Who cleans the gutters: landlord or tenant?

Start with the written agreement

The answer lives in the tenancy agreement, not in general opinion. Most agreements separate repairs and the structure of the building from day-to-day upkeep, and gutters can be written into either side. Look for wording about the exterior, the roof, drainage, rainwater goods or 'external maintenance'. If the agreement names gutters directly, that settles it. If it says nothing at all, the sensible move is to raise it with the landlord or letting agent in writing and agree who is arranging it, rather than each side assuming the other will. When in doubt about your legal position, speak to a housing adviser or the letting agent; we are not the right people to interpret a contract.

This guide sits under our Gutter Cleaning & Clearing work, covering 20-mile radius of Plymouth.

Why it is rarely a sensible tenant job anyway

Even where an agreement puts light upkeep on the tenant, clearing a first-floor or second-floor gutter is work at height. Most tenants do not own a suitable ladder, are not insured to fall off one, and have no way of telling whether a run is blocked by leaves or has simply dropped between brackets. Our own system is a vacuum on a carbon pole with a camera on the end, working from the ground and reaching up to four storeys, precisely so nobody has to lean a ladder against a rented house. That is a strong argument for the landlord arranging it once for the building rather than expecting whoever lives there to improvise.

What a tenant should do when water is overflowing

Report it, in writing, with a photograph. A picture of water pouring over the lip mid-shower, or a tide line down the wall below a joint, tells the landlord far more than 'the gutter is leaking'. Note the date and which side of the house it is on. If you can see damp starting inside, particularly high up on an upstairs wall or around a window head, mention that too, because it changes how urgent the job is. You do not need to diagnose it; you need to make sure the person responsible knows about it early.

What a landlord gets from arranging it properly

Blocked gutters push water down walls and into fascias, and that is a much bigger bill than a clear. A landlord who books a yearly clear gets before and after photographs of every section we clear, which doubles as a record that the building was maintained. Where a landlord has several houses, we can plan them into one run of visits so each one is done in the same week. We clear visible downpipe inlets as standard; blocked vertical runs can be flushed for an extra fee, and we flag any fascia issues we see rather than leaving them to be discovered by the next tenant.

Access without anyone needing to be home

Because the work is done from the ground, most clears do not need the tenant in, just a side gate left open and the car moved if it is parked under a run. We message ahead so the tenant knows the day. That removes most of the friction that makes these jobs drag on: nobody has to take a morning off, and the landlord gets the photographs whether or not anyone was there to watch.

How often it needs doing

Once a year suits most houses, twice where there are overhanging trees. Agreeing that frequency up front, and who books it, is the simplest way to stop the question coming back every November. For the wider picture on keeping a rental's exterior in order, including walls and paving, see our landlord maintenance guide.