If you rent from a council, housing association or private landlord and they've failed to fix problems you've reported, you have the legal right to force repairs and be compensated. No Win, No Fee.
Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, every landlord in England & Wales must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair, and keep installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water in working order. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 goes further: your home must be fit to live in from day one and throughout the tenancy.
Once you've told your landlord about a problem, they must fix it within a reasonable time. What's reasonable depends on the issue — a broken boiler in winter should be fixed in days, not months. If they don't, you can bring a housing disrepair claim.
Disrepair means any defect your landlord is responsible for that they have failed to put right after being notified. The most common issues we help with include:
Condensation, rising or penetrating damp and black mould.
Roof leaks, burst pipes, faulty gutters and blocked drains.
No heating or hot water, broken boilers or radiators.
Rats, mice, cockroaches or bedbugs from building defects.
Cracks, subsidence, unsafe stairs, rotten floors or ceilings.
Dangerous wiring, broken sockets or no working lights.
Broken, rotten, draughty or insecure windows and doors.
Broken sanitaryware, unusable kitchens or sewage smells.
Asbestos, lead, gas safety failures or fire risks.
To claim, you should have reported the problem to your landlord (by phone, email, letter, portal or in person), and they should have failed to carry out repairs in a reasonable time. Don't worry if you don't have everything in writing — we can help you build the evidence.
The court can order your landlord to carry out the repairs. In practice, the letter of claim alone is often enough to get the work scheduled.
Compensation is usually calculated as a percentage of your rent for the period of disrepair — from around 25% for moderate problems to 100% where your home was effectively uninhabitable. Claims can go back up to 6 years.
Ruined furniture, carpets, clothing and electronics; higher energy bills from running heaters; the cost of eating out because your kitchen was unusable.
If the disrepair has caused or worsened a health condition — asthma, chest infections, skin conditions, anxiety or depression — an additional injury award may be available.
Tell us what's wrong. We confirm eligibility within 24 hours.
An independent surveyor visits and documents the disrepair.
Our solicitors write to your landlord under the Pre-Action Protocol.
Repairs completed, compensation agreed. Most cases never see a courtroom.
Council and housing association tenants have strong security of tenure and cannot be evicted for complaining about disrepair. Private tenants are protected against "retaliatory eviction" under the Deregulation Act 2015 where the council has served an improvement or emergency remedial notice. We will explain your precise position before any letter is sent — and we'll never proceed without your say-so.
It helps, but it isn't essential. Emails, texts, portal screenshots, repair reference numbers or even call logs all count. Where you reported in person or by phone, a witness statement can be enough. We'll help you piece it together.
You can still claim compensation for the period you lived with the disrepair, provided it was within the last 6 years. The claim is for the inconvenience and losses you suffered, not just future repairs.
Very unlikely. The vast majority of housing disrepair claims settle after the letter of claim or during negotiation. If court action is needed, your solicitor handles everything and you'd rarely need to attend.
Your solicitor's success fee is capped and agreed in advance — typically up to 25% of your compensation. Repairs and the majority of your compensation are yours. If you lose, you pay nothing.*
Yes. Rent arrears don't stop you from claiming, though your landlord may seek to offset compensation against arrears. We'll discuss this openly with you at the start.
Complete our 60-second checker or call us. No pressure, no obligation — just clear answers.
