Agents and landlords are still in the dark as to exactly how they should respond to a tenant’s request for repairs.

ARLA has criticised the lack of official guidance and expressed concern over the “uncertainties” surrounding the new legislation.

With the days ticking by quickly, the change under the Deregulation Act kicks in on October 1, affecting every tenancy in England starting on or after that date.

The change means increased litigation and operational risks for landlords and agents.

They will have to provide an “adequate” response to repair requests within 14 days. Failure could mean that the Section 21 process cannot be used.

For the response to be adequate, it will have to be given in writing and not on the phone.

The response will have to state what works will be carried out, and give a reasonable timeframe for their completion.

The new law clamping down on so-called retaliatory evictions does not, however, say what a reasonable timeframe will be.

It appears that factors would include the vulnerability of tenants and the nature of the complaint. However, all complaints, no matter how seemingly trivial, would have to be dealt with to the letter of the law.

If a response is not deemed “adequate”, the local authority may serve an improvement or emergency remedial notice, meaning that the Section 21 procedure cannot be used for six months.

Repairs software specialist supplier Fixflo has launched an upgrade to help to protect agencies in the light of impending changes.

The changes include a detailed and structured immediate response to tenants for every repair request received, a workflow for handling communications in cases involving vulnerable occupiers, and the automatic compilation of time and date stamped repair requests and responses which can be accessed and annexed to a Section 21 notice.

The upgrade is being made available at no additional cost to all existing Fixflo clients.

David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said: “While agencies will need to take their own legal advice and no liability is accepted due to the uncertainties surrounding this legislation, in the absence of further government guidance ARLA considers that the Fixflo system for dealing with the need to provide an adequate response constitutes best practice for the industry.”

Robert Bolwell, partner and head of the landlord and tenant practice group at Dutton Gregory Solicitors, said: “The Deregulation Act 2015 has marked a sea change in the way in which landlords can behave when confronted by a genuine disrepair issue raised by a residential tenant.

“It is now vital that landlords and their professional advisers have in place systems to respond quickly to a tenant’s complaint, no matter how trivial that complaint may seem at the outset.”

A video of Fixflo MD Rajeev Nayyar discussing the changes with housing law specialist Tessa Shepperson is available here

A free downloadable guide to the change in law produced by ARLA and Fixflo is available here