Landlord enforcement
What to do if you think your home is in a poor state of repair
Contact your landlord and request the work is completed; you can do this by following the steps on our repairs page. They should inspect the property and complete the repairs in a reasonable timescale. If this does not happen or you are unhappy with their response, you should then contact our Housing Enforcement Team.
Email: Private-sectorhousing@tamworth.gov.uk Tel: 01827 709388.
We can carry out an inspection under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
The HHSRS helps us to assess and identify housing related hazards, including damp and mould growth, excess cold, falls on stairs, fire safety, and electrical safety. After our inspection, we will write to your landlord and ask them to carry out repairs. If these are 'low risk', we can only recommend they are completed.
If your landlord does not do this in a reasonable timescale, we can consider taking formal enforcement action. This could result in a legal notice being served which would require the work to be carried out within a set timescale. If your landlord does not do this, we may carry out the works and recover the costs from your landlord.
Landlords are responsible for:
- the structure and exterior of the building, including the walls, stairs and bannisters, roof, external doors and windows
- sinks, baths, toilets and other sanitary fittings, including pipes and drains
- heating and hot water
- chimneys and ventilation
- electrical wiring
- installing smoke alarms on each floor of your home
- installing carbon monoxide detectors in rooms with a coal fire or wood burning stove
- ensuring gas appliances and gas safety is up to date with a yearly gas safety certificate carried out by a confirmed gas engineer
Check your tenancy agreement to see if your landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing faulty items or appliances they provided, such as a fridge, washing machine or gas oven.
Tenants may have responsibility for minor jobs such as:
- replacing fuses,
- clearing a blocked sink,
- ensuring tenants or visitors do not damage the property
- may be responsible for internal painting and decorating (unless otherwise stated on your tenancy agreement), and disposing of household rubbish
- other examples may be replacing smoke alarm batteries, renewing sealant around the bath and ensuring you are using the heating and ventilating the property too.
Check your tenancy agreement to see what you are responsible for
If you have reported a repair to the local authority and your landlord is now threatening or has served you with an eviction notice there may be new legislation that could protect you from this. See our page on eviction advice for more information.
