Call us FREE on 0151 375 9916
Helpline Open 24 Hours A Day

£85 million in compensation

Won for our clients by JF Law Solicitors

Housing Disrepair Claim - Am I Eligible For Compensation?

If you have suffered harm due to housing disrepair, read our guide below to find out whether you can make a housing disrepair claim and a personal injury claim against your landlord. 

Excellent
four and a half stars TrustPilot score
TrustPilot Reviews Logo

£85 million in compensation

Won for our clients by JF Law Solicitors

Housing Disrepair Claim - Am I Eligible For Compensation?

If you have suffered harm due to housing disrepair, read our guide below to find out whether you can make a housing disrepair claim and a personal injury claim against your landlord. 

Excellent
four and a half stars TrustPilot score
TrustPilot Reviews Logo

Welcome to our guide on making a housing disrepair claim. With the cost of living crisis, people are choosing to rent now more than ever. But what do you do if your home is falling into disrepair because of your landlord? 

The thought of claiming against your landlord may seem daunting. This is why we’ve created this guide, to put you at ease as we talk you through the No Win No Fee housing disrepair claims process.

You can actually make two separate claims under housing disrepair – a personal injury claim for the harm the disrepair has caused, and a housing disrepair claim to address the actual issues with the rented property. 

Here is a brief overview of what we’ll cover in this guide:

  • What legal obligations landlords have in regards to repairing their properties, and what the housing disrepair claims eligibility criteria are.
  • What kinds of disrepair you could potentially claim for.
  • How personal injury compensation is calculated. 
  • How to start a housing disrepair claim with what evidence you need.
  • How one of our solicitors could potentially help you on a No Win No Fee basis. 

Our solicitors are experts and can make the claims process as simple for you as possible. To find out whether you’re eligible to make a housing disrepair claim, please contact us today and speak to a member of our team:

What Is Housing Disrepair?

When renting a property, whether that be through a housing association or privately, the least you expect is for that property to be liveable. Housing disrepair is when a rented property poses a risk to the tenant’s health due to the property needing certain repairs.

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, landlords have a responsibility to repair and maintain:

  • The exterior of the property, such as windows and the roof. 
  • Sanitary fixtures, such as plumbing from the sinks, toilets, and bath.
  • The supply of heating and hot water. 
  • All electrical wiring. 
  • All gas appliances. 

If your landlord does not adhere to their responsibilities and lets any of the above fall into disrepair in the property you are renting, you could be eligible to make a housing disrepair claim. You just need to prove that your landlord was aware of the issues, and failed to make repairs within a reasonable timeframe.

Eligibility To Make Housing Disrepair Claims

If you have suffered an injury or illness as a result of your landlord failing to fix the disrepair in your home, an additional personal injury claim could potentially be made against them. 

Under Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, your landlord can be deemed liable for both the harm you have suffered and the disrepair itself. As such, you need to prove the following to be eligible to claim personal injury compensation for housing disrepair:

  1. Either your landlord knew about the housing disrepair, or they didn’t adequately check for potential disrepair.
  2. The disrepair wasn’t fixed within a reasonable timeframe. 
  3. You sustained an injury and/or illness as a result of the disrepair.

If you believe you are eligible to make a housing disrepair claim and a personal injury claim, please contact us today and speak with an advisor about your circumstances.

Established, Experienced, Dependable, Responsive and Committed

We strive to provide the highest level of service possible. Our sole aim is to get you the best result we can and one you’re satisfied with. Get in touch today to find out how we can help you.

What Kinds Of Disrepair Can I Claim For?

Here are some examples of when you’d have an eligible housing disrepair claim and an eligible personal injury claim:

  • You told your landlord that your staircase was broken. 6 months later, there’s still been no attempt to repair the staircase. The staircase then collapses while you’re on them, causing you to fall from a height and suffer a back injury. 
  • You told your landlord that your roof was leaking. Your landlord did not investigate this issue. 4 months later, you slip and fall on the wet floor caused by the leak. From the slip and fall, you fracture your forearm. 
  • The heating systems in your home are broken. Despite telling your landlord about this a year ago, no efforts have been made to fix your heating. You thus suffer serious health conditions as a result of the excess cold, which also leads to you going through mental health struggles. 

Please remember that if you are eligible to make both types of claims, you can pursue both. You can also make a housing disrepair claim without having suffered harm.

Additionally, we have only listed a few set examples. If your circumstances are not listed above, please don’t worry. It is best to talk with an advisor about your individual situation. 

Damp in the corner of a wall above a skirting board.

How Much Compensation You Can Claim For Housing Disrepair

If you have a successful housing disrepair claim, in regards to the harm you have suffered, your personal injury compensation may be divided into two heads of claim – general and special damages. 

General damages cover the way you’ve been physically and psychologically affected by housing disrepair. 

Legal professionals may ask for you to have an independent medical assessment at some point during the claims process. The reports from this can help them value your general damages. So can the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG is a publication that contains guideline compensation figures for different types of harm.

Guideline Compensation Table

In the table below, we have taken some guideline compensation figures from the JCG for different types of harm that could potentially be suffered as a result of housing disrepair. 

