Complaining about your landlord

If you rent from a council or housing association

1. Report the repair, in writing

   This starts the Awaab's Law clock if the problem is a hazard. Use our reporting template.

2. Formal complaint, stage one then stage two

   A formal complaint is a different thing from a repair report, and saying so explicitly matters. Your landlord must handle it in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code.

3. Housing Ombudsman

   Free, independent, and it can order repairs and compensation. How the Housing Ombudsman works.

4. Environmental health, in parallel

   You can ask your council's environmental health team to inspect at the same time. If your landlord is the council, this creates an awkward but useful internal tension.

If you rent privately

1. Report it to your landlord or agent in writing

   Email, so you have a dated copy. Keep everything.

2. Council environmental health

   This is the strongest free route for private renters and the most overlooked. The council can inspect and serve an improvement notice requiring the work. Search your council's site for "report a problem with a private rented property".

3. Letting agent redress scheme

   If a letting agent manages the property, they must belong to a government-approved redress scheme. Complain to the agent first, then to their scheme.