Repairs

The landlord needs to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair. They must also comply with all legislative building, health and safety requirements. That means keeping the plumbing, electrical wiring and anything to do with the structure of the house safe and working properly.

It is in the landlord’s best interests to keep a building well maintained. You must let them know about any damage to the premises or need for repairs as soon as possible after you discover them.

If the landlord has had reasonable time to do the repairs, but hasn’t done them, you should contact the Department of Building and Housing. We can advise you about the next step to take. This may involve giving the landlord a letter giving a set amount of time to carry out the work.

If the work is not done, the next step would be to make a Tenancy Tribunal application. A tenant could ask for an order the Tribunal for an Order that the landlord do the work, for compensation to get the work done, or for the tenancy to be ended. (The ‘14 days' notice – breach of landlord responsibilities (from tenant)’ template letter is for a tenant to send to a landlord who hasn’t met their responsibilities. It notifies the landlord that they have 14 days to fix the situation.)

Urgent repairs

If the state of disrepair is likely to cause injury to people or property or is otherwise serious and urgent and if you have tried unsuccessfully to contact the landlord, you are entitled to have the repair work done and to ask the landlord to reimburse you for it.