Under LTA 1985 s.11, landlord must keep in repair structure, exterior, and water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating, and water heating installations.
Official text
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LTA 1985 s. 11 — United Kingdom
In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor— to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes), to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water. If a lease to which this section applies is a lease of a dwelling-house which forms part only of a building, then, subject to subsection (1B), the covenant implied by subsection (1) shall have effect as if— the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to the dwelling-house included a reference to any part of the building in which the lessor has an estate or interest; and any reference in paragraphs (b) and (c) of that subsection to an installation in the dwelling-house included a reference to an installation which, directly or indirectly, serves the dwelling-house and which either— forms part of any part of a building in which the lessor has an estate or interest; or is owned by the lessor or under his control. Nothing in subsection (1A) shall be construed as requiring the lessor to carry out any works or repairs unless the disrepair (or failure to maintain in working order) is such as to affect the lessee’s enjoyment of the dwelling-house or of any common parts, as defined in section 60(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, which the lessee, as such, is entitled to use. The covenant implied by subsection (1) (“the lessor’s repairing covenant”) shall not be construed as requiring the lessor— to carry out works or repairs for which the lessee is liable by virtue of his duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner, or would be so liable but for an express covenant on his part, to rebuild or reinstate the premises in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident, or to keep in repair or maintain anything which the lessee is entitled to remove from the dwelling-house. In determining the standard of repair required by the lessor’s repairing covenant, regard shall be had to the age, character and prospective life of the dwelling-house and the locality in which it is situated. In any case where— the lessor’s repairing covenant has effect as mentioned in subsection (1A), and in order to comply with the covenant the lessor needs to carry out works or repairs otherwise than in, or to an installation in, the dwelling-house, and the lessor does not have a sufficient right in the part of the building or the installation concerned to enable him to carry out the required works or repairs, then, in any proceedings relating to a failure to comply with the lessor’s repairing covenant, so far as it requires the lessor to carry out the works or repairs in question, it shall be a defence for the lessor to prove that he used all reasonable endeavours to obtain, but was unable to obtain, such rights as would be adequate to enable him to carry out the works or repairs. A covenant by the lessee for the repair of the premises is of no effect so far as it relates to the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c), except so far as it imposes on the lessee any of the requirements mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (c). The reference in subsection (4) to a covenant by the lessee for the repair of the premises includes a covenant— to put in repair or deliver up in repair, to paint, point or render, to pay money in lieu of repairs by the lessee, or to pay money on account of repairs by the lessor. In a lease in which the lessor’s repairing covenant is implied there is also implied a covenant by the lessee that the lessor, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair.
Section 11 is the backbone of residential repair law. It implies into a short lease a covenant by the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house, expressly including drains, gutters and external pipes; to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation, including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences; and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for space heating and heating water. That last limb is why a broken boiler is a section 11 matter and a broken oven is not.
The word doing most of the work is "repair". The covenant is engaged by deterioration from a previous condition, so a defect that has always been there, with nothing having got worse, is not disrepair however unpleasant it is - which is exactly the gap section 9A was enacted to fill. Subsection (3) then softens the standard: regard is to be had to "the age, character and prospective life of the dwelling-house and the locality in which it is situated", so what counts as repair in a Victorian terrace is not what counts in a new-build.
Subsections (1A) and (1B) extend the covenant in flats. Where the dwelling is part of a building, the structure limb reaches any part of the building in which the landlord has an estate or interest, and the installations limb reaches installations serving the dwelling directly or indirectly - but only where the disrepair affects the tenant's enjoyment of the dwelling or of the common parts they are entitled to use. Subsection (2) carves out works the tenant is liable for through the duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner, rebuilding after fire, tempest, flood or other inevitable accident, and anything the tenant may remove. Subsection (4) makes void any covenant by the tenant to repair, redecorate, put in repair, deliver up in repair or pay money in lieu, so far as it relates to the same matters. Subsection (6) implies the tenant's covenant to allow the landlord in at reasonable times on 24 hours' written notice to view the condition.
When it applies
A boiler that has not worked for weeks and the landlord will not replace or repair.
Water coming in through the roof, gutters or an external wall into the flat below.
Leaking pipes under the sink, a blocked soil pipe, or a bath that cannot be used.
Dangerous wiring or sockets in a rented house.
A tenancy agreement that tries to put the boiler or the drains on the tenant.
A leak from a riser or a common part of the block that the landlord says is not their flat.
What this section does not say
×It is not a duty to improve. The covenant is to keep in repair, so a home that is cold, badly ventilated or badly laid out but not deteriorating falls outside it - see section 9A instead.
×It does not cover the tenant's own things, or appliances. Subsection (1)(b) expressly excludes fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity, so a cooker or washing machine is not within it.
×It does not cover decoration. Redecoration is not repair, though making good after repair work usually is.
×It does not make the landlord rebuild after a fire or flood. Subsection (2)(b) says so.
×It does not apply to every lease. Sections 13 and 14 set out which leases are covered - broadly leases of a dwelling for less than seven years - and long leaseholders are generally outside it.
×It does not run from the moment the defect appears. In practice the landlord's obligation as to defects inside the let premises is triggered by notice of the disrepair, so telling the landlord, in writing, matters.
Worked examples
Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.
Illustrative example
The boiler in a rented house has been dead for five weeks. The family are heating one room with an electric heater and their bills have doubled. The landlord says an engineer is booked and keeps moving the date.
How the wording applies
Space heating and water heating installations are expressly within subsection (1)(c), so this is squarely a section 11 matter - unlike a broken cooker, which is an appliance and outside it. What decides the landlord's exposure is notice: in practice the obligation as to defects inside the let premises is triggered by the landlord knowing about them, so the fact that matters most is the date the disrepair was first reported and whether it was in writing.
How the parties settled it
The landlord agrees a firm installation date within fourteen days and credits the additional electricity cost against the next month's rent; the tenants agree to give access on that date and on one further date if a follow-up visit is needed.
Illustrative example
Water comes through the ceiling of a top-floor flat every time it rains hard. The landlord says the roof belongs to the block and is not part of what was let, so it is nothing to do with him.
How the wording applies
Subsections (1A) and (1B) extend the structure limb in flats to parts of the building in which the landlord has an estate or interest, which is what answers the 'it is not your flat' point. The fact it turns on is what interest the landlord holds in the roof - a landlord with an interest in the building is within the extended covenant, while a landlord holding only the flat itself may need section 17 or pressure on the freeholder instead.
How the parties settled it
The landlord agrees to pursue the freeholder in writing within two weeks and to have the ceiling made good either way, with a ten per cent rent reduction for the months the bedroom cannot be used.
Illustrative example
A tenancy agreement for a Victorian terrace says the tenant is responsible for the drains and the guttering. The gutters have failed and the rear wall is wet through. The landlord points at the clause.
How the wording applies
Drains, gutters and external pipes are named in subsection (1)(a) as part of the structure and exterior, and section 12 makes void any term purporting to put them on the tenant. What subsection (3) does allow is a softer standard: regard is had to the age, character and prospective life of the house and its locality, so the fact that matters is whether the gutters have deteriorated from their previous condition, not whether they fall short of what a new build would have.
How the parties settled it
The landlord clears and repairs the gutters and repoints the affected section of wall before winter; the tenant agrees to report any new leak within a week of noticing it.
The same problem elsewhere
The other legal systems in this collection answer the same everyday problem with their own provisions.
The comparison and these one-line summaries are in English.
The landlord will not repair: damp, mould and no heating in 7 jurisdictions
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This page reproduces the text of LTA 1985 s. 11 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.