Housing Disrepair Solicitors
Claim Compensation for Disrepair in your Home
Our No win No fee Housing Solicitors can help you make a Housing Disrepair Claim.
If you are a council association or council tenant and you are:
- Living in poor housing conditions
- Your property falls below a reasonable living standard.
You may be eligible to bring a claim against your Social or Council Landlord for work to be carried out and for compensation for losses suffered.
FIND OUT IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO CLAIM FOR REPAIRS AND COMPENSATION
Renting a property with physical issues, defects, or disrepair issues?
If you are renting a property that suffers from any type of disrepair, don’t worry. Our No win No fee Housing Disrepair Solicitors in Manchester serving clients nationwide, can help you with all of the problems below (and more):
Damp Issues
Mould Issues
Water Leaks
Heating Issues
Damaged Windows
Structural Issues
Infestations
Broken Doors
Electrical Issues
Call for free case assessment and expert legal advice. We are a firm of regulated and insured Solicitors.
What is Housing Disrepair?
Housing disrepair is when your rented property has fallen in need of repair in order for it to be safe and suitable to live in.
If you are a tenant of a social or council landlord, it is their responsibility that this standard is met and your home is safe, well-maintained, and more importantly, fit for human habitation.
You are entitled to enjoy the property you are renting from your local council or housing association.
Examples of common housing disrepair issues:
- mould or damp problems
- pest infestations
- leaks & water damage
- broken heating systems
- faulty electrical wiring
- internal deterioration
- damaged gutters, drains & pipes
- structural issues
- broken kitchen & bathroom fittings
If your council or housing association ignore you or keep delaying any repairs, you may be able to claim compensation for the inconvenience caused, damage to your health, damage to personal belongings, and any financial losses caused by the disrepair.
Our team of experienced No win No fee Housing Disrepair Solicitors can assist you with your claim against your landlord who will be required to complete the repairs and pay you appropriate compensation for any losses and pain suffered.
How to claim for Housing Disrepair?
To start your housing disrepair claim, call our no win no fee housing solicitors team on 0161 697 5959. We will talk you through the entire claim process and advise you on the possible outcomes. With the head office based in Manchester, we are serving clients nationwide.
If you are unable to talk right now, fill in our claim form instead providing as much information as you can and we will give you a call back.
Our experienced solicitors for housing disrepair will take care of the claim to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Why choose SLS Solicitors?
We strive to achieve the best possible result and solution for every one of our clients through our expertise and passion. We are straight talking, approachable and understanding.
Client care is at the very top of our priorities and you can be sure that we will look after you in your times of need.
You will be kept up to date throughout the process and we will only ever be a phone call or e-mail away.
No win, no fee. Our team are on hand, ready to help.
Check if our specialist Housing Disrepair Solicitors can help:
What does No win No fee mean?
In short, No win No fee means that you don’t have to pay anything upfront.
Our firm of housing solicitors will bear any upfront costs so you will only need to pay a fee if your Housing disrepair claim is successful. This means you will never be out of pocket.
Read more about No win No fee here.
Eligibility for making a Housing Disrepair Claim
If you are living in poor housing conditions and your rented property falls below a reasonable living standard and is in need of repairs to prevent mould, dampness and more, then you may be eligible to bring a claim against your social or private landlord for work to be carried out and for compensation for losses suffered. To check how much compensation you will get use housing disrepair calculator. It gives you an estimated idea how much you receive the compensation.
We understand that living in a badly maintained rental property can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. Even worse, there can be serious implications for your health, finances and security.
Many landlords, local authorities and housing associations are conscientious and ensure repairs and maintenance are carried out on their properties quickly and to a high standard.
Unfortunately, bad landlords and social housing providers are getting away with negligence that is having serious implications for tenants.
To find out if you can make a claim for disrepair in your rented property, don’t hesitate to contact our Solicitors now by calling our office on 0161 697 5959. Alternatively, fill in our contact form on this page.
What are my landlord's responsibilities?
If you are a council or a housing association tenant living in rented accommodation, your landlord is required by law to ensure that the house you live in:
- Is in a good state of repair structurally, and
- Is free from dampness and mould.
