This information is for private landlords.
Landlords must make sure a property meets minimum fitness and safety standards.
If you do not carry out essential repairs, your tenants may ask the local council to intervene.
Environmental health inspection
If your tenants think your property does not meet minimum fitness standards, they can ask the environmental health department in the local council to inspect it.
An environmental health officer will visit to carry out a fitness inspection.
Depending on how serious the issue is, the council may first try to deal with the issue informally. The officer will encourage you to carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe.
If you don’t respond or complete the repairs needed, the council can serve you a notice of unfitness, or a notice of disrepair.
Property fails the fitness inspection
If your property falls below the minimum fitness standards, the council will serve you with a notice of unfitness. Your tenants will also get a copy of this notice.
You can appeal a notice of unfitness within 21 days.
If your property was built before November 1945 and you are served a notice of unfitness, the amount of rent you can charge could be restricted.
Property passes the fitness inspection but in disrepair
If the officer determines that the property meets basic fitness standards, but is in a state of disrepair, they can issue a notice of disrepair. Your tenants will also get a copy of this notice.
You can appeal a notice of unfitness of disrepair within 21 days.
Getting a notice of disrepair does not affect the amount of rent you can charge.
Carrying out repairs and re-inspection
The notice you get includes:
- a list of repairs you must carry out to bring the property up to standard
- the deadline for completing the work
The deadline should be at least 21 days from the date on the notice. The council should reinspect the property after the deadline has passed to check if the work has been properly carried out.
If you have not completed the work, this is an offence. The council may decide to take enforcement action against you and you may end up in a costly court case.