The Homes Act landlord guidance explains the fitness duty and exceptions. Council hazard enforcement is a separate route. The property’s condition, not simply whether a certificate is in date, determines the practical work needed.
Separate the assessment from the enforcement route
Fitness obligations and the council's Housing Health and Safety Rating System are related but distinct. A landlord does not issue themselves a statutory HHSRS clearance by completing an inspection.
- Inspect the home for hazards affecting ordinary use, including damp, cold, falls, fire, electrics, sanitation and security.
- Record relevant common parts and building defects that affect the dwelling. If a freeholder or managing agent controls them, notify them promptly and follow up.
- Consider the actual occupants and reported effects. Do not dismiss a problem because another tenant previously lived with it.
Prioritise and investigate
An inspection should produce actions that can be completed and checked.
- Make immediate hazards safe through a competent person. Where the cause is uncertain, commission an investigation rather than a cosmetic treatment.
- Describe the defect, affected rooms, interim arrangements and proposed repair. Give the tenant a realistic update date and revise it if circumstances change.
- Keep access requests and responses. Difficulty obtaining access requires documented efforts and appropriate advice, not abandonment of the repair task.
Handle complaints and council involvement
Use the same factual chronology for the tenant, contractor and any professional adviser.
- Preserve reports, photographs, inspections, instructions and completed-work evidence. Distinguish what was reported from what was independently found.
- Read any council notice carefully, including the required work and appeal or compliance dates. A contractor appointment does not by itself satisfy a statutory notice.
- Check the home after work and ask whether the problem persists. If a dispute about fitness or compensation remains, obtain advice on the specific facts.
Example: a fault belongs to the building exterior
A fictional flat has water penetration from the roof controlled by a freeholder. The landlord should report it through the building's management route, document the effect inside the flat and follow progress. Telling the tenant that the roof is somebody else's responsibility does not resolve the condition of their home.
What to do
- Inspect reported defects and the wider condition.
- Identify an appropriate qualified contractor or surveyor.
- Keep the tenant informed and check that repairs solve the cause.
Evidence to keep
- Inspection findings and repair history
- Communications and follow-up photographs
Sources and guidance
- Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act: landlord guideUK Government · checked 20 October 2026