Almost one in four landlords say delays by tenants informing them about maintenance issues in their homes have resulted in more costly repairs. 

The figure, coming from a survey of landlords and private sector tenants by insurance firm LV=, says the average annual cost  of essential maintenance comes to more than £2,360 per landlord or £4.1 billion nationwide.

Some 39 per cent of landlords say they rely on their tenants to tell them about maintenance issues in their property, and 25 per cent do this without the help of a letting agent or property management company to keep on top of problems.

However, many renters admit to putting off fixing issues or not telling their agent or landlord about them, with younger tenants aged between 18 and 34 the most likely to do this.

Indeed, 37 per cent of tenants say they believe maintenance work can wait unless it’s an emergency – the firm claims this can be costly for landlords, as ignoring issues can lead to more serious, and more expensive problems, developing.

“Keeping up with home maintenance can be a tough and time-consuming job at the best of times, but it can be especially tricky for landlords and their tenants as there may be confusion about where the responsibility lies” claims a spokesman for the firm.