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Repairing your home: short lease tenants
Short leases are leases for periods of less than seven years. Short leases can be granted by private landlords, registered social landlords (such as housing associations) or public bodies such as local councils.
They include periodic tenancies where the tenant has not got a fixed term agreement and occupies property on, for example, a weekly or monthly basis. In some cases the arrangement between the parties will not be a tenancy but a licence.
What obligations does the tenant have?
Under common law, if you are a tenant then you must use the property in a responsible way. You must take proper care of it. For example:
- you should turn off the water if there is a risk of burst pipes when you are going away
- unblock the sink when it is clogged up by waste
- you should not damage the property and should make sure that your family and guests do not do so - if they do, you may be responsible for the damage
The landlord can seek possession where the tenant or someone living with him or her has damaged the property.
Apart from your duty to take care of the property, you generally only have to do repairs if the terms of your tenancy agreement say that you must. However, whatever the tenancy agreement says, you can't be made to do repairs for which the landlord is by law responsible.
For more information, read the housing booklets from the Department for Communities and Local Government on 'A better deal for council tenants - your Right to Repair', 'Assured and assured shorthold tenancies a guide for tenants' and 'Regulated tenancies'.
What happens if there is no written tenancy agreement?
A verbal agreement is subject to the law on repairs just like a written agreement, and the same provisions will apply. It is a good idea, though, to get any agreement set out in writing if you can.
What about licensees?
Licensors do not have the same obligations as landlords to keep a property in good repair. However, local councils require property to meet certain standards in the interests of public health and safety. If your property does not meet these standards, the council can order your licensor to carry out work or repairs to make sure that it does. The Environmental Health Department of your local council will be able to give you further information.
Repairs and rights
It does not matter what repairs you have done. Your security of tenure depends on the type of lease you have, not on your repairing obligations.
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