Repairs if you rent from the council or housing association

Complaining about repairs

If the council or housing association will not do repair work they're responsible for, make a complaint.

You can also speak to a solicitor, complain to the ombudsman and contact environmental health.

Keep reporting the repair issue to the council or housing association while you complain.

You cannot be evicted for asking for repairs to be done.

When to complain

Make a complaint to the council or housing association if repairs they're responsible for:

are not done
are done badly
are delayed or not finished
have caused other repair problems
have damaged internal decorations or your belongings

Step 1: send a formal complaint

Contact the council or housing association and tell them about the issue. They should respond within 5 working days.

You can find their contact details online, in your tenant handbook or in your tenancy agreement. In some cases, there's a complaint form or portal that you should use.

Your complaint should say:

what you're complaining about
when the problem started
when and how you reported it
what you want them to do

Include your contact details and evidence of the problem, for example:

receipts for things you’ve replaced
a doctor’s note if your health has been affected
photos or videos of the repair and items damaged by the problem
inspection notes by an expert

You can use this letter template to help you to make a complaint. Copy and paste the sample text and personalise it with your details.

Letter template: complain about repairs to the council or housing association

Subject: Complaint about repairs at <your address>

To <council or housing association>

I contacted you on <date> to ask for repair work at <your address>. The repairs needed are <describe the repairs>.

I am making a complaint because <example: the repairs have not been done / the repairs were done badly / the repair work damaged my other belongings >.

I'm concerned because <example: it's causing damage to my home / affecting my health / making my home unsafe>.

I have provided the following evidence:
<list the evidence you have given>

I ask that you <what you want them to do> within <number of days>.

Please respond in writing within 5 working days and tell me what you'll do to fix the problem.

Thank you,

You can also send the letter as an email attachment or through the post:

Step 2: ask for a final response

Ask the council or housing association for a final response if:

you're not satisfied with their response
they have not done what they said they would
they have not responded within 5 working days

A different member of staff will look at your complaint and give their final response. This is sometimes called a stage 2 complaint.

They must send you a final response within 20 working days.

Other action you can take

If making a complaint has not resolved things, there are different options depending on your circumstances and needs. You could:

speak to a solicitor
complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
contact environmental health
consider doing repairs yourself
get advice

Speak to a solicitor

Solicitors can negotiate with the council or housing association on your behalf or recommend what court action to take.

You can find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland's website.

Solicitors usually charge for their work. Check if you're eligible for free legal advice or legal aid.

Complain to the ombudsman

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman make sure complaints have been dealt with properly. If they find an issue, they recommend how to resolve it. Their process can take several months.

The ombudsman will only deal with your complaint if all of these apply:

you've already followed the council or housing association complaints procedure
you have not taken court action about the issue
you submit your complaint within 1 year of the problem starting

Submit a complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Contact environmental health

The council's environmental health team can take action if repairs are affecting your health or making your home unfit to live in.

Environmental health can usually only help if both:

you rent from a housing association
you've already followed the complaints procedure

You can use our template letter to contact environmental health. Copy and paste the sample text and personalise it with your details. Include as much evidence as possible, for example:

photos of the repair problem
copies of emails and letters you sent to the housing association
a letter from your doctor explaining how the repair is affecting your health

Letter template: report repair problems to environmental health

Subject: My home is unsafe

To the environmental health team,

My rented home at <your address> has the following repair problems: <the repair problems in your home>.

I reported the repairs to my landlord on <date>. I gave them reasonable time to do the repairs, but they have still not been done.

This is prejudicial to <my / my family's> health because <give details of how it's affecting your or your family's health or safety>.

I have attached evidence of the repair problem, copies of communication with my landlord and <other evidence, for example: a letter from my GP / a dampness survey>.

My landlord is <your landlord’s name and address>.

I'm asking for your assistance to get my landlord to do repairs in my home. Please contact me to discuss any next steps.

Thank you

You can also send the letter as an email attachment or through the post:

Word template: contact environmental health (docx, 16 kb)
OpenDocument template letter: contact environmental health (odt, 9 kb)

Consider doing repairs yourself

If the repairs are minor or urgent, you could consider arranging repairs yourself and asking the council or housing association to pay you back.

This can be risky and is not usually recommended. The council or housing association could try to evict or sue you if the repairs are done poorly or cause any damage. There's no guarantee that they will pay you back for the repair.

Always contact the council or housing association first and give them enough time to fix the problem. Check our advice on doing repairs yourself.

Get advice

If your situation is complicated or you're not sure what to do next, you can:

Last updated: 24 October 2024