When viewing this table, please keep in mind that the top figure is not from the JCG, and that none of these figures can be guaranteed for your claim. This is because all claims are unique. 

Type of harmSeverityGuideline compensation figureNotes
Multiple serious types of harm with special damagesSeriousUp to £500,000+Compensation for sustaining more than one serious type of harm with financial losses such as lost earnings.
BackSevere (a)(i)£111,150 to £196,450The most severe damage to the nerve roots and spinal cord, leading to severe consequences such as incomplete paralysis.
Moderate (b)(i)£33,880 to £47,320An example of an injury fitting in this category includes a prolapsed intervertebral disc that necessitates surgery.
ArmSevere (a)£117,360 to £159,770A serious brachial plexus injury.
Simple fracture (d)£8,060 to £23,430Of the forearm.
Psychiatric damageSevere (a)£66,920 to £141,240Where most factors of the person’s life will have marked problems (uch as the ability to cope with work), and the prognosis will be very poor.
Moderate (c)£7,150 to £23,270The prognosis will be good due to a marked improvement by trial.
AsthmaSevere, permanent, and disabling (a)£52,550 to £80,240That leads to prolonged and regular coughing and a severe impairment of physical activity
Relatively mild (d)£12,990 to £23,430Often resulting from exposure to a harmful, irritating vapour.

Special Damages

Special damages cover the way you’ve been financially affected by housing disrepair. Some financial losses you could suffer include:

  • Loss of earnings if you’re unable to work. 
  • Professional care costs. 
  • Medical bills, such as prescription costs. 

Unlike general damages, there is no guarantee that special damages will be awarded in a successful claim. For this reason, please keep hold of any receipts, invoices, bank statements, and payslips that can prove the financial losses that have resulted from your injury. 

Factors Considered In Your Payment

There are many factors that are taken into consideration while your compensation is being valued. Some of these factors include:

  • Whether you have multiple types of harm. 
  • How severe and painful your harm is.
  • Loss of amenity. 
  • What the prognosis of your harm is – whether a full recovery is possible and how long that would take. 

For more information on how housing disrepair compensation is calculated, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. 

We pride ourselves
on providing the best service
possible for our clients.

We pride ourselves on providing the best service possible for our clients.

How To Start Your Housing Disrepair Compensation Claim

If you have suffered an injury or illness due to housing disrepair issues, we recommend you seek medical attention before you pursue a housing disrepair claim. This is because your medical records can be used as evidence. 

While it is not mandatory, we also suggest that you seek legal advice and instruct a solicitor, especially if you have never been through the claims process before. You can get a free eligibility claim check from our advisors, who could then potentially connect you with one of our specialist solicitors. Our section below discusses exactly how our solicitors could help you claim compensation. 

You should then focus on collecting evidence to support your claim. 

The Evidence You’ll Need To Strengthen Your Case

The evidence you provide needs to show how your landlord breached their duty of care, and how this caused you to suffer harm. 

As such, some useful types of evidence include:

  • Copies of your medical records. This can show how severe your harm is. 
  • Copies of any emails or other correspondence you have where you have alerted your landlord of the issue(s). 
  • Copies of the tenancy agreement for your rented property.
  • Photographs of the visible damage, such as a broken pipe. 
  • Contact details from anyone who could be asked for a witness statement at a later date.

If you connect with one of our housing disrepair lawyers, they will be able to advise on collecting evidence as part of their services. 

Mould on a cracked wall next to a window in a housing association tenants house.

How Our Solicitors Can Help

Once you confirm you have an eligible housing disrepair claim, you can be connected with one of our specialist solicitors. 

Our solicitors offer many services to make the housing disrepair claims process easier for their clients, such as:

  • Collecting all evidence.
  • Corresponding with the defendant on the client’s behalf. 
  • Updating the client on any progressions in the case. 
  • Ensuring the compensation award is fair and accurate. 
  • Finding legal representation if the case goes to court. 
  • Explaining any legal terminology when needed. 

Additionally, these services are provided under No Win No Fee terms, specifically through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). 

What this means is that you would not have to pay your solicitor for their fees:

  • Upfront. 
  • During the entire claims process. 
  • If the case is unsuccessful. 

Instead, if the case is successful, your solicitor will just keep a small percentage of your compensation. This small percentage is called the success fee, and is limited by the law to ensure that you keep the majority of the compensation. 

If you have any questions that we have not answered in this guide, or to confirm your claim eligibility, please contact us today. Our team are available 24/7 to discuss your potential housing disrepair claim with you:

More Information

Browse some of our guides here:

Alternatively, these pages might give you some useful information:

Thank you for reading our guide on how to make a housing disrepair claim. Please don’t hesitate to send your queries to us if there’s anything you’re unsure on. 

Our Latest Customer Reviews

View our latest reviews from our clients on Trustpilot
Excellent
TrustPilot 5 stars image
Based on 493 reviews
Large TrustPilot Logo
Excellent
TrustPilot 5 stars image
Based on 493 reviews
Large TrustPilot Logo

AS SEEN ON

Contact Us

Our helpline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

All calls are free and there’s no pressure whatsoever to proceed with a compensation claim. 

If you write to us, we aim to respond within an hour or two, and no more than a few hours. 

Request a Callback