Letter to the Council About Repairs: A Guide for Council and Housing Association Tenants

Repair request or complaint: know which one you are sending

Social landlords treat reporting a repair and making a complaint as two different things. The first time you tell them about a problem it is usually logged as a service request. It becomes a complaint when you say you are unhappy with how the landlord has acted, or failed to act. Under the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, a complaint is "an expression of dissatisfaction, however made", and you do not have to use the word complaint. Using it anyway removes any doubt about which process you are in. Complaining should not slow the repair down either: the Code says landlords must not stop their efforts to address the service request because you complained.

Awaab's Law: the fixed deadlines (England)

Awaab's Law applies to registered providers of social housing, which includes councils and housing associations. The clock starts when the landlord becomes aware of the hazard, whether from your report, an inspection or a contractor. That day counts as day zero, and working days are counted from the next working day. Phase 1 covers emergency hazards and damp and mould that presents a significant risk of harm. Phase 2, due on 30 November 2026, extends the same approach to hazards including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. Until then, those hazards are covered by the ordinary duty to repair within a reasonable time.

The complaints timescales your landlord works to

Since April 2024 the Complaint Handling Code has been a legal requirement for social landlords. It sets out a two-stage process with set response times. If the landlord needs longer, it has to explain why and give you the Housing Ombudsman's contact details. Dates matter here, so note when you sent each letter.

Taking it to the Housing Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman handles complaints about councils and housing associations as landlords, and it is free. It normally investigates once you have been through the landlord's complaints process. If the landlord is not responding in line with its procedure, the Ombudsman can step in to get a response. You have 12 months from the landlord's stage 2 response to refer your complaint, and it is unlikely to investigate after that without good reason for the delay. You can also ask your local councillor or MP for help alongside this. Awaab's Law also becomes a term of social tenancies, so a tenant can take court action for breach of it. That is a bigger step, so get advice from Shelter, Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor first.

How this differs from renting privately

If you rent from a private landlord, Awaab's Law and the Housing Ombudsman do not apply in the same way, and the route usually runs through your council's environmental health team. The private-renting guide below covers that. The rules on this page are for England. Wales and Scotland have their own housing law and their own ombudsman routes, so check the rules where you live before you quote a deadline.

Repair complaint to a council or housing association

Edit this template with your facts, dates, and requested outcome before sending.

Subject: Formal complaint — outstanding repair at [address] — tenancy ref [reference]

Dear [Housing Officer / Repairs Team],

I am the tenant at [address]. I am writing to make a formal complaint under your complaints procedure about an outstanding repair.

On [date] I reported [describe the problem and where it is] by [phone / online portal / email], reference [repair reference if you have one]. [Describe what happened next — for example, an appointment on [date] that nobody attended, a temporary fix on [date], or no contact at all.] The problem is still there and [describe the current effect, such as a room that cannot be used or no working heating].

[If it is damp and mould or an emergency hazard: I understand that under the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 (Awaab's Law) you are required to investigate [emergency hazards within 24 hours / significant damp and mould hazards within 10 working days] of becoming aware of them. [Add anything relevant about the household, for example a child, an older person or someone with a respiratory condition.]]

I am asking you to:
1. Confirm when the repair will be inspected and completed.
2. Explain why it has not been done since [date].
3. Respond to this complaint in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code.

Please acknowledge this complaint in writing. Photographs and a record of my earlier reports are attached.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Phone / email]

Common mistakes to avoid

• ✕Reporting the same repair again and again without ever saying it is a formal complaint, so the complaints clock never starts
• ✕Quoting Awaab's Law for a problem it does not yet cover. Until 30 November 2026 it applies only to emergency hazards and significant damp and mould
• ✕Not recording the date the landlord first knew about the problem, which is the date the deadlines run from
• ✕Going to the Housing Ombudsman before the landlord has had the chance to respond at stage 1 and stage 2
• ✕Letting the 12 months after the stage 2 response pass while hoping the repair will eventually happen
• ✕Stopping rent payments. Shelter advises you to keep paying rent while you sort out repair problems

Next steps

1. 1Find the date you first reported the problem and any repair reference
2. 2Photograph or video the problem as it is now
3. 3Send a written formal complaint that quotes those dates and says what you want done
4. 4Diarise the stage 1 deadlines and ask for escalation to stage 2 if the response does not fix it
5. 5If stage 2 does not resolve it, refer the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman within 12 months