It is an implied term of all tenancy agreements which impose an obligation on the landlord to repair that the landlord is not liable to carry out any repair within the home unless they (a) have been put on notice, or in any other way have knowledge, of the repair; and (b) has failed to carry out the repair within a reasonable time thereafter. The burden on proving both of these key matters is on the tenant.
Accordingly, it is common for landlords to defend disrepair claims on the basis of a lack of notice/knowledge of the repair.
To prove a landlord is liable for breach of their repairing obligations it is absolutely crucial to keep good records. It is not enough to rely on a landlord’s record keeping, which is often lacking in detail and may at worst be unreliable (see https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/KIM-report-v2-100523.pdf)
Practical guidance is to:
- correspond in writing as far as possible. Email can be especially useful as it will be time-stamped and you can request a delivery receipt;
- make sure you are contacting the right person;
- attach clear time-stamped pictures to your correspondence. Pictures are worth a thousand words;
- keep clear copies of correspondence. Ideally these should be kept chronologically in a well labelled file that you can easily provide to a solicitor, if needed;
- if you have to report disrepair verbally, keep a record of these communications such as in a diary. You should try and record who you spoke to, what was said, the date and the time; and
- do not be disheartened, keep on chasing if the repair is unresolved – the more documentary evidence you have of notice the stronger your case can be to claim damages (compensation).
*The above entry was helped by reference to Housing Conditions: tenants’ rights (https://www.lag.org.uk/shop/book-title/206102/housing-conditions–tenants–rights)
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