Moreover, they need to ensure that the:
- Drains and gutters are clear and working as they should be,
- You have a working heating system and safe access to electricity, gas and water,
- All sanitation facilities are working i.e. toilet, basins, sinks, etc., and
- That your home is free from vermin or insect infestation.
In a house where repairs or works are needed, if the landlord fails to carry out the work within a reasonable amount of time after you report the issues, then this could be considered a housing disrepair claim.
If you’re not sure, you can discuss your situation with one of our specialists who will be able to provide you with free advice on whether or not you have a potential claim.
How can SLS Housing Disrepair Solicitors in Manchester help me?
Our Manchester-based team of solicitors is here to fight for your repairs, health, safety and dignity by ensuring repairs are carried out as stated in your tenancy agreement. We can assist clients in both England and Wales.
We will fight on your behalf to get you compensation if you have been left vulnerable or out of pocket because of your landlord’s inaction.
As we work on a No win No fee basis, there is no risk for you. Read more about No win No fee on our Fees page.
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What level of disrepair can I claim for?
You may be able to claim for various levels of disrepair. Below is an overview of how the disrepair would be assessed:
MILD – for example, the disrepair mildly affects your use of your home as a whole or only affects certain areas of the property. Mild disrepair does not prevent you from using those rooms but causes you some inconvenience and a level of distress.
MEDIUM – this level of disrepair has had an impact on your enjoyment of your home and to some extent prevents you from using some or all of the rooms. A medium level of disrepair does not allow you to enjoy your entire property.
SEVERE – for example, the disrepair affects a significant proportion of your home or prevents you from using some of the rooms completely. This has had a significant impact on your ability to use the property and has caused severe inconvenience and distress.
Whose responsibility is property maintenance?
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 couldn’t be any clearer on whose responsibility is property maintenance.
Section 9A deals with “Fitness for human habitation of dwellings in England” (the other home nations have their own similar laws). This section states that the dwelling (your rented property), must be “fit for human habitation at the time the lease is granted or otherwise created or, if later, at the beginning of the term of the lease, and will remain fit for human habitation during the term of the lease.”
Section 11 (“Repairing obligations in short leases”) details the landlord’s responsibility to keep the house properly maintained. This includes the structure inside and out, utilities and sanitation, and heating equipment.
This law will always be the first port of call for any legal claim unless there is a very strong case that you have agreed to perform repairs yourself as part of your tenancy agreement. This is, however, very rare.
When is the landlord required to perform property repairs?
Before a repair is absolutely required to be carried out, there is a reasonable amount of wear and tear that your home is expected to have. Therefore, for instance, chipped paint on inside door frames and skirting boards, would not usually count as disrepair.
It is more efficient for landlords to redecorate a property all in one go rather than constantly touch up the dwelling. And it is reasonable not to expect constant micro-maintenance.
The landlord would usually be found to be breaching your contract in cases such as the following:
- Mould, damp, mildew, fungal growth or dry rot were present within the property,
- There were issues with the gutters,
- Issues with the roofing,
- Structural damage to the property,
- Blocked chimney (if relevant),
- Broken windows,
- Door or window frames damaged,
- Locks or other security measures including walls and fences were damaged,
- There we issues with the electrical wiring,
- Gas leaks,
- Problems with fresh water and/or wastewater pipes
- Heating (boilers, radiators, under-floor heating and any pipework or electricals)
- Insect infestation or other pests,
- Shared corridors, doors, gates and pathways were damaged.
However, please note that landlords should be given a reasonable amount of time to address the less severe issues. They are not required to fix every issue immediately.
Furthermore, if you caused the damage, it might be your responsibility to pay for its repair or replacement.
Some issues may also be the responsibility of third parties, such as the water board or the local council. But it is your landlord who should raise the issue, except in an emergency.
If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to consult your situation with one of our solicitors. We can provide a confidential consultation completely free of charge.
What housing disrepair issues can I claim for?
You may be able to claim compensation from your landlord if the disrepair in your council or housing association property is in poor condition, damages your health or belongings, and/or causes you inconvenience.
You could be eligible to claim for housing disrepair if your home has any of the below issues:
- Rising damp, leading to mould,
- Penetrating damp, leading to mould,
- Non-functioning or unsafe heating system or boiler,
- Unsafe flooring or staircases,
- Rotten doors or window frames,
- Leaking pipes or cracked sanitation equipment,
- Faulty electrics,
- Loose tiles or brickwork,
- Vermin or insect infestation.
