What is Housing Disrepair?

If you have reported issues in your rented property, such as mould or faulty electrics, and your landlord has failed to act, you may be entitled to housing disrepair compensation. 

Living with unresolved disrepair can affect your health, damage your possessions, and make your home unsafe. Our guide outlines how the housing disrepair claims process works and what steps you can take to ensure your landlord meets their legal responsibilities.

Disrepair claims can be made by tenants living in rented properties when their landlord fails to carry out necessary repairs after being notified, including housing repair breaches. HDR claims ensure that landlords fulfil their legal duty to keep their properties in a safe and habitable condition. 

You may also be able to claim compensation for housing disrepair, for any distress, personal injury, or damage you experienced as a result of your landlord’s failure to maintain the property.

Key takeaways

• Housing disrepair is when a rented property falls below a safe or acceptable living standard due to the landlord’s failure to carry out necessary repairs.
• There are various types of housing disrepair, such as mould, damp, leaks, electrical faults, and structural issues.
• You can claim housing disrepair compensation for the impact on your health, damage to your belongings, and the inconvenience caused by your landlord’s neglect.
• You can make a housing disrepair claim against your landlord, whether they are a private landlord, the local Council, or a Housing Association.
• Satchell Moran offers expert housing disrepair legal services in Liverpool and across the UK.

Table of contents

• Key takeaways
• Types of housing disrepair
• What is the housing disrepair process?
• What housing disrepair compensation can I claim?
  • Compensation for pain & suffering
  • Compensation for lost or damaged belongings
  • Compensation for financial loss
• What do I need to bring a housing disrepair claim?
• Who can I make a HDR claim against?
• Housing disrepair claims against private landlords
• Housing disrepair claims against councils & local authorities
• Should I make a housing disrepair claim?
• Contact Satchell Moran’s housing disrepair team

Types of housing disrepair

There are various types of housing disrepair that renters may struggle with. Here are some of the most common:

• Damp and mould
• Plumbing issues
• Structural damage
• Lack of heating or hot water
• Electrical faults
• Infestations

At Satchell Moran, we have successfully dealt with thousands of disrepair compensation cases. Get in touch with us today.

What is the housing disrepair process?

Typical stages in the housing disrepair process include:

• Report the problems to your landlord: Put an explanation of the disrepair in writing, such as an email or a letter, describing the problems, when they arose, and how they are impacting your health and finances. It is important to keep records and photos as evidence.
• Give your landlord a reasonable chance to repair: Allow your landlord access to inspect the property and make repairs. Again, it is important that you keep a record of all appointments, any missed visits, and attempts at fixes.
• Seek legal help with Satchell Moran: If your landlord still does not resolve the disrepair, contact our expert housing solicitors. We will assess whether you have a housing disrepair claim and talk you through your options.
• Send a formal letter of claim: With our help, the next step is usually to send a detailed letter outlining the defects, the history of your complaints, the impact the disrepair has had, and how you want the landlord to fix the issue.
• Negotiation and settlements: Your landlord may agree to carry out the works, pay compensation, or both. Many cases resolve at this stage without going to court.
• Issuing court proceedings: If your landlord refuses to make the necessary changes or agree to a fair settlement, your dedicated solicitor can issue a court claim asking for an order requiring repairs and an award of compensation.

Read more about the housing disrepair process, otherwise known as the pre-action protocol, in our informative blog.

What housing disrepair compensation can I claim?

You can claim various types of housing disrepair compensation. The exact amount will depend on how serious the issues are, how long they have been left unaddressed, and the impact the disrepair has had on you.

Compensation for pain & suffering

Compensation for pain and suffering relates to the impact the disrepair has on your health, comfort, and use of your home. You can be compensated for physical symptoms, such as breathing problems from damp or mould and the stress the disrepair caused.

Compensation for lost or damaged belongings

If the disrepair has damaged your personal belongings, you can claim the cost of repairing or replacing them. For example, you can claim disrepair compensation for furniture damaged by leaks, clothes ruined by mould, or electrical equipment damaged by faulty wiring. It is important to keep evidence, such as photos, to prove the link to the disrepair and the damaged property.

Compensation for financial and property loss

You can also claim compensation for disrepair based on the financial losses the property issues have caused. Examples include higher heating bills due to draughts, costs of temporary accommodation if your home became uninhabitable, travel costs, or loss of income if you had to take time off work to deal with property fixes or inspections.

How much compensation can I claim for housing disrepair?

How much housing disrepair claims compensation you can obtain depends on the seriousness of the issues, how long they lasted, and how they affected your use of your home, your health and your finances. 

In many cases, housing disrepair compensation is calculated as a percentage of your rent for the period the issues were present, with more serious problems warranting a higher percentage and smaller issues a lower one. 

Read more about how compensation is calculated in our article: Understanding housing disrepair compensation.

What do I need to bring a housing disrepair claim?

To bring a housing disrepair claim against a landlord, you must clearly show what the problems are, that your landlord knew about them, and that they failed to put them right, plus how this has affected you.

Key things you will usually need include:

• Details of the disrepair: A clear description of the issues and how they affect your use of the property.
• Evidence of the problems: Photos or videos of the disrepair and any damage it has caused.
• Proof you reported it to your landlord: Copies of emails, letters, texts, online portal screenshots, or notes of phone calls showing when and how you raised the problems, and the responses you received.
• Timeline of events: Records of the dates when the issues began, when you first reported the issues, any inspections or attempted repairs, and how long the problems have persisted.
• Tenancy documents: Your tenancy agreement and any related documentation showing who your landlord is and your address.
• Evidence of impact on you: GP or hospital letters, prescriptions, or notes if the disrepair has affected your physical or mental health. You may also keep a diary noting rooms you cannot use, disrupted sleep, or loss of use of your home.
• Evidence of financial loss: Receipts and bills for costs linked to the disrepair, such as damaged belongings, increased heating bills, etc.

Our housing disrepair solicitors will review this information, advise on the strength of your house disrepair claim, and assist you in obtaining any additional evidence, such as a surveyor’s report, if needed.

Who can I make a HDR claim against?

You can bring a housing disrepair claim against most types of residential landlords, provided they are responsible for property repairs and have failed to fix reported issues.

Housing disrepair claims against private landlords

If you rent from a private individual or company, you can make a housing disrepair claim against them if they have not completed necessary repairs after being notified. The property disrepair claim will be based on your tenancy agreement and the landlord’s legal requirement to maintain the property, including the exterior, interior, and features, such as heating, water, gas, and electrics.

Housing disrepair claims against councils and local authorities

If your landlord is the council or another local authority, you can also bring a housing disrepair claim if they have failed to act on reported problems. In these instances, the council still has a legal requirement to uphold properties to a reasonable standard.

Should I make a housing disrepair claim?

You should consider making a housing disrepair claim if serious problems in your rented property haven’t been fixed within a reasonable time after you have reported them, and they are affecting your health, safety, belongings, or daily life.

If you have repeatedly told your landlord about issues such as damp, mould, leaks, broken heating, or faulty electrics and they still have not put things right, a claim can help force proper repairs and compensate you for the inconvenience and loss you have suffered.

Reminder: You typically need to be within the legal time limits, six years for disrepair and three years for the personal injury caused by it, and have evidence that you reported the problems and your landlord failed to act. 

Contact Satchell Moran’s housing disrepair team

Satchell Moran’s housing disrepair team can review your situation, advise if you have a claim, and handle the process of securing repairs and compensation on your behalf. 

To get started, you can contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation and arrange a call with a member of the housing disrepair team.