Private and housing association tenants
Advice and help
We want to support the private sector and local housing associations to provide good quality housing that is safe and secure. The Private Sector Housing and Public Health Team has powers under the law to force landlords to ensure that their properties are free from certain hazards. This service is free and available to any tenants who rent their property from a private landlord.
If you have a problem with disrepair in your property you should contact your landlord first and give them a reasonable time to carry out the repair. If your landlord fails to remedy the problem within a reasonable time you should contact us for help and/or advice.
If you are a Housing Association tenant you should contact the Housing Association to request repairs. If you feel they are not acting quickly enough or have not responded to your request you should contact them via their customer complaints procedure (details of this can usually be found on their website). If you have reported an urgent repair and they have not responded within a reasonable time (i.e. a severe water leak) you can contact us for help and/or advice.
Southwark's Private Tenancies team can also help you to settle disputes with your landlord regarding repairs or anything else to do with your tenancy such as your rent, deposit or your security of tenure for example. This is part of the Housing Options service.
