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Housing disrepair inspection
An inspection of reported disrepair for landlords and their surveyors. Record the claim reference, the date of the letter of claim and the landlord's response, and the form shows the calendar days since the letter. Note access and whether it was a joint inspection, then add each room as a space with the defect, category, likely cause, whether it is the landlord's repair, damp readings, photos, the work needed and priority. The form counts the landlord's repairs and emergency items, records when the tenant was told about emergency works, and sets the actions. Every question is listed below, and you can fill the live form in on this page.
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What are a landlord's repairing obligations?
For most leases of a home granted for less than 7 years, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes, and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation, and for space heating and heating water. A disrepair inspection records each defect, whether it is the landlord's to repair, its likely cause and the work needed.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 17 October 2026 against section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (repairing obligations), Ministry of Justice: Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England), GOV.UK: guide for landlords, Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and GOV.UK: Awaab's Law guidance for social landlords (timeframes for repairs).
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Every question in the housing disrepair template
A housing disrepair inspection for landlords responding to a claim: claim dates, access, each room as a space with defects, repairing obligation, likely cause, damp readings and photos, a schedule of works and actions. 3 sections and 56 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Client: the project's customer
- Site: the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
Claim and access
- ProjectShort answerFills in from the project name
- ClientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Site*Short answerFills in from the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Property locationShort answer
Mark it at the front door. On an estate it shows which home was inspected. Tap Mark current location on site. It saves the coordinates, a grid reference and the accuracy.
- Inspection date*Date
- TimeTime
- Surveyor*Short answer
- Claim or complaint referenceShort answer
- Date of the letter of claim or complaintDate
- Days since the letter (calendar days)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- WarningThe letter date is after the inspection date. Check both dates.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Date of the landlord's response to the letterDate
- CheckPre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England): the landlord should normally reply within 20 working days of receiving the letter of claim (receipt is taken as two days after the date of the letter), and the property should be inspected within 20 working days of the landlord's response. The days shown on this form are calendar days, not working days.
- Was the tenant present?Yes or No
- Joint inspection with the tenant's expert?Yes or No
- Access notes (refused, no answer, partial)Short answer
- Weather captureAnswer
Record estimated current conditions and add what you observe on site.
Rooms and defects
- GuidanceSection 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 applies to most leases of a home granted for less than 7 years. The landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior (including drains, gutters and external pipes), and keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation, and for space heating and heating water. It does not cover work the tenant is liable for by using the home in a tenant-like manner.
- GuidanceLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A (added by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018) implies a covenant in most tenancies in England that the home is fit for human habitation at the start and throughout the tenancy, judged against matters including the HHSRS hazards.
- GuidanceAwaab's Law. The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 came into force on 27 October 2025 for social landlords in England. They set time limits to investigate and fix damp and mould and emergency hazards, with further hazards added in later phases. They do not apply to private landlords.
- RoomsRepeat for each room. Each one asks:
- Room*Short answer
- Defect found*Notes
- CategoryChoose one
- Structure or exterior
- Water, drainage or sanitation
- Gas or electrical installation
- Heating or hot water
- Damp and mould
- Windows and doors
- Internal decoration
- Other
- Likely causeChoose one
- Disrepair
- Condensation
- Tenant damage
- Not known yet
- Landlord's repair?Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
- Damp meter reading on the affected area (as displayed)Number
On plaster a meter gives a relative reading, not a moisture content. Compare it with a dry wall.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant - Reading on a dry wall in the same homeNumberShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Affected area above the dry wall (meter units)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Width of the damp or mould (m)Number
Measure from a photo with a door, a socket plate or an A4 sheet on the same wall, or use a tape. Measuring from a photo gives an estimate.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant - Height of the damp or mould (m)NumberShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Area affected (m²)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckSocial landlords: the government's Awaab's Law guidance says not to assume damp and mould is caused by the tenant's lifestyle. Record the evidence for the cause you have chosen.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- PhotosPhotos
- Work neededShort answer
- PriorityChoose one
- Emergency
- Urgent
- Routine
- More defects in this roomRepeat for each defect. Each one asks:
- Defect found*Notes
- CategoryChoose one
- Structure or exterior
- Water, drainage or sanitation
- Gas or electrical installation
- Heating or hot water
- Damp and mould
- Windows and doors
- Internal decoration
- Other
- Likely causeChoose one
- Disrepair
- Condensation
- Tenant damage
- Not known yet
- Landlord's repair?Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
- Damp meter reading (as displayed)NumberShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- PhotosPhotos
- Work neededShort answer
- PriorityChoose one
- Emergency
- Urgent
- Routine
- Defects recordedWorked out by the form
- Defects that are the landlord's to repairWorked out by the form
- Emergency itemsWorked out by the form
- UrgentWorked out by the form
- RoutineWorked out by the form
- Damp and mould, total area measured (m²)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Damp and mould put down to condensationWorked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- WarningEmergency items found. Raise the works now and record when the tenant was told.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- When and how the tenant was told about the emergency worksShort answerShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Walk Cam: disrepair walk-roundWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film a guided walk-through on the SiteSurvey app; each clip keeps its spoken note.
Actions and sign-off
- Are further actions needed?Yes or No
- Further actionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
- What needs doing?*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Urgent
- High
- Medium
- Low
- Who will do it?Short answer
- Due dateDate
- StatusChoose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Inspector name*Short answer
- Position or companyShort answer
- Inspector signatureSignature
- CheckSigning records what was found on the day. It does not make unsafe equipment safe or replace a thorough examination, design check or service by a competent person.
See it filled in
A completed housing disrepair report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Housing disrepair FAQs
What timescales apply to a disrepair claim?
Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England), the landlord should normally reply within 20 working days of receiving the letter of claim (receipt is taken as two days after the date of the letter), and the property should be inspected within 20 working days of the landlord's response. The form records both dates; its day count is in calendar days.
Why record the likely cause?
Section 11 does not cover work the tenant is liable for by using the home in a tenant-like manner, so the cause matters. Record the cause you find with photos and readings. For social landlords, the government's Awaab's Law guidance says not to assume damp and mould is caused by the tenant's lifestyle.
What about damp and mould?
Record a damp meter reading and photos for each damp defect. Social landlords must also meet Awaab's Law timescales: under the government's guidance, a potential significant hazard must be investigated within 10 working days, and an emergency hazard investigated and made safe within 24 hours.
Does each room get recorded?
Yes. Each room becomes a space in the project with its defects and photos, which feeds the schedule of works.
What about fitness for habitation?
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires landlords to make sure rented homes, including common parts, are fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout. The government's guide says the courts decide fitness and an HHSRS assessment is not required, but a landlord may choose one to find out whether a serious hazard is present.
Who uses this?
Housing associations, councils, private landlords, disrepair surveyors and claims teams.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the housing disrepair form
A noise and anti-social behaviour diary: each incident with date, start and end time, what happened, where it came from, the effect, witnesses and recordings, for evidence to a landlord or council.
An Awaab's Law hazard record for social landlords: the report, triage, investigation, rooms affected with the measured damp or mould, the written summary, safety and preventative work and every update to the tenant, with working days counted against the fixed timeframes.
An HHSRS hazard assessment on the June 2026 scheme: each of the 21 hazards with its deficiencies, likelihood, spread of harm, the reasons for the scores and the hazard score worked out by the formula, banded high, medium or low.
Room by room damp and mould inspection with causes, HHSRS hazard check, photos and remedial actions. Built for Awaab's Law timescales.
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