0151 665 0320When a landlord will not deal with a serious problem, tenants usually have two routes. Most people only know about the first.
The short version: the council route is free but you are not in control of it. The section 82 route puts you in control and can recover your costs, but it needs the notice served correctly.
Route one: the council
Report it to environmental health at your local council. They have a duty to inspect. Councils assess hazards using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and where they find a statutory nuisance they must serve an abatement notice on the landlord.
Strengths: free, carries real weight, and a council report is powerful evidence if you later go to court.
Weaknesses: you have no control over timing, environmental health teams are stretched, and councils will not act against themselves. If your landlord is the council, this route is closed to you and section 82 becomes the main option.
Route two: your own section 82 claim
You serve 21 days’ written notice on the landlord under section 82(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If nothing changes, you lay a complaint in the magistrates’ court.
Strengths: you set the pace, the court must make an order if satisfied the nuisance exists, and under section 82(12) the court must order the landlord to pay your properly incurred expenses if the nuisance existed when you complained. That costs rule is what allows these to be run with nothing to pay up front.
Weaknesses: it is a criminal prosecution with the formality that brings, and the notice has to be right.
Which to pick
| Your situation | Usually better |
|---|---|
| Landlord is the council | Section 82 |
| You need work done fast | Section 82 |
| You cannot afford anything up front | Either, but section 82 recovers costs |
| You have already reported and been ignored | Section 82 |
| You want a free first step | Council |
| You also want damages for ruined belongings | A civil disrepair claim alongside |
What about Awaab’s Law?
Worth being clear, because there is a lot of confusion. As at September 2026 Awaab’s Law applies only to social housing, where it has set strict investigation and repair deadlines since 27 October 2025. The Renters’ Rights Act allows the government to extend it to private landlords, but it has not done so yet.
If you rent privately, your route today is the council or section 82, not Awaab’s Law.
Before you do either
Put it in writing to your landlord and give them a fair chance to fix it. Photograph everything with dates. Keep every reply. That record is what makes either route work.
Related guides
- Section 82: taking a landlord to court over damp and mould
- What counts as a statutory nuisance in a rented home
- Free tenancy deposit check
Sources: Environmental Protection Act 1990, sections 79 and 82 (legislation.gov.uk). This article is general information, not legal advice on your situation.