If your landlord has not responded to a report of a structural issue at your rented property, then you could be eligible to make a housing disrepair compensation claim.

What kind of structural issues can I claim for?

You can make a housing disrepair claim if you have reported a structural issue to your landlord and they have not dealt with the issue within a reasonable period of time. The kind of structural issues that a landlord must respond to include:

• Walls that are damaged, crumbling or falling down
• Brickwork that is damaged or falling down
• Plasterwork that is damaged or has deteriorated
• Roof damage that is causing noise or insect, birdlife or weather ingress

The landlord must provide a safe and comfortable property for you to live in, so they must respond to any issues such as these. If they have not done so within a reasonable time period then you can make a housing disrepair claim.

How do I know if I am eligible to make a housing disrepair claim?

There are a number of factors you need to consider before you make a housing disrepair claim. You are only eligible if ALL of these apply to you:

• You are renting your property through a housing association, social housing or local authority, not through a private landlord
• You have reported the problem directly to your landlord and given them sufficient time to resolve the issue
• The problem has not been resolved or you are still living there with the problem unresolved. You can make a housing disrepair claim if all these apply to you.

How could a structural issue affect you?

Structural issues are significant problems which can compromise the stability of an entire property. Naturally this has an effect on you and other neighbouring properties. But in terms of your tenancy agreement and the landlord’s basic duties, a structural issue can:

• Put you and your family in danger of falling debris or structural items
• Cause damage to your personal belongings
• Cause the property to be cold and uncomfortable to live in
• Be very stressful to live with

All these factors combined can help you in making a housing disrepair claim. We can help to quantify these issues to form the basis of a housing disrepair claim., so get in touch with our claims team today.

How do I make a housing disrepair claim?

Our team of friendly and experienced housing disrepair claims specialists are on-hand to help you with the claims process. We work on a no-win-no-fee basis and are available at any time to answer your queries and help to progress your claim.

We will start the process by establishing what your disrepair problem is and when it was first reported. This helps us to be certain that you are eligible to make a claim. We will ask you to provide evidence of the problem and how it has deteriorated. We will also ask you to continue taking this evidence to show the problem is getting worse. If we think you have good grounds for a successful claim then we will proceed with the formal arrangements, so contact Legal HD today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the common complaints I can make a housing disrepair claim for?

In addition to structural issues, you can make a claim for:

• Mould problems and damaged plasterwork
• Rotting or damaged windows
• Water leaks or signs of water leaks (internally and externally) from damaged roofs, ceilings, pipes and gutters
• External damage – brickwork, paths, fences and gates
• Damaged floors, doors, walls, windows and stairs
• Damaged fittings – bathroom, toilet, kitchen
• Infestations – vermin or insects
• Faulty heating, boilers and radiators
• Electrical issues – faulty/damaged sockets and exposed/damaged wiring

How much compensation will I receive?

There is no set figure for this, it is calculated based on the circumstances of every individual case. This could be how long you have had to live with the problem, how badly it has affected you, how much it has deteriorated since you first reported it and how much rent you pay.

What things can I claim for?

You can include the following things in your claim:

• Any costs you have paid out yourself in repairing or living with the problem
• Any damage to your property directly caused by the problem
• Any health issues suffered directly caused by the problem
• Compensation for the inconvenience and discomfort of living with the problem