For a tenant living in rented accommodation provided by a housing association, a local authority or through social housing, the cost of living crisis has hit hard. It can be challenging enough to afford the monthly rent, but the rise in energy costs has been particularly impactful as people face the daily dilemma over what to prioritise, health and comfort in your own home or one or more of the many other financial demands that you might face.  

Dealing with escalating costs for gas and electricity can often be made harder if there is a disrepair issue in the home. Many disrepair issues can contribute to rising energy bills and can exacerbate an already stressful situation.  

Typical disrepair issues that can contribute to rising energy bills

There are a number of common disrepair issues that can arise in rented accommodation, and which, if left, can quickly deteriorate. The effects of these can be varied, but often result in homes that are cold and uncomfortable. This can also lead to damp and mould which can start to damage the internal structure of a property. But common disrepair issues which can lead to cold conditions in rented accommodation include: 

• Broken windows or poor seals around windows 

• Broken doors or poor seals around doors 

• Cracks in external walls 

• Damaged roofs 

• Damaged fascias and soffits 

• Damaged or poor quality insulation 

• Damaged heating and plumbing systems 

In cold conditions it doesn’t take much for a home to begin to feel uncomfortable, and disrepair issues such as these can quickly accelerate to present a number of problems, such as: 

• Uncomfortable – It can feel cold and unpleasant living in your own home. 

• Stress – Feeling uncomfortable in your own home can mean you don’t have the home comforts you enjoy and this can accelerate problems with stress and anxiety, and can start to damage relationships you have within the home. 

• Belongings – Some of your personal possessions may become damaged, particularly if damp and mould starts to develop. 

• Illness – Living in cold and damp conditions can start to impact on your health. 

• Energy costs – You will need to heat the home to compensate for the heat loss, meaning your bills increase. If a gas heating system is faulty you may need to use temporary electric solutions, which also increases your energy costs. 

What you should do if disrepair issues are making your home cold

Your landlord has a duty to provide rented accommodation that is safe and comfortable, and this means that heating systems should be properly installed and tested and inspected as being safe and operational. This also means that they need to be adequate and suitable for the accommodation. On top of this, the landlord is responsible for carrying out repairs for issues that arise in the property, including those that may contribute to the property becoming cold and uncomfortable. 

If a disrepair issue arises you should: 

• Contact the landlord – Make sure you tell your landlord straight away that a repair is required. You need to ensure you inform the landlord directly, rather than leave a message with someone else. This means they can’t say they didn’t know about it or the message never reached them.  

• Evidence – Keep a record of the problem by taking photos and making a note of the dates on which you have reported and followed up the issue. This includes keeping evidence of how the problem gets worse, and how it is impacting you. 

• Follow-up – If the landlord doesn’t respond to your report or doesn’t carry out the repair, you need to follow the problem up and report it again. You must give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to respond and to carry out the repair, based on the complexity and cost of the issue.  

• Legal support – If you have given the landlord a reasonable period of time to respond to the issue and they have failed to resolve it, you can start to take legal advice. A housing disrepair claim specialist such as Legal HD can help you resolve the issue and reclaim some of your costs. We can get the repair issue fixed and then help you recover costs you may have incurred in solving the problem yourself, costs of damage to clothing or belongings, and possibly for additional energy costs you have had to pay to compensate for the cold living conditions.  

Professional legal support with housing disrepair issues from Legal HD

Energy bills are hard enough to manage without disrepair issues adding to your problems. There are a number of common disrepair issues that can contribute to a home feeling cold and uncomfortable and as a paying tenant you have a right to have these issues resolved and to live in a warm and comfortable home. So if you have encountered a disrepair issue that is making your home cold and increasing your energy bills and your landlord has not resolved it, we can help you at Legal HD if you contact our team today.