Home / Free property tools / Repair request builder

Free property tool. For tenants

Repair request letter template for tenants

Write a clear, dated repair request to your landlord or letting agent in two minutes. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere: copy it, print it or open it in your own email. Free, no sign-up.

Repair request builder

How to write a repair request letter to your landlord

A dated written request is the first thing a council, a redress scheme or a court asks for. This builder writes one for you, quoting the landlord's repair duties, and you keep the copy.

Is it urgent?

A smell of gas: open windows, do not use switches or flames, leave, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, free, at any hour.
Sparks, burning smells or bare wires: switch the circuit off at the consumer unit if you safely can.
No heating or hot water in cold weather, a major leak, no water, sewage, or a front door that will not lock: phone your landlord or agent today, then send this letter so there is a record.

If SYND manages your home, call or email us on the contact page and we arrange the repair with the landlord.

All fifteen free tools

Your name

Landlord or agent's name

Address of the home, with postcode

What is wrong

Where in the home

Describe it in a sentence or two

When it started

First reported on (if before today)

How it affects you

When you can give access

Reply to me by

Landlord or agent's email (only to open your email app)

Nothing on this form is saved or sent by this website. Clear the page and it is gone.

Your letter

Repair request letter template, ready to send

It updates as you type. Copy it into an email or a message, print it, or open it in your own email app.

Repair request written with SYND Properties' free tool

[Date]

To: The landlord or letting agent
From: [Your name], tenant at [Address of the home]

Repair request: [what is wrong] at [Address of the home]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to report a repair that is needed at the property above, where I am the tenant.

The problem: [what is wrong, and where in the home].

Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 the landlord is responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of the home, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water, in repair. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 the home must also be fit to live in throughout the tenancy.

Please arrange for the problem to be inspected and put right within a reasonable time, and confirm in writing by [a date two weeks from today] when the work will be done.

I can give access at a time we agree. Please give me at least 24 hours' notice in writing of any visit, as the law requires, unless it is an emergency.

I will keep a copy of this letter and a note of any reply. Please reply in writing.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

Open in my email app

Keep a copy, note the date you sent it, and take photos of the problem. If you send it by post, ask for proof of posting. If your email app opens with the letter cut short, copy it and paste it instead.

If nothing happens

Write again with a date. Send the letter a second time, say when you first reported the problem, and give a clear date by which you expect a reply.
Complain to the agent. If a letting agent manages the home, use their complaints procedure. Every agent must belong to a government-approved redress scheme you can go to next.
Ask the council. Your council's private sector housing team can inspect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and order the landlord to act. Start at find your local council; in Essex that is your district council, such as Harlow Council or Chelmsford City Council.
Court is the last resort. A court can order repairs and award compensation under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Get advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice first.

Since 1 May 2026 a landlord cannot end a tenancy with a section 21 notice, so asking for repairs cannot cost you your home on its own; a landlord now needs a legal ground to seek possession. Awaab's Law sets fixed repair deadlines for social landlords and the government has said it will extend them to private landlords, with the date still to be set as of 12 October 2026.

For landlords

Repairs, handled

In full management SYND takes the tenant's report, arranges a vetted contractor, keeps the record and tells you before any work is ordered. Works arranged by SYND are charged at 12% of the contractor's invoice, minimum £25, and you pay the contractor directly. Full management itself is 12% of the rent actually paid.

SYND Properties is a trading name of SYND LTD, a member of Property Redress (no. PRS044043). No VAT is charged because SYND LTD is not VAT registered. Full fees on our fees page.

See what full management includes Ask Stephen to call you back

Questions

Repairs in a rented home, answered

What is my landlord responsible for repairing?

The structure and exterior of the home, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and hot water, under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The home must also be fit to live in throughout the tenancy under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Damage you or your visitors cause is yours to put right.

How long should a repair take?

The law says a reasonable time, which depends on the problem: a day or two for a home with no heating in winter, longer for a cosmetic repair. GOV.UK says the landlord should tell you when to expect the work. Asking for written confirmation of a date, as this letter does, is the quickest way to pin that down.

Can I stop paying rent until it is fixed?

No. Withholding rent puts you in arrears and weakens your position. Keep paying, keep records, and use the steps above instead.

Do I have to let the landlord in?

You must allow access for inspections and repairs at reasonable times, and the landlord must give you at least 24 hours' notice in writing except in an emergency. Offering times in your letter avoids a stand-off.

Can my landlord evict me for asking for repairs?

Not on its own. Since 1 May 2026 section 21 notices no longer exist in England, so a landlord needs one of the legal grounds in the Renters' Rights Act to seek possession, and a court decides. Keep your written requests: they are your evidence if a notice follows a complaint.

Does this website keep what I type?

No. The letter is built in your browser and nothing is sent to SYND or anyone else unless you copy it, print it or open it in your own email app.

Facts on this page checked on 12 October 2026 against GOV.UK private renting: repairs, Shelter and the GOV.UK guide to the Renters' Rights Act. England only. General information, not legal advice.