Repairs & Maintenance Responsibilities

Needless to say, every landlord should ensure they provide a comfortable and safe living environment for their lodger, regardless of what is legally required.

Landlords letting to lodgers are NOT regulated by the Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, which covers the landlords (with tenants) responsibility to keep the property in good repair. So lodger landlords don’t have the same repair responsibilities.

However, all residential properties are subject to basic healthy and safety standards enforced by local authorities, and lodger landlords are still responsible for making sure the property is in proper condition. Ultimately, a home must be fit for habitation whatever the arrangement of people living in it.

Lodgers right to lodge a complaint

If your lodger has concerns over the condition of the property, they can lodge a complaint to the local authorities, and consequently a local authority Environmental Health officer could visit your property and carry out a Health and Safety inspection, and then recommend some repairs.

The important thing to remember is that you should always keep your property in generally safe condition to avoid any issues.

Besides from the general maintenance responsibilities, you also have certain responsibilities for gas and electrical safety, and furnishings, which is covered in the legal obligations article.

Here are a points regarding the matter on the GOV website:

Major repairs

Responsibility for major repairs generally rests with the landlord.

Damage in communal areas

Unless there is express agreement to the contrary, the landlord will retain responsibility for common parts, such as staircases.

Damage caused by lodger

A tenant (I’m assuming this also applies to lodgers) is under a duty to use the property in a proper, “tenant-like manner”, and you (the landlord) would not be responsible for repairing damage caused by his or her failure to do so.