We were instructed in January 2022 by Mrs D from Berkshire who had been experiencing ongoing damp and black mould within the leasehold flat she shared with her three children since 2014. We took her case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
Our client and her family moved into their first floor flat in 2014 and in 2015 they purchased the leasehold. In early 2016 our client noticed damp and black mould on the wall in the main bedroom next to an exterior window. Our client contacted the freeholder but didn’t receive a reply. Our client continuously reported the disrepair between 2016 and 2021 to no avail.
In November 2021 our client who was unsure of the cause of the mould arranged for a plasterer to attend in a view to re-plastering the wall. The plasterer advised that he was unable to re-plaster the wall as it was far too wet and there must be a significant leak which would need to be remedied before the plaster work can be renewed.
The freeholder made no attempt over five years to adequately investigate or attempt to repair the external damage which was the root cause of the internal disrepair therefore once we took instruction, we gathered evidence of the correspondence between our clients and the freeholder plus copies of the original lease and appointed an expert surveyor to assess the property and report his findings.
The surveyor reported that the main issue was moisture penetration from the rainwater cast iron downpipe which had suffered fractures along the length of the pipe causing moisture to soak through the substrate and damage the plaster lining of the wall causing a high concentration of humidity and black mould.
We sent a detailed letter of claim to the freeholder setting out that they were in breach of express and implied terms of tenancy and/or breach of their statutory and common law duties by not adhering to the clauses outlined in the leasehold regarding the freeholder’s responsibility for the maintenance and repairs of all common area water and waste pipes.
The freeholders solicitor acknowledged our letter of claim and instructed their own nominated surveyor to assess the property. The freeholder’s expert surveyors report agreed with ours, howeverthe freeholder was neither willing to provide a schedule of works nor make our client an offer for damages therefore we issued court proceedings.
As the date of the hearing grew closer the freeholders’ solicitors contacted with a part 36 offer to settle out of court, the offer was well below par and was rejected by our client therefore the hearing went ahead.
The judge ruled that our client be awarded £15,000 in damages, her home be sufficiently repaired and all legal costs to be recovered from the other side.
Our client and her family had up until the point of instruction lived with damp and black mould for over six years and whilst getting their home repaired and returned to a liveable state was of primary importance the compensation that they received helped immensely with getting their lives back on track.
For more information on how compensation is generally calculated, read our article on this subject: https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
by Jane Willacey
It may surprise you to hear this , but you do not need to instruct a solicitor to bring a housing disrepair claim. But, the court will hold you to the same standard they expect from a lawyer if you make the claim yourself.
We always advise potential clients to engage our services or those of other solicitors who specialise in bringing housing disrepair claims. We are aware of all the tactics, tricks and strategies that Landlords are likely to employ. Crucially, we are also aware of how to defeat them.
What do I need to know?
The process that you must follow is prescribed by the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Claims. It can be found here: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/prot_hou
If you fail to comply with the Protocol you face the prospect of making a successful claim, but failing to recover costs and expenses and so it is essential that you follow it closely.
What does the Protocol say?
If you are thinking of making a claim, we urge you to read and understand the document before you do anything. This article is intended to be a summary guide only and so should not be relied upon instead of reading the Protocol.
The main parts of the Protocol for you to understand are:
You must send a letter of claim. This must contain your details along with those of the property and the disrepair complained of. You must explain the history of the problem and include when you first reported it to your Landlord and how. The letter must nominate a suitably qualified surveyor to inspect the property and enclose a draft letter of instruction. You should also request sight of all documents you wish to see that you believe may support your claim, such as the repair log.
You must allow 20 working days from the deemed date of service of the letter of claim. The deemed date of service is the second working day after you sent the letter by first class post. If you send it on a Friday, the deemed date of service is the Tuesday. Do not forget to allow for any bank holidays when calculating the date the response is due.
Landlords typically respond to acknowledge the claim before providing requested documents and a response regarding the instruction of a surveyor. Usually, the response is one of the following:
They agree to the joint instruction of a single expert on behalf of both parties;
They do not agree to a joint instruction, but agree to a joint inspection;
They do not believe a third party surveyor should be instructed and, instead, feel that their own in-house surveyor should inspect the property;
They deny the claim and so do not believe any surveyor should be instructed; or
They fail to respond at all.
You are then required to arrange for the surveyor(s) to undertake an inspection of your property and provide an expert witness report. You must ensure that the report complies with the requirements of Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which can be found here: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part35
You will, in most circumstances, need to pay for the surveyor’s report and the cost is likely to range from around £500 to £1,500 plus VAT. You can proceed without a report, but doing so is extremely risky and your claim would be likely to fail;
Once you are in receipt of the report, you should serve a copy on your landlord and allow them a reasonable time to consider it. They should respond to confirm whether they admit or deny the disrepair. It is common, if they make any admissions, for them to provide a Schedule of Works.
