Everyone has a right to live in a well-kept property, but unfortunately home owners fail to take responsibility. Every rental property on the market owned by either a housing association, council, or a private landlord must meet certain standards that ensure they are safe and suitable for tenants to live in. As a tenant living in a rented apartment, your landlord is under obligation by law to ensure the accommodation is safe and hazard-free. It can be devastating when your landlord is aware of your suffering but never responds to your complaint which can lead to claiming for disrepair.
If you are Living in a house and your Landlord turns a blind eye to your complaint for repairs, it can have a detrimental effect on your health in the case of escalating mould and damps. As a tenant in a rental accommodation, your landlord is under obligation by law to ensure that:
It can be quite frustrating when your landlord or housing association refuses to respond to poor living conditions in your apartment. Read on as we discuss the most common housing disrepair issues, what you can do if your landlord won’t repair the issues in your home and house to make disrepair claims.
Are you experiencing persistent flooding and water leaks? Flooding and water leaks expose you to health and safety risks and ultimately lead to disrepair claims. Water damage is a serious issue in any apartment and must be addressed quickly to prevent it from entering into your property and damaging your belongings or even causing damps.
Structural issues can be ticking time bombs as they often represent the root cause of other problems in a property, many of which can result in disrepair claims. For instance, broken stairs and rails, broken ceilings or roof, cracked walls, rotten window or door frames, severely cracked wall plaster and loose tiles etc.
Has your landlord’s failure to uphold the structural integrity of your home forced you to start living with unwelcome guests? If disrepair in your home has caused you so much infestation, you can claim compensation through a housing disrepair association or contact our team of specialist solicitors to investigate your claim.
Many housing disrepair cases are due to failure on the part of the landlord to deal with damp and mould. When a disrepair in your house caused by water from outside affects the entire structure of the building it can result in mould and penetrating damps if not addressed on time. Damp and mould can expose tenants to serious health issues and make the environment unsafe to live in.
Many landlords fail when it comes to ensuring the heating system in the home is in optimum condition. Faulty electrics are hazardous to live with and should be repaired to avoid fire disaster.
The windows, roof, drains and gutters are crucial to your health and safety in a rented home. It is the responsibility of your landlord to maintain these structures.
Housing disrepair is simply a poor state of a property that needs to be put in order by a negligent landlord, which falls below the quality standard of habitation. Poor living conditions by tenants can affect their safety and general wellbeing.
When the condition of a rented property has deteriorated and is in need of repairs to become safe and suitable for tenants to live in. This negative change in quality could be physical damage to the exterior or interior, or infestation, plumbing problems, mould issues, or anything that prevents you from living normally in the rented property.
Is your rented property in need of repair? Have you reported the issues and your landlord has failed to carry out necessary work within a reasonable period of time? Have you suffered discomfort, illness or injury as a result of the disrepair? Our Housing disrepair Solicitors can help you claim for disrepair, if you have a strong claim to sue your landlord for negligence.
The windows, roof, drains and gutters are crucial to your health and safety in your home. Security is paramount in any apartment. Drainages and drains must be properly cleaned and maintained in your home. Windows , doors, gates, fences, must be secure. But if the landlord does not care about the safety of tenants living in his property it can lead to more disrepair problems.
The most common housing disrepair claims can be classified into three, compensation claims relating to health, if a tenant suffers health issues as a direct result of unrepairs. Secondly, compensation claims relating to damage to personal property, if a tenant's personal belongings were damaged due to disrepair they can make a claim. Lastly, claim for general inconveniences. If a part of your apartment is abandoned or uninhabitable because of the dilapidating level of disrepair it can be classified as a general inconvenience.
Property owners and landlords are obligated by law to make sure that every property they lease out to tenants is structurally habitable. Many tenants who rent accommodation experience repair problems whether in private or social houses. Disrepair problems can be either issues within the exterior or interior structure of the property. The implications may be infestation, plumbing problems, mould issues, or anything that may prevent tenants from living normally in the rented property. Common housing disrepair issues that may lead to housing disrepair claims include:
Housing disrepair claims are legal actions taken against negligent Landlords for failing to maintain their property that has fallen into disrepair, leading to poor living conditions for occupants. It involves filing a case against a landlord or housing association to claim compensation for not fixing poor living conditions in their property that exposed tenants to risk and health hazards. Disrepair claims are tough to handle and therefore require experienced housing disrepair solicitors.
Renters have a legal right to enjoy a well kept home but when this is not the case, a landlord can be liable to offer compensation based on the seriousness of the disrepair and the life changing injury or accident caused by his neglect. Even a next door house in disrepair can be devastating to other occupants especially if they share common boundaries, this can lead to claim for disrepair.
On the other hand, a housing association disrepair claim has to do with disrepair claims by tenants living in social housing that needs repairs but were neglected by their housing association landlord. Tenants can take action to sue any housing association that fails in its duty to carry out crucial repairs. If you find yourself in that situation, our social housing solicitors can assist you to get the repairs you need done. They can also help you claim compensation for damages, injuries and inconveniences.
