General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · complaint

Letter to Landlord Regarding Urgent Apartment Repairs

You have recently shifted to a rental apartment with your family. However, there are some problems with the apartment.

Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter:

describe the problem
demand the solution to the problem
inform him what you will do if the problem is not solved

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear Sir/Madam,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to formally report several maintenance issues at my new residence, Flat 4B, which have significantly hindered my family’s ability to settle in since our arrival last week.

Specifically, the central heating system is completely non-functional, leaving the apartment freezing during the night. Furthermore, there is a persistent leak under the kitchen sink, which has already caused water damage to the wooden cabinetry and is creating an unpleasant odour throughout the kitchen area.

I request that you arrange for a qualified plumber and a heating engineer to visit the premises within the next 48 hours to rectify these defects. Given the current weather conditions and the potential for further structural damage caused by the leak, these repairs are a matter of urgency.

Should these issues remain unresolved by the end of the week, I shall have no choice but to arrange for independent contractors to perform the necessary work and deduct the costs from next month’s rent. I trust this will not be necessary and look forward to your prompt confirmation of a repair schedule.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur Pendelton

183 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by clearly addressing all three bullet points with a firm yet professional tone and sophisticated vocabulary. A common Band 6 error is failing to specify exactly what action will be taken if the landlord ignores the request, or using an overly aggressive tone that lacks the formal register required for a landlord-tenant dispute.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

hindered: made it difficult for someone to do something
non-functional: not working or operating correctly
persistent: continuing to exist over a long period
rectify: to put something right or correct a mistake
defects: a fault or imperfection in a property
independent contractors: self-employed individuals hired to perform specific work

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

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Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.