Housing Disrepair & Landlord Issues No Win, No Fee Help

Housing disrepair refers to a rented property in poor condition due to needed repairs not being done. Basically, it means your home has defects or damage that the landlord should fix, but hasn’t, and as a result, the property is not reasonably suitable to live in. Examples of disrepair issues include: damp and mould growing on your walls, leaking roof or ceilings, broken heating or no hot water, rotten windows or doors, plumbing leaks, pest infestations, faulty wiring or gas issues, anything that makes the place unsafe or uncomfortable. If you’ve been reporting problems like these and your landlord shrugs it off or delays endlessly, the property is considered “in disrepair.” Tenants shouldn’t have to live with serious defects that can affect health and safety. Housing disrepair is not about minor wear-andtear or you wanting a fancy upgrade; it’s about the landlord failing to meet basic maintenance obligations. The good news: tenants have legal rights to get repairs done and even claim compensation if the landlord neglects their duties. At WeSueAnyone.com, we deal with housing disrepair cases day in, day out, holding negligent landlords accountable and improving living conditions for our clients. So if your rented home is falling apart around you (and your landlord isn’t stepping up), you’re likely dealing with housing disrepair.

First, notify your landlord in writing of the issues (if you haven’t already). It’s important to give them a chance to put things right, send a polite but clear email or letter listing the problems and asking for repairs. Keep a copy and note the date. Legally, landlords are obliged to keep your home in good repair and safe condition . According to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (for England and Wales), they must maintain the structure and exterior (roof, walls, windows), and keep essential installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, and heating in working order . Give them a “reasonable time” to fix things, what’s reasonable depends on the issue (a broken boiler in winter should be fixed in days, a leaky gutter maybe a couple of weeks). If they still don’t act, you have several options: you can report serious hazards to the council’s Environmental Health team (who can inspect and serve the landlord with an improvement notice). Or, you can pursue a housing disrepair claim through the courts, that’s where we come in. In a disrepair claim, you can ask the court to order the repairs and also claim compensation for inconveniences, health issues, or damaged belongings caused by the disrepair . WeSueAnyone.com’s housing team would gather evidence (photos, doctor’s notes if you got ill from mould, receipts for any damage to your stuff, etc.) to build your case. One thing: before suing, you typically should give the landlord a final warning (often 21 days notice in writing) that you’ll take legal action if they don’t fix the issues, we can draft that letter. If all else fails, we file a claim. The court can award you compensation and force the landlord to carry out repairs. Also, don’t withhold rent without advice, it can backfire legally. Better to go the proper route. You have a right to a habitable home, so don’t let a lazy landlord fob you off, take action.

Yes, you can! If your landlord has failed to repair your home and you’ve suffered because of it, you may be entitled to compensation (damages). Compensation in housing disrepair cases usually covers a few things. Firstly, there’s often an amount for distress, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment, basically for having to live in substandard conditions. Lawyers sometimes calculate this as a percentage of your rent for the period of disrepair (for example, if your bedroom was unusable due to mould, you might get 30% of your rent back for that duration). Secondly, if the disrepair caused damage to your belongings (say your clothes or furniture got ruined by damp, or your TV got fried due to electrical faults), you can claim the cost of repair or replacement of those items. Thirdly, if you suffered ill health due to the disrepair (e.g. asthma worsened by mould, or injuries from a broken stair), you could claim for pain and suffering like in a personal injury claim. You need to prove the link (a doctor’s note helps). Also, any extra expenses you incurred, maybe higher heating bills because the windows were broken, or the cost of dehumidifiers, can be claimed. Importantly, you can claim compensation in addition to getting the repairs done. Often, just forcing the repair isn’t enough, you deserve something for putting up with it for so long. The amount will depend on how severe the issues were and how long they went unresolved. Cases we’ve handled at WeSueAnyone.com have ranged from a few hundred pounds for minor issues to tens of thousands for severe, long-term disrepair causing major health problems. So yes, don’t let the landlord’s neglect slide, you can get money back for your trouble. We’ll help quantify a fair sum and fight for it. (And don’t worry, claiming compensation does not legitimize the landlord in kicking you out, you have legal protections, as we’ll note next.)

Landlords have clear legal duties to keep your home in a good state of repair and safety. By law (in particular the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for tenancies), a landlord must: maintain the structure and exterior of the dwelling (roof, walls, floors, foundations, windows, doors, keeping them free from rot, leaks, etc.), ensure the installations for water, gas, electricity, heating, and sanitation are working (so pipes, boilers, radiators, electrical wiring, toilets, baths, etc.), and keep the property free from serious hazards. They are also responsible for fire safety (smoke alarms, fire-safe furniture if furnished, etc.) and gas safety (annual gas safety checks) by other regulations. They should address problems within a reasonable time once notified, immediate dangers (gas leaks, electrical faults) should be fixed urgently, while minor repairs should still be done in a timely manner. The home should be fit for human habitation, there’s even the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 reinforcing that. Things like pervasive damp, mould, pest infestation, structural cracks, those are breaches of the landlord’s obligations. This applies to all landlords, council, housing association or private. Importantly, you as a tenant should report issues promptly and not intentionally or negligently cause the damage. But assuming it’s not your fault and it’s wear-and-tear or a fault, the landlord must step in. If they don’t, they’re breaching the contract and the law. As housing lawyers, we basically hold up the rulebook to them: “Hey, you have to fix this, it’s not optional!” If they ignore it, the courts can enforce those obligations. Landlords can’t contract out of these core duties. So if you’re worried you’re asking for too much by demanding repairs, you’re not. It’s literally their job.

They shouldn’t be able to, the law offers protection against so-called “retaliatory eviction.” It’s a common fear: you raise a stink about disrepair and suddenly your landlord hits you with an eviction notice. In England (for assured shorthold tenancies), recent laws have cracked down on revenge evictions. If you report disrepair to the council and the council serves your landlord with an Improvement Notice or some enforcement notice, the landlord cannot use a no-fault Section 21 eviction for 6 months after that . Even without council involvement, if a landlord tries to evict purely because you asserted your right to repairs, you might have a defense. Shelter and other organizations advise that courts can deem a Section 21 invalid if it’s clearly retaliatory following a legitimate repair complaint. Also, landlords can’t evict without following the proper legal procedure (notice, then court order). If you’re up-to-date on rent and not in breach of your tenancy, a sudden eviction attempt in response to a disrepair claim can often be challenged. It’s worth noting that if you’re on a periodic or ending tenancy, a landlord could try to not renew or to evict with a valid notice, we can’t 100% stop a determined landlord from eventually regaining possession, but the law gives you some cover to pursue your rights without immediate fear. Frankly, many landlords back off and fix things once a formal claim is made, because they realize retaliating will get them in bigger trouble. At WeSueAnyone.com, we can also advise you on this and even connect you with housing charities if an eviction is attempted. But please don’t let fear of eviction keep you living in slum conditions, you have rights, and using them is not grounds for a lawful eviction. The system is increasingly on tenants’ side about this. (And the government has been discussing abolishing no-fault evictions entirely, stay tuned!) So, raise those complaints confidently. We’ve got your back if the landlord tries anything fishy.