Housing Disrepair
Whether you are renting your home from a private landlord, housing association or local authority, the law imposes strict requirements on landlords to ensure that your property is kept in a good state of repair.
We are particularly experienced in claims for housing disrepair associated with all kinds of damp, including rising damp issues and damage caused by penetrating damp.
Issues that can arise in relation to housing
It can be not only distressing but also damage to our health if the property in which we live falls into a state of disrepair. Especially for parents with children, if the family home becomes a risk to the health of the family, including the children, this can cause considerable stress and anxiety. In addition, if your landlord is a housing association or local council they may ignore your requests for the problems to be put right, for example, because they manage so many properties that they cannot keep up with all the complaints or else because they do not wish to spend the money required to repair the property. When such complaints and requests are being ignored by your landlord, you may feel that there is nothing that can be done. However, we can help you.
What we can do for you
The first step is for us to have an initial telephone interview with you and then come to your property and inspect it ourselves. This is so that we can make a quick and accurate assessment of the property and tell you whether you have a valid claim or not. We have a very high success rate – if we take your case on, you are very likely to be successful. The next step is for us to write to your landlord informing them of the need to undertake the necessary works to the property. In addition, we inform them that, if they do not make the necessary works we will take them to court. If they do not make the necessary works, then we can obtain not only a court order that they have to make those improvements, but also compensation for you and your family. This compensation is calculated based upon the nature and degree of the disrepair and the length of time for which it has persisted.
Please be aware that taking action against a landlord in this way does not affect your tenancy.
How we work
We have an excellent success rate in part because of the manner in which analyse each case. The chances of success or failure in each case depend upon correctly identifying when a person has a valid case. In order to identify those cases that are likely to be successful, we visit and inspect each property. We use specialist equipment to analyse the condition of the property and using this information we can tell you whether or not we are willing to take on your case. After that we send an expert to your address in order to perform an even more thorough investigation and produce an authoritative report on the state of the property. We then use that report in court as evidence.
However, our success rate is also because of the tenacious and diligent manner in which we work on all our cases.
No Win No Fee
Our solicitors can assist you with a housing disrepair claim on a no win no fee basis.
In April 2013, public funding was drastically reduced for housing law and so now many people are suffering in silence while their landlord allows their home to fall into disrepair. However, you do not need to be eligible for public funding for us to represent you.
So, how are we funded? We are well aware that the vast majority of people who live in properties that are in a state of disrepair cannot afford to pay the legal fees required to do all this work. However, even without public funding, our service does not cost you anything. When we win our case, our legal fees are paid for by the other side, not by you. Our initial assessment of the property always gives us a very good idea of whether or not we are going to be successful. So, if we take a case on, we are likely to be successful and, if we are successful, then the client does not have to pay us anything. If we do not win the case, however, you still do not owe us anything.
Please note that we do not take on every single case that comes to us. We generally insist that the landlord is a council or housing association as they generally have the resources to address the concerns of the individual. However, this does not mean that we will not consider private landlords.
Things to keep in mind
If you think your property is in a state of disrepair and you wish for works to be done, you should keep in mind the following points:
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Take photographs of the parts of the house that are in a state of disrepair
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Inform your landlord of the disrepair and send them the pictures of the disrepair and ask for the appropriate repairs to be.
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Keep a record of all your communications with them, including dates and any responses from them.
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Allow them time to respond to each of your complaints.
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If you feel you are not going to get any response at all and you have concerns about the health of you and your family, contact us.
Recent figures show 47% of children with asthma are from the poorest 10% of families in the UK, and 85% of children living in damp houses suffer from breathing problems. Click here to see the full report on what children think and feel about growing up in such conditions.
Why we provide the best legal advice in relation to your Housing Disrepair Claims.
We are fully authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). When you instruct us, our qualified solicitor works on your case from the outset, when it matters the most, in order to ensure no time and money is wasted and, more importantly, that no mistakes are made.
Our clients are the centre of our attention. We are genuinely interested in your case and will always take time to meet with you and find out about your situation. Our goal is to bring insight and understanding to your situation. In these unsettled times, you need to know your case will be handled by a professional with only your best interests at heart.
Contact us for successful outcome to your case
Our team of experienced and professionally qualified solicitors will be able to guide you through the process step by step and limit the possibility of failure by complying with the strict letter of the law. Please always call us for a free telephone case assessment even if you wish to consider other advisers.
To contact our Housing Disrepair Solicitor please complete our contact form below and we will get in touch. Alternatively, call us today for a free case assessment.
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