Who is responsible for repairs?
It’s almost inevitable that repairs will be needed at some point while you’re living in student accommodation. Winter often causes problems, since extreme cold, snow or rain can put strain on a property’s heating system or roof, but things can go wrong at any time of year.
The duty to repair sits with your landlord, not the agent, and generally falls under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This makes your landlord responsible for the structure and exterior of the property, including the roof, walls, windows and doors, along with the installations that make the house habitable, such as heating, lighting, water and sanitation.
Your landlord also has to keep fixtures and fittings in good working order, including the cooker, washing machine, fridge freezer, other white goods, furniture, and any other fixtures. You have the right to ask your landlord to repair any of these if there’s a problem, and that right comes from the contract you’ve signed.
If damage is caused by a house guest, your landlord may use their own workmen and pass the cost on to you, either immediately or from your damage deposit.
What to do if there is a problem
Report any repair problem formally to your landlord or agent as the first step.
If it’s urgent, report it by phone or in person, then follow up in writing (letter or email) to create a paper trail.
Take photos of the disrepair yourself if you can and keep a note of when the problem started and every interaction you have with the landlord or agent. You may need this evidence if you need to take things further.
Ask about next steps and timescales, and note the date you’re given. Chase them if you haven’t heard back by then, but give them a reasonable amount of time to actually resolve the problem first.
Repairs can’t always be fixed immediately; landlords need to source a workman, which can take a couple of days. The exception is a genuine emergency, such as a leaking pipe or no heating, lighting or sanitation.
If there’s a risk to your health, such as damp, or no sanitation, water or heating, you can involve Environmental Health at your local council, who have statutory powers to force your landlord to put things right, though this can take time.
It’s not advisable to stop paying rent because of outstanding repairs. Doing so puts you in breach of your own contract, and rent arrears remain a valid reason for a landlord to seek a possession order against you through the court, regardless of any repair issue.
| How Sulets prioritises repairs
If you’re renting through Sulets, every repair is handled against one of three response times, depending on how serious it is: Priority one, 24 hours: anything posing an immediate risk to your health and safety, or a material risk of serious damage to the property, such as a gas leak, forced locks, or an uncontrollable leak. Priority two, 7 days: urgent problems that affect your comfort or convenience, such as a heating system failure, a broken cooker, or leaking plumbing. Priority three, 21 days: non-urgent, day-to-day repairs, such as dripping taps, loose tiles, or garden maintenance. See our full Maintenance and Repairs page for the complete list of examples and how to report an emergency out of hours. |
If the property is genuinely unliveable
Reporting a repair should never put your home at risk. Since 1 May 2026, landlords can only seek possession using a specific, recognised legal ground, and reporting a repair isn’t one of them. The old no-fault eviction route that used to make this a riskier decision no longer exists, so don’t let a fear of eviction stop you reporting something that’s genuinely wrong.
If things are genuinely bad, and repairs simply aren’t happening, most students renting privately now have another option: giving your landlord two months’ written notice to leave, at any time, without needing a break clause. There’s an important catch if you’re on a joint tenancy with housemates: that notice ends the tenancy for everyone, not just you, so it’s a decision to make together, not alone.
This notice right doesn’t apply to everyone. If you live in university-managed halls, purpose built student accommodation (PBSA), or a Sulets tenancy, you’re on a licence or common law tenancy that sits outside this regime entirely, so this specific option won’t be available to you in the same way. In those settings, keep pushing through the reporting and escalation routes below, or speak to your accommodation provider or Students’ Union adviser about what options you do have.
If problems persist
If your landlord uses a letting agent and they aren’t meeting their repair obligations, check which Property Redress Scheme the agent belongs to.
Letting agents are legally required to join a scheme, and can face prosecution if they’re not a member of either of the two approved schemes.
Each scheme has clear rules on how members should handle repairs, and can help push a member to follow its guidance if they haven’t.
You can complain to the agent’s redress scheme once you’ve received their final response, or after 8 weeks if they haven’t resolved the issue by then.
If the problem still isn’t resolved, seek legal advice from your local advice agency or your Students’ Union to find out where you stand and what you can do next. You can also find more information on the Citizens Advice website.
Updated 19.10.2026