- And other.
What can I get compensated for?
You can claim for general inconvenience as well as for actual financial loss. Below we break down the types of compensation you can get.
Compensation for the Inconvenience
You can claim for inconvenience including:
- Disruption to your daily life,
- Not having full use of your home,
- Time spent waiting for builders or inspections.
The amount you could get depends on how the problem affected you and for how long.
Compensation for damage to your personal belongings
You can claim for items that are damaged or destroyed because of poor conditions or during repair works.
Compensation for financial loss
You can claim for
- Having to spend more money because of problems with conditions in your home.
- Higher electric bills when using plug-in heaters due to a broken boiler.
Personal Injury Claim
You may be able to make a personal injury claim if:
- Your physical or mental health is affected by the conditions in your home,
- You have lost your earnings as a result of being unable to work,
- Extra expenses such as prescriptions or travel to the hospital.
Make sure you keep sick notes or hospital reports that show how your health has been affected.
What proofs do I need?
Keep all receipts and bills as evidence of money you’ve had to pay because of disrepair or poor conditions.
In general, your case is strengthened the longer the landlord has ignored the problem or denied it exists, so make sure you keep all your phone records, text messages, emails and physical correspondence about the matter.
The majority of the time, our specialist solicitors will settle your case without the need to start court proceedings. If a housing disrepair case needs to be litigated (commence court proceedings), our Litigation Specialist will robustly fight for your home repairs and get you compensation.
What are my responsibilities with regards to the rented property?
Before pursuing a claim for housing disrepair, you need to ensure you have acted reasonably with regard to your home.
Tenancy agreements are as much to protect the owner as they are to protect you – and possibly more so since it is usually the landlord who drafts the contract.
You will be expected to act in a way that doesn’t cause damage to:
- the building, or
- its services, or
- the furniture (if included).
You will also be expected to change all the lightbulbs and possibly fuses, and possibly carry out minor repairs. These are generally not the landlord’s responsibility.
Watch out for window cleaning, maintenance of shared corridors or exterior spaces and other such continual maintenance. They may or may not be your responsibility, so do check your agreement before making a claim – or, better still, before you sign it!
Landlords often use your agreement to try to prove that you have breached your tenancy contract by acting in a way that damages the property if you bring a housing disrepair claim against them.
As your solicitors, we will pursue your case to attempt to prove that you were not in breach of the agreement.
Though, even when the landlord is correct by the letter of the contract, there are cases when the contract itself is invalid because of a technicality, or where they are using your inexperience as a tenant to trick you into taking on repair or maintenance costs that you should not be your responsibility.
To help you, we will scrutinise your contract to look for cases where it can be invalidated, should the landlord accuse you of failing in your obligations.
Landlords’ common arguments against housing disrepair claims
Being specialists in this area and general litigation, we are versatile in landlords’ common defences to breaches of tenancy. These include but are not limited to:
- Failure to provide notification of the disrepair,
- Failure to provide access to the property,
- Disrepair due to tenant’s lifestyle,
- Impact of Covid-19,
- Disrepair does not amount to Section 11.
Together with expert surveyors, our specialist litigation solicitors, have the knowledge and expertise to counterargue these issues and help you make a successful claim.
Landlord refuses to repair your property?
If your landlord refuses to make repairs, contact our Housing Solicitors and start your claim today.
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Talk to our Housing Disrepair Solicitors in Manchester
Housing disrepair and negligence are areas we specialise in. Talk to us about getting your landlord to act and pay you compensation.
We work on a No Win, No Fee basis, so if we feel you have a strong case, there is no financial risk to you – but the benefits can be life-changing.
For many landlords, a simple letter from a solicitor is enough to get them to take action, so let’s get you safe and comfortable sooner.
Our housing disrepair specialist solicitors based in Manchester have handled many cases where tenants have been treated unfairly and misinformed of their rights by their social landlord. Our housing specialist solicitors do more than just help you make a housing claim. They can guide and support you when you have suffered, and get you the justice you deserve.
To discuss how we can assist with recovery of housing disrepair expenses on a No Win, No Fee Basis, call our specialist team on 0161 697 5959. Alternatively, fill in the contact form below.
