Why reporting problems early helps you

If you have an older, protected tenancy, what is ours to fix can depend on when your tenancy began and on your agreement, but please still tell us about anything at all. See Repairs if you're a protected tenant.

If something in your home is not working as it should, please tell us. A dripping tap, a sticking window or a damp patch is never a bother to hear about. It is exactly what we want to know.

Small problems are easier to fix

Small faults have a way of growing. The Energy Saving Trust points out that leaks from plumbing faults can quickly build up, often where you cannot see them, and that rain can get in through leaking roofs or damaged guttering. Caught early, a fix is usually quicker, simpler and less disruptive for you. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme gives the same advice: report maintenance issues as soon as possible, because delay can lead to further damage.

For anything that could affect your health, such as faulty electrical wiring, gov.uk advises contacting your landlord straight away.

What is ours to fix

Repairs to the structure and exterior of your home, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings, pipes and drains, heating and hot water, gas appliances and electrical wiring are always the landlord's responsibility (gov.uk). You cannot be made to do repairs that are ours.

How to tell us

• Email admin@rlancaster.co.uk, or phone, text or WhatsApp 07398 042 999. We reply in normal business hours.
• Send a photo or a short video if you can. It helps us understand the problem and plan the fix.
• Say where it is, when you first noticed it and whether it is getting worse.
• Keep your messages. A written record is useful for both of us.

In an emergency

If anyone is in danger, call 999. If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For a power cut, call 105. Then let us know as soon as you safely can.

Find out more

• Private renting: repairs (gov.uk)
• Check how to get repairs done in your rented home (official checker linked from gov.uk)
• National Gas emergency contacts