What the statute actually says
For most residential tenancies of less than seven years, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies repairing covenants that cannot be contracted out of. The wording matters, so here it is:
- Section 11(1)(a): keep in repair "the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes)".
- Section 11(1)(b): keep in repair and proper working order "the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation".
- Section 11(1)(c): keep in repair and proper working order "the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water".
Where the let property is a flat rather than a whole house, section 11(1A) extends this: the structure obligation reaches "any part of the building in which the lessor has an estate or interest", and the installations obligation reaches an installation which "directly or indirectly, serves the dwelling-house" and which either forms part of a building the landlord has an interest in or "is owned by the lessor or under his control".
In practical terms that covers the incoming supply, the pipework, the cistern, the boiler and the heating circuit. It does not cover the tenant's washing machine or their dishwasher, and section 11(2) carves out anything the lessee is liable for "by virtue of his duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner".
Liability usually starts at notice
This is the point landlords most often miss and the one that matters most in a leak. The obligation is to repair, and for a defect within the let property the duty to repair generally arises once the landlord knows about it. The NRLA's guidance puts it as: "most of the time the tenant will be required to inform the landlord that a repair is needed before the landlord is obligated to fix it or liable for any breach of contract relating to it," with the exception that "this notice is only required in cases where the tenant has the controlling interest over the area where the disrepair has occurred and sometimes the landlord is liable immediately".
The consequence runs both ways. A landlord who has not been told about a slow leak behind a bath is in a different position from one who was told in March and sent someone in September. And a landlord who was told is on the clock from that date, which is why the date of the tenant's report is the first thing worth recording and the first thing anyone will later ask for.
Access: 24 hours in writing
You cannot repair what you cannot reach, and a detection survey needs the engineer inside. Section 11(6) implies a covenant by the tenant that the landlord, "or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours' notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises" to view their condition and state of repair.
The NRLA's guidance is consistent: "access requests should be made in writing, giving at least 24 hours notice." Three practical points follow.
- Authorise the contractor in writing. The statutory right extends to a person authorised in writing. A one-line email naming the engineer and the date costs nothing and closes an argument.
- Notice is not permission to let yourself in. The NRLA is blunt that where access has been refused, "entering without their permission may be considered a criminal act. Given this, it is not advisable for you to enter the property after access has been refused."
- Document refusals. The NRLA's advice where a tenant refuses is to record it and, depending on severity, pursue remedies such as an injunction rather than force entry.
Where water is actively damaging the property or a neighbouring flat and the tenant cannot be reached, that is an emergency judgment with real legal risk attached, and it is worth taking advice rather than acting on assumption.
What sits with the tenant
The NRLA describes the tenant's duty as using the property in a "tenant-like manner", doing "the little jobs around the house that someone would normally do as a householder, such as changing fuses, unblocking sinks and cleaning windows", while not being expected to repair fair wear and tear. On leaks specifically, that usually means:
| Item | Usually |
|---|
| Failed pipework, cistern, boiler, heating circuit | Landlord, under s.11 |
| Structure, roof, external pipes, gutters | Landlord, under s.11(1)(a) |
| Tenant’s own washing machine or dishwasher hose | Tenant |
| Blocked sink or shower trap the tenant caused | Tenant, as a tenant-like job |
| Damage from a bath left running | Tenant |
| Reporting a leak promptly, and allowing access | Tenant |
Insurance
Landlord buildings insurance is where the damage goes, and the trap is the same one homeowners hit. The NRLA warns that trace and access cover "does not come as standard on all landlord policies", and notes, citing insurer data, that escape of water accounted for 28.63% of claims in 2024. Check your schedule for a trace and access limit before you instruct a detection visit, because on some landlord policies that cost is entirely yours.
The landlord's policy does not cover the tenant's belongings. Those sit on the tenant's own contents cover, which is worth pointing out at the start of a tenancy; does contents insurance cover leaks explains what that policy will and will not pay for.
The NRLA's other point is worth taking seriously: "proactive maintenance is not only good practice, but it also strengthens your position should a claim arise." Annual plumbing and heating checks, insulated pipework and a record of both are what stop a claim being reframed as gradual damage. The Financial Ombudsman's guidance to insurers on gradual damage looks at whether the policyholder "couldn't reasonably have been aware of the damage happening gradually" — a landlord with inspection records is in a much better position on that question than one without.
Getting it found without a fight
The most common landlord leak is the one the tenant reports as a smell, a stain or a boiler that keeps needing topping up, with nothing visible. Non-invasive detection matters more here than anywhere, because you are working around somebody's home: isolation and pressure testing by circuit, thermal imaging through floors, moisture mapping, and tracer gas where the rest cannot reach. Nothing is opened until the point is located.
Detection is charged at our hourly rate, agreed before attendance, with no fee for the search time if we do not find it. Trace, access and reinstatement covers the repair and the making good, and boiler and heating pressure is the place to start if the symptom is a gauge that will not hold. If a managing agent is involved rather than you directly, block-managed leaks covers how that works.