Housing disrepair claims can be made only if your landlord has totally refused to carry out needed repairs in your property, putting you and your family at risk. A rented house should provide security, so tenants rely on their landlord because he is liable to maintain and do necessary repairs as at when due. If your landlord doesn't deal with repairs and this has caused harm to you or your family member, then you may be eligible to receive some compensation. Get advice from one of our housing disrepair solicitors to start your claim for disrepair today.
Every Tenant has a right to take legal action against their landlord if he fails to carry out his duties. If disrepair in your home has caused you so much inconvenience, you can claim compensation through a housing disrepair association or contact our team of specialist solicitors to investigate your claim. Tenants living in a rental property have an option to make a complaint, but if they don't get a response, then they can take further steps to get the landlord to fix faults and claim for disrepair.
One step you can take if your private landlord won't deal with repairs is to do the repairs yourself and deduct it from your subsequent rent payment. You must ensure your landlord is aware of your terrible living conditions and the inconveniences it has caused you and your household.
Another way to get your landlord to respond to your complaint is to hold back your rent or part of your rent until the landlord completes the repairs.
Tenants must also check and find out what repairs their landlord is responsible for in order to make informed decisions. Breaking your lease is one of the actions you can take to get out of a hazardous situation.
You need an experienced solicitor to take you through the process of recovering compensation for damages and injury caused by housing disrepair. You need all the information you can get to help you through your disrepair claims.
If the landlord hasn't fixed or responded to a serious issue that poses a threat to your safety like a faulty elevator or broken stair rail, you will have to take stricter measures to get work done. A tenant can sue the Landlord if the situation poses a risk to his health, whether physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Housing disrepair claims by tenants can end in Litigation if it doesn't reach timely settlement.
At housingdisrepairclaim.co.uk all of our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee agreement with all our clients. No Win No Fee refers to legal services provided by way of an arrangement that generally means you won’t be expected to pay legal fees unless you win your case. It allows normal members of the public to bring forward housing disrepair legal claims without having to fund the costs out of their own pockets up front.
No Win No Fee arrangements are generally made available by solicitors offering clients a Conditional Fee Arrangement or “CFA” when acting in a housing disrepair matter.
A No Win No Fee Agreement is a formal agreement with a Solicitor that generally means you won’t be expected to pay legal fees unless you win your case. It allows normal members of the public to bring a housing disrepair claim without having to fund the costs out of their own pockets up front.
A No Win, No Fee agreement, means everyone can access justice, even if they do not have the financial means to pay up front for a court case. Any tenant can claim for disrepair without breaking the bank because they are equally entitled to justice. This is vital to ensure the interests of justice are upheld and that victims are able to pursue their legal rights.
With a CFA if your case loses, you will not pay your solicitor anything.
If your case is successful, you will need to pay your legal costs for representation. These vary depending on which firm you use. However, these costs are generally recovered from the losing party, or defendant and your solicitor manages this process for you.
You may also be required to pay a Success Fee to your chosen law firm. This is a percentage-based fee that comes out of your compensation if you win the case. This amount will be agreed by you and your solicitors at the start of your claim but is no more than 25% of your total compensation in relation to any personal injury aspect of your potential claim and 50% in relation to any other aspect of your potential claim.
The level of the success charged will be between 0 – 25% for any personal injury aspect of your potential claim and 50% in relation to any other aspect of your potential claim and is assessed by panel law firms on a case by case basis. When choosing the level of the success fee being charged each panel law firm will have an individual assessment criteria
In addition to the success fee set out above, in the event that you terminate the agreement with the Panel Law Firm other than during the cancellation period then the firm may charge a termination fee. You should discuss this carefully with your solicitor so you fully understand your rights and obligations under your CFA.
After The Event Insurance is a product your solicitor may advise you to take out alongside your CFA. It provides an insurance policy to cover any potential costs in the event your case is unsuccessful. Generally, ATE is designed to cover the costs of disbursements incurred (medical records, expert fees, barristers fees etc) and/or and potential adverse legal costs orders made for you to pay the defendant’s legal costs. If you have ATE in place, such costs can be covered by the insurance policy.
We work with a Panel of experienced housing disrepair solicitors. This means we can find the right Solicitor for your case with the necessary expertise. If we believe you may be able to pursue a claim for housing disrepair we can provide you with the dedicated details of one of our Panel of Specialist Housing Disrepair Solicitors so they can provide you with a legal assessment of your potential housing disrepair claim.
You are under no obligation to use or instruct the Panel Law Firms we work with and you are free to choose any legal representation you wish.
We do not charge any fee for our services. We are paid an advertising fee by the Panel Law Firms we work with for the advertising services we provide, but our service is free of charge to you.
Has a member of your family suffered an injury or medical condition caused directly from a disrepair, you may be eligible to claim some compensation. If you're ready to take legal action to get the compensation you deserve, our no win no fee agreement is a sure way to cover costs. Our Housing Disrepair Solicitors can take on your case on a no win no fee basis, that means, there is no financial obligation to you. They can help you get work done in your apartment and fight for the compensation you deserve.