The Secure Tenancies (Right to Repair Scheme) Regulations 1985

Landlord's response to tenant's default notice

10.—(1) Within 7 days of the service of a default notice in Form 4, the landlord shall (unless the notice is withdrawn) either accept the tenant's repair claim in accordance with paragraph 7 and serve on the tenant a notice in Form 3 or, as the case may be, serve on the tenant a notice in Form 5 refusing the tenant's repair claim and the default notice.

(2) The landlord shall refuse the tenant's repair claim and the default notice where either—

(i) the conditions for serving a default notice have not been fulfilled; or

(ii) any of the grounds in Part I of Annex B to this scheme applies.

(3) The landlord may refuse the tenant's repair claim and the default notice—

(a) on any one or more of grounds 4, 7 and 8;

(b) on the ground that the landlord intends to carry out the landlord's works within 7 days of service on the tenant of a notice in Form 5; or

(c) on the ground that the landlord has served on the tenant a notice in Form 2, specifying ground 5 or ground 6, and the landlord reasonably requires access to the dwelling-house in order to carry out the landlord's works, but the tenant has failed to provide such access, although he has been given a reasonable opportunity to do so.

(4) A notice in Form 5 shall contain the following particulars—

(a) every ground for refusal of the tenant's repair claim and the default notice, together with an explanation of the landlord's reasons for relying on that ground;

(b) where ground 1, ground 4 or the ground in sub-paragraph (3)(b) above is relied on, the amount of the landlord's costs; and

(c) where ground 3 is relied on, the landlord's works and the amount of the landlord's costs.