy and prolonged rainfall. The affected surfaces will generally feel wet to the touch. Black mould growth is unlikely to be present with this type of dampness as the area can become too wet for the mould to grow. There may also be stains or dirty marks where the water has come through the structure.
The landlord is responsible for resolving penetrating damp.
This type of dampness is caused by water escaping from water pipes. It can be either:
- Waste drainage, such as toilets, kitchen/ bathroom sinks etc.
- Water supply, including to appliances like a washing machine
- Water escape from around a facility, like a bath seal
- Hot water central heating systems, such as radiators, boilers etc.
This type of dampness is generally found in floors and ceilings, and in walls adjacent to the defective pipework. Black mould growth can be found with this type of dampness, depending on the location and the cause of the water escape. Water Escape may leave markings like those of Rising damp or Penetrating Damp,. For example tide marks and staining.
The landlord is usually responsible for resolving water escapes, other than around a facility where occupiers are not taking precautions
Damp and mould caused through condensation can be more complex due to the variety of factors that effect it, and the responsibility is not only with the landlord. In fact, occupiers/tenants have the
responsibility for many of the contributing factors. Condensation forms when water vapour in the air (in a gas form) cools and then forms waterdroplets. It is a natural occurrence in all homes but to manage this all tenants must;
- Reduce/Stop any unnecessary moisture production
- Ventilate adequately and manage air movement in the house
- Heat all areas of the home adequately
- Dry wet materials and surfaces appropriately
- Clean up mould when identified
- Manage occupier crowding situations and over storage of possessions
- Understand their duties for reporting disrepair matters to landlords
Drainage
If you experience drainage issues with the public sewer system, report it to us.
If you own a septic tank or cesspit, it is your responsibility to maintain these and the connecting pipework from your building and property boundaries.
If you experience issues with a septic tank or cesspit, call the Environment Agency on 03708 506506
If a road is flooded or a drain in a road is blocked, report this to Island Roads