Housing Disrepair Claims

What Do We Mean by Housing Disrepair?

When you rent a home to live in, you become a tenant. The law provides tenants with certain rights as to what they can expect from their landlord. This means your landlord has certain responsibilities to meet.

Housing disrepair is when certain repairs, covered by the law, are neglected by the landlord after they’ve had enough notice to fix them.

We can advise you whether you might be able to make a valid claim. If you do, you will be able to get your home repaired and you should get compensation too.

Our clients typically get compensation of between £1000 and £3000. But, each case will be different, and will depend on your particular circumstances. In some cases, you may be entitled to £10,000 or more.

As a tenant, you are entitled to a certain standard of housing. Keep reading to find out exactly what housing disrepair covers. Or, if you are more legally minded, you should start by reading through your lease. Your lease sets out what you and your landlord have agreed between you. Also, you might want to have a look at section 11 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This sets out the repairs which most tenants can expect from a landlord, regardless of what their lease says.

What Problems are Covered By Housing Disrepair?

Housing disrepair encompasses a variety of issues. The most common housing disrepair issues we can get put right include:

• Damp problems
• Problems with the structure of the building
• Broken plumbing
• Problems with utilities

Unfortunately we cannot help with everything, such as condensation damp, worn out carpets or floors, or any improvements you might wish for. However, you may still be able to claim for these if they were damaged due to a failure by the landlord to repair something which IS covered.

Speak To An Expert Now

Call us now to speak to an expert about your case.

Get a FREE initial assessment to see how we can help you.

Call 01925 351 350

How to Take Action About Housing Disrepair

By now you hopefully have a better understanding of what housing disrepair is and what your rights are. So, if you believe you have housing disrepair, what should you do?

Firstly, you should contact your Landlord to notify them about the problem. It is best to do this in writing, such as by email, and to keep a copy. You can’t make a claim unless you have put your landlord on notice, and you may have to prove that notice was given. A written, dated complaint which you can keep for later, is always best.

After that, give your Landlord a reasonable amount of time to carry out the repairs. What is reasonable will vary according to the type of repairs needed. For instance, failed heating in Winter or a failure in your clean water supply are very urgent problems which should be put right within a day or two. However, other less-urgent issues, such as damp or problems opening windows, should still be done in less than a month.

If the repairs are not done in reasonable time, please get in touch with us for a free initial consultation. Call us on 01925 351 350 to start your claim for disrepair in social housing.

What Happens In A Disrepair Claim?

We can talk you through exactly what kind of housing disrepair claim you could make. Then, we will instigate a claim under the Housing Disrepair Protocol by sending a letter of claim.

From there, we can handle all the negotiations with your landlord. And we may appoint a surveyor to prepare a detailed report about all the items of disrepair in your home.

We will then settle your claim and get the repairs done. Or, we will advise you about whether you should bring a court case against your Landlord if they refuse to carry out the repairs.

And don’t forget – not only will we get your repairs done, we will also get you the compensation you deserve.

Find out how much compensation you could claim using our claim value calculator.

Speak to our Experts and get Compensation

We know that making a claim against your landlord can seem daunting but please don’t worry as we know what we’re doing! We can offer you:

• A specialist team of advisors and housing disrepair solicitors
• Free advice with no obligation
• No win no fee service
• We will get you compensation
• We will arrange and cover the initial cost of expert help from surveyors
• Coverage for the whole of England & Wales

If you do believe you have the basis of a claim for housing disrepair against a public landlord, please get in touch today so we can help you get the compensation you are owed. Feel free to call us on 01925 351 350 or fill out the form below.