Housing disrepair is the damage to your rented property which impacts your standard of living. It is your landlord’s legal responsibility to provide you safe and comfortable housing. If you intend to remain in your home for at least a further 12 months and haven’t used a solicitor for housing disrepair before, then it’s important to ensure your landlord has provided you with adequate, safe housing.
Can I claim for damages to my home?
Landlords are often unaware of their tenant’s right to compensation for improvements. To make a housing disrepair claim, you need to fulfil the following criteria:
- You must live in rental accommodation (renting from a landlord, the council or housing association)
- You must have already asked your landlord for fair improvements or repairs
- You must have given your landlord enough time to make improvements and repairs
In order for your case to qualify, your landlord must have had prior warning about the disrepair and enough time to reasonably resolve your issues. You should also be able to prove your landlord knew about the issues. Messages, emails, letters and calls are all useful in determining that your landlord had adequate time to resolve the disrepair issues in your home.
If the damage was avoidable if the landlord had acted correctly, the landlord has knowingly failed to fulfil his responsibilities towards the tenant and the tenant may be rewarded with free repairs and compensation.
If you aren’t sure you can claim against your landlord, you can fill out our form and one of our expert housing solicitors will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also call our Housing Disrepair helpline on 0161 436 0006 now for a free no-obligation consultation.
How much housing disrepair claims compensation could I get?
If you have made your disrepair issues known to your landlord, given them enough time to act and still face an unchanged situation, you may be able to claim and get:
- Compensation for damages to your property
- Free repairs to your home
There are two major factors that decide how much compensation you could receive:
- The amount of rent you pay
- The level of disrepair in your home
- How long your disrepair issues have been ignored by your landlord
Compensation will normally be calculated as 25-50% of the rent for the property over the period of time that the landlord has ignored the issues.
You may be entitled to compensation for the mental discomfort caused as well as any medical expenses which may have been caused.
What disrepair issues can I claim for?
We help clients with a wide range of disrepair get their property repaired free of charge – this includes:
- Mould and Damp
- Pest Problems
- Gas and Water leaks
- Structural Issues
- Defective Central Heating
- Poor Security
Get a free no-obligation consultation now
Tenants are some of the least represented people in society. Their troubles are particularly problematic because they affect their day to day living. Your landlord should ensure that you are given everything you are legally entitled to.
If you’d like to speak to us and find out if you have a claim, you can fill out our form and one of our expert housing solicitors will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also call our Housing Disrepair helpline on 0161 436 0006 now for a free no-obligation consultation.
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I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself”
Maya Angelou