Leaks and flooding in your rented home

If you rent your home, your landlord is usually responsible for dealing with leaks or flooding and repairing any damage caused. Report repairs to your landlord as soon as possible.

Your landlord's responsibilities

Your landlord is responsible for repairing:

• leaks from pipes or fixtures in your home

• leaks coming into your home from outside

• any damage to the property caused by leaks or flooding

If you notice a damp patch on a wall or ceiling, this could be a sign of a leak. Your landlord should investigate what’s causing it and do repairs to fix the issue. Check our advice on who’s responsible for damp and mould.

If there’s a leak from a neighbouring property

The owner of the property is responsible.

Your landlord should report the issue to the owner and arrange access to your home for any inspections or repairs that are needed.

Your responsibilities as a tenant

You must:

• report any signs of a leak or flooding as soon as you notice it

• give your landlord and workpeople access to your home so they can fix it

If you do not report the problem, you could be responsible for paying for any further damage it causes.

Check our advice on:

• reporting a repair to your private landlord or letting agent

• reporting a repair to your council or housing association

Insuring your belongings

Your landlord should fix damage to fixtures or furniture they provided, but you're responsible for repairing anything you own.

It's best to get contents insurance to protect your belongings. You do not have to do this, but it means you'll be protected if anything is damaged.

How long repairs should take

If you rent from the council or a housing association

The repair should usually be done within 1 working day if there’s a leak from water pipes, drains, tanks or toilets. If it’s not done on time, you could get compensation under the Right to Repair scheme.

If the leak has a different cause, it must be fixed within a reasonable time.

Check our advice on how long repairs should take in social housing.

If you rent from a private landlord or letting agent

There's no set time for leak or flood repairs. However, they should be done in a reasonable amount of time. What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances.

For example, if there's a serious leak that's causing damage to your home, it could be reasonable to ask your landlord to arrange emergency repairs within 1 working day. Further repairs to fix any damage could take longer.

To decide how long you think the repair should take, ask yourself:

• whether it’s an emergency

• what effect it’s having on you or people you live with

• how long is fair and realistic for your landlord to fix it

Check our advice if your private landlord is not doing repairs.

Flood damage in your home

If your home is flooded through no fault of your own, your landlord’s buildings insurance should cover repairs to the property, but it will not cover your belongings.

If you do not have insurance and you cannot afford to replace your furniture or other essentials, you could apply for a crisis grant or a community care grant.

If you cannot stay in your home because of flooding

Your tenancy agreement or your landlord's policies might say what happens if you need to move out while repair work is done.

Your landlord should usually either:

• provide you with somewhere else to stay – this is sometimes called decant accommodation

• let you use your rent money to find your own temporary place to stay

Get any agreements in writing.

If it’s not safe to stay in your home and your landlord will not give you alternative accommodation, you could get homeless help from the council. You should be given somewhere temporary to stay straight away if you need it.