If you are satisfied with their response, you should seek to negotiate damages. If you are not, you may wish to issue court proceedings. These, like the surveyor’s reports, are expensive and you would need to pay these before you could proceed unless you are entitled to a fee remission. The court fees are here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728146/ex50a-eng.pdf Details on fee remissions are here: https://www.gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees
Damages
We call compensation, damages. There are two types, general and special.
General Damages
General damages are those awarded for non-tangible things such as inconvenience or pain, suffering and loss of amenity. In housing disrepair claims, general damages are awarded for you having had to live in poor conditions for the period from when repairs should have been completed to when they were. They are normally calculated as percentage reduction in rent whether you pay the rent or receive benefits. The more significant the impact the disrepair has had on your home, the higher the percentage.
Special Damages
Special damages are your out of pocket expenses. In housing disrepair claims, they are normally things like:
The cost of decorating that would not have been required but for the disrepair;
Replacing property damaged because of the disrepair;
The cost of alternative accommodation;
The cost of prescriptions or pain killers due to illness or injury caused or contributed to by the disrepair; and
The cost of travel to any medical appointments or to attend your landlord’s property to complain.
So what does a lawyer do?
At MJV Solicitors, we believe we add value for our clients. We provide expertise, skill and experience that makes making a claim for housing disrepair much easier for you. We act on a no win no fee basis and the surveyor’s report and court fees are included so you have nothing to pay unless your claim succeeds. If you do win your claim, we take a success fee of no more than 25% including VAT from your general damages and you will also pay the cost of an after the event insurance policy. This policy covers your costs if you lose your case and so provides protection that is necessary. If you do lose, you pay nothing provided you comply with the terms and conditions. These are not onerous. If you cooperate with us and tell the truth, you will comply.
If you believe you may have a housing disrepair claim why not contact us to discuss how we can help take the stress out of it for you. Call 01253 858231 or e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk
by Jane Willacey
We were instructed in December 2021 by Mrs A from Croydon who had been experiencing ongoing disrepair within her council flat since the winter of 2015. We took her case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
In November 2015 our client noticed damp, water staining and mould growth on her bedroom ceiling. This was reported this to the council who sent contractors to the property. Our client was informed that the contractors believed the leak to of come from the above property and that repairs had been successful, however after just a few weeks there was evidence that the leak had reoccurred.
In the spring of 2017 and after multiple complaints contractors were sent to the property, they again told our client that they had identified the source of the leak and repairs had been made, however the contractors left our client with a large hole in the ceiling plus the leak and mould growth not only continued but also started to spread to other rooms in her property.
The council sent contractors back to the property time and time again however the result was always the same and by the end of 2020 our clients property was covered in mould and damp which was so bad that she couldn’t have curtains or blinds up at any of her windows as they would become saturated and consumed by the mould within days.
By the end of 2021 our client was at her wits end, she had endured six years of damp and mould which was having a negative impact on both her physical and mental wellbeing.
Once we were instructed, we sent a detailed letter of claim to the council setting out that they were in breach of express and implied terms of tenancy and/or breach of their statutory and common law duties by not adhering to the clauses outlined in the tenancy regarding the council’s responsibility for the maintenance and repairs of the building and we instructed an expert surveyor to assess the disrepair.
The surveyor reported that some of the main issues were but not limited to a severely blocked hopper and an active leak originating from a water storage tank above the property.
We received an acknowledgement of the letter of claim from the councils’ solicitors and they instructed their own expert surveyor to assess the property, their surveyors report agreed with ours therefore we made a part 36 offer to settle out of court, this offer was rejected by the other party as the council stated that the first complaint record that they had from our client was in 2018 rather than 2015. This certainly was not the case, we gathered the client’s evidence including phone records, emails and paper trails going back over six years.
The other party after viewing our client’s evidence came back to us with a counteroffer which was a lot less than our valuation of the claim therefore, we rejected their offer and we entered negotiations, the other party eventually accepted our part 36 offer to settle of £9000.00 plus all repairs to be completed within 30 days and all legal costs recovered from the other side.
Our client up until the point of instruction had lived with an active leak, damp and mould for six years which had caused her much distress and frustration which had a negative impact on her physical health and mental health and whilst getting her home back to a livable state was the priority the compensation that our client received came a close second.
For more information on how compensation is generally calculated, read our article on this subject: https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
