Repair request to a landlord
Something in your rented home needs fixing and you need it in writing.
Putting a repair in writing starts a clock. Verbal reports get denied later; a dated letter is the thing you point at if the matter reaches a council, a deposit scheme or a tribunal.
Say what is broken, when it started, whether you have reported it before, and when you can give access. Vagueness is what lets a repair sit in someone's pile.
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at the property needs repair. The problem began on.
Could someone come and look at it.
Thank you for arranging it.
Still to fill in: your full name, the rented address, their address, what needs repairing, what exactly is wrong, when it started, how bad is it.
A finished example
The same template with every field filled in. The names and details are invented.
The boiler at the property needs repair. The problem began on 28 July 2026. It is making the place difficult to live in properly.
The boiler fires briefly and then cuts out, showing a lockout code. It has to be reset to get any hot water at all, and it will not hold the heating on for more than about ten minutes. There has been no hot water in the mornings for the past fortnight.
I did mention this previously. I called the office on 29 July and spoke to Dan, then emailed the maintenance address on 5 August. An engineer was mentioned but no appointment was ever made.
Could someone look at it, or let me know a date, by 7 September 2026. I can give access weekdays after 4pm, or any time at weekends.
Thank you for arranging it.
Repair required at Flat 3, 88 Cranmer Street: the boiler Dear Ms Denise Hart, The boiler at the property needs repair. The problem began on 28 July 2026. It is making the place difficult to live in properly. The boiler fires briefly and then cuts out, showing a lockout code. It has to be reset to get any hot water at all, and it will not hold the heating on for more than about ten minutes. There has been no hot water in the mornings for the past fortnight. I did mention this previously. I called the office on 29 July and spoke to Dan, then emailed the maintenance address on 5 August. An engineer was mentioned but no appointment was ever made. Could someone look at it, or let me know a date, by 7 September 2026. I can give access weekdays after 4pm, or any time at weekends. Thank you for arranging it. Yours sincerely, Marcus Feld
Questions
- Why put a repair request in writing?
- Because a verbal report leaves no trace. If the repair drags on and you end up at a council, a deposit scheme or a tribunal, the first question asked is when you reported it, and a dated letter answers it.
- How long does a landlord have to fix something?
- It varies by country and by how serious the fault is. Genuine emergencies, meaning no heat, no water, no power or anything unsafe, are measured in days. Set a date in the letter rather than leaving it open.
- Can I withhold rent until it is fixed?
- Usually a bad idea. In many places it puts you in breach and at risk of eviction even when the landlord is in the wrong. Take advice before withholding anything.
- What if they still do nothing?
- Escalate to whoever regulates housing where you live, often a council's environmental health team. Name that step in the letter only if you intend to take it.
- Email or post?
- Email is fine and timestamps itself. For anything serious, post a copy as well with proof of delivery.