What Repairs Are Tenants Responsible For? A UK Landlord’s Guide

A tenant messages you about a dripping tap, a broken lock, or a damp patch behind the wardrobe, and before you’ve even seen the property you’re already running the same question through your head. Is this yours to sort out, or theirs? Get it wrong one way and you pay for something that was never your job. Get it wrong the other way and you’re looking at a deposit dispute, a frustrated tenant, or a council complaint you didn’t see coming. 

Most landlords carry a rough sense of where that line sits, but fewer can defend it if a tenant pushes back. The gap widens fast once you move from a single let into a shared house, where several people use the same kitchen, bathroom, and front door. 

This guide sets out what repairs are tenants responsible for under UK law, what you can never pass onto them regardless of what the tenancy agreement says, and where the picture changes once you’re running an HMO. If you’re mid-project on a shared house, you can book an initial call with HMO Architects to learn more about your responsibilities and agreements. Keep reading for a working test you can actually apply. 

The HMO Harmony Framework™ 

Before you act on the next repair request, run it through five checks: 

• Clear expectations: does your tenancy agreement or house rules say who covers what? 

• Consistent enforcement: would you apply the same test to every tenant, not just the one in front of you? 

• Tenant understanding: do your tenants know the difference between wear and tear and damage they’re responsible for? 

• Documentation: do you have dated evidence, an inventory, or photographs to back the decision? 

• Fair process: have you worked through the statutory duty and the tenant like manner test, rather than assumed? 

Most repair disputes trace back to one of these five slipping, quietly, before the argument itself. 

What tenant responsibility actually means 

Under English law, most of the repairing duty sits with you, not your tenant. The core obligation for tenancies under seven years comes from section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and it cannot be reduced by anything written into a tenancy agreement, however worded. It applies to assured and periodic tenancies, but not in the same way to licences or lodger arrangements, so confirm which type of agreement you’re working with first. 

What tenants carry instead is a narrower duty, usually described as using the property in a tenant like manner: a standard of reasonable care rather than a checklist. Don’t leave a blocked sink overflowing, don’t ignore a small leak until it spreads, turn the water off if you’re away for a fortnight in winter. If a tenant meets that standard and something still goes wrong through ordinary use, responsibility drops back onto you. 

That distinction, statutory duty on one side, reasonable use on the other, is the frame the rest of this guide works from. 

What tenants are expected to handle themselves 

Day to day upkeep and using the property sensibly 

The tenant’s job is mostly about behaviour rather than repair work. Replacing lightbulbs and smoke alarm batteries, keeping the property reasonably clean, and reporting problems promptly all fall on their side, alongside the wider expectations set out in your house rules. A blockage they cause is usually theirs to clear too. 

Reporting matters more than people expect. Your repairing duty is generally only triggered once you know, or reasonably should know, about a problem. A tenant who never mentions a leak until the ceiling comes down has made your job harder, and that delay is relevant if a dispute follows. 

Fair wear and tear versus tenant caused damage 

Most deposit arguments come down to this distinction. Fair wear and tear covers gradual deterioration from ordinary living: carpet flattened by footfall, paint faded near a window, a mattress softened after two years. None of that is chargeable to the tenant, however tempting it is to treat a tired looking room as their fault. 

Tenant caused damage is different: burn marks, holes punched in a door, a bath cracked from misuse. An accidental spill is not the same as a leak left to spread through neglect, and these sit with the tenant because they go beyond normal use. The line isn’t always obvious from a single inspection, though. A dated move-in inventory with photographs, repeated at move-out, settles most of these arguments. 

What you can never pass on to a tenant 

However worded, a tenancy agreement cannot shift your statutory repairing duty onto the tenant. That covers the structure and exterior of the property: roof, walls, windows, and external doors. It also covers the installations for water, gas, and electricity, along with heating and sanitation, including your gas safety duties for appliances you provide. A clause in your tenancy agreement making the tenant liable for a broken boiler or a leaking roof won’t hold up if challenged. 

The risk here isn’t abstract. Charging a tenant, or deducting from their deposit, for something that was genuinely your responsibility can be challenged through a deposit protection scheme, and landlords lose those arguments more often than expected. 

Repair responsibility is also easy to confuse with nearby duties. Planning permission, HMO licensing, and Building Regulations compliance are distinct obligations with their own rules, and none of them change who pays for a broken tap. 

