Housing Disrepair: Taking Good Photos

The law makes your Landlord responsible for certain types of repair to your home, but some types of disrepair won’t be covered.

Good quality photos will help us to understand which of your repairs are covered, and which are not.

So, please read on for some advice on how to take good photos we can use, and how best to send them to us.

General Guidelines On How To Get The Best Out Of Your Camera

• It’s fine to use your phone if it has a decent camera. Most smartphones do.
• Take the photos in daylight.
• If you’re inside the house open all blinds and curtains, and switch the lights on, so that the room is as bright as possible.
• Take 2 or 3 versions of each photo.
• Please check that the photos are not blurred or dark, and delete them if they are. Send only the best ones to us.
• If the photo is dark, you can try the flash. Although, the flash can distort colours or reflect back into the lens. So, only use it if you need to.

For examples on the kind of photos we need, please take a look at the gallery at the top of the page.

What Photos Do We Need?

We need photos of all significant repair issues which are causing you worry, such as damp patches, mould, cracked walls, or evidence of pests.

Also, take photos of any personal belongings which are damaged, such as wallpaper, curtains, carpets, or flooring.

The photo should show the problem close-up, but please take a 2nd photo from a good distance away. This is so we can see where the problem is located and get a good sense of perspective.

A Tour Of The Property

You should imagine the photos as giving a brief tour of the property so we can see all the problems in context:

• Please show us any problems outside the building such as leaking gutters, cracked walls, broken windows or exterior doors.
• Next go inside and walk through your home, taking pictures in each affected room. Please take a photo of each affected room as a whole. Again, this is so we can see the context.
• Photograph each item of disrepair close-up and from a distance, as stated above.

Again, if you’re unsure of the kind of photos we need, please take a look at the gallery at the top of the page.

Sending Us Your Photos

As far as possible, please label each photo. For example: ‘damp on internal wall in kitchen.’ And, don’t send any blurred or dark photos as we cannot use these.

It’s best to keep the numbers low and to only send the best version of each photo. We don’t need more than a few photos of one room.

To send us your photos, you have a couple of options:

Sending by email: If sending your photos by email. You should:

1. Send them by replying to the email you received asking for the photos.
2. Put your name and address on each reply.
3. If there are a number of affected areas, please send a separate email for each, with a label in the description such as: ‘Exterior,’ ‘Living room,’ Kitchen,’ ‘Bedroom 1,’ etc. Be sure to attach only the photos for that room or location to that email.
4. But, the important thing is to get some photos to us. We realise that some people might not have a great camera or be a professional photographer. So, if you are struggling please do your best and get the photos sent off as soon as you can. Delays may affect your claim and it is better to have one or two extra photos than too few.

Send via WeTransfer: Upload photos to secure file transfer site WeTransfer:

1. Go to wetransfer.com and click “Take Me To Free.”
2. Click the blue plus to start uploading your files (we’d recommend adding them to a zip folder first).
3. You can then either click “Get a link,” copy the link it gives you, and email that to us, or you can click the three dots in a circle and choose “Send email transfer” and enter our email there to send the link automatically.

Send through Whatsapp: Add our WhatsApp (01925 351 350) and send photos through messages there. But, please remember to quote your reference so we know who we’re talking to!