Where HMOs add another layer 

Common parts and shared fixtures 

If you’re running an HMO, there’s a second, separate duty alongside the one above. The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations 2006 place specific obligations on whoever manages the property, covering common parts, shared fixtures, and the internal structure of each letting. This applies whether or not the HMO is licensed, and it sits outside the tenancy agreement altogether, which is why landlords often miss it. 

The manager must keep shared kitchens, bathrooms, stairwells, and hallways in good and safe repair, along with anything used in common, such as a shared cooker or washing machine, independently of what any single tenant has agreed to or caused. 

A well specified shared house makes a real difference here. Redmead Road, a six bedroom HMO conversion in London let to seven professionals and students, shows why: fitting more occupants into the same shared kitchen and bathroom means those spaces absorb far more daily use than in a single let, so getting the layout right at conversion stage keeps common part repairs manageable rather than constant. See the full Redmead Road project here. 

When one tenant damages a shared space 

Here’s the part that catches landlords out. If one tenant damages something in a shared area, say a hole punched in a communal hallway wall, the manager’s duty to keep that common part in repair doesn’t disappear because a specific person caused it. You still have to fix it. What changes is that you may then separately pursue the tenant responsible for the cost. 

Occupiers have their own duties under the same regulations too: cooperating with the manager, allowing access when needed, and taking care not to damage what the manager is responsible for. Those duties support your position in a dispute, but don’t replace your obligation to keep common parts safe in the meantime. 

Getting the order of checks right 

When a repair request comes in, working through it in the right order saves a lot of back and forth. Start by confirming the tenancy type, since that determines whether the statutory duty applies at all. Then check whether the property is an HMO, because that adds the manager’s duty for common parts. From there, apply the tenant like manner test to how the property is being used, and the wear and tear test to anything raised at move-out. Finally, check what the tenancy agreement adds on top of the statutory minimum, since it can only add to your responsibilities, never reduce them. 

The documentation principle applies directly at this stage: if you can’t prove your position later, it barely matters how correct you were. Written rules, signed records, dated communication, and inspection logs are usually what a decision comes down to. Log each request, the date, and what you did about it. If your system feels reactive, our guides to planned preventative maintenance and day to day HMO management set out a more structured approach. 

What can go wrong if you get it wrong 

Getting the line wrong tends to show up at the worst moment. A deposit deduction for something that was actually your statutory responsibility can be overturned through adjudication, costing money and time. Ignoring a common part repair because you weren’t sure whose job it was can turn into an HHSRS complaint, or surface during a council inspection you weren’t expecting to fail. 

There’s also a wider shift landlords should have on their radar. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is being brought in over several phases, and some measures relevant to repairs and standards, including an extension of Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector, are not yet in force at the time of writing, so check gov.uk before assuming a timeline. Our guide to the wider set of HMO rules currently changing tracks this in more depth. 

None of this is complicated once the framework is clear. The cost of getting it wrong usually isn’t the repair itself, it’s the dispute that follows when nobody can point to a clear answer for who was responsible. 

Our free HMO landlord responsibilities checklist covers the wider picture: planning, licensing, and building regulations alongside management, all in one place. Our newsletter carries more of this kind of practical guidance: sign up here. 

If repair disputes keep resurfacing on a shared house, or you’re specifying a conversion and want to reduce this kind of disagreement before it starts, a free call with HMO Architects is a chance to walk through the property, talk through what’s actually happening, and work out where we can help and what the right next step looks like. Book a free call. 

FAQs 

Can I charge a tenant for a repair? 

Only if it falls within their responsibility, meaning it resulted from something beyond fair wear and tear. You cannot charge a tenant for a repair that falls under your statutory duty, even if the tenancy agreement suggests otherwise. 

What counts as fair wear and tear? 

Gradual deterioration from ordinary use, such as faded paintwork, flattened carpets, or a worn mattress. It doesn’t include damage from misuse or neglect, which sits with the tenant. 

Do HMO management rules apply if my property isn’t licensed? 

Yes. The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations 2006 apply to all HMOs, licensed or not. Licensing depends on size and occupancy, and not needing one doesn’t remove your management duties. 

What happens if a tenant refuses to report a repair? 

Your duty to repair is generally triggered once you know, or reasonably should know, about the problem. A tenant who delays reporting makes it harder for you to act promptly, and that delay is relevant if a dispute follows.