We were instructed in May 2021 by Mr H from North London who had been experiencing ongoing leaks within his council flat since December 2020. We took his case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
Our client noticed water coming through the light fittings in his bathroom and hallway on 23rd December 2020, this was reported to the council on the emergency line and a work man attended, our client was told that there wasn’t anything that can be done that evening but the lights were safe to use.
On 24th December 2020 our client again reported to the council that the leaks were still active and were causing a considerable amount of damage to the ceiling and floors, however they did not send anybody out to inspect the issue.
Our client contacted the council multiple times via telephone and email over the next few months to no avail and by March 2021 the plasterwork on the ceilings and walls was starting to crumble, the floors were saturated and black mould was starting to form.
The council made no attempt to investigate or repair the leak therefore we took our clients instruction and gathered evidence of the correspondence between our clients and the council plus copies of the tenancy and appointed an expert surveyor to assess the property and report his findings.
Our expert surveyor reported that some of the main issues were but not limited to bulging and damage to ceilings, plasterwork, skirting boards and flooring, damp and black mould caused by numerous untreated leaks with contaminated water ingress originating from a broken waste pipe in the flat above.
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 tenancy regarding the council’s responsibility for the maintenance and repairs of the structural integrity of the building.
We received a response from the councils solicitors who let us know that they had instructed their own surveyor to assess the property. The survey went ahead as planned and the other party’s expert agreed with our expert surveyor on all counts of disrepair.
We made an offer to settle out of court but our offer was rejected therefore we continued to prepare for a trial. A matter of weeks before the trial date the councils’ solicitors came back to us with an initial offer, we refused this offer as it was deemed below par but after a few more days of negotiations our client accepted a part 36 offer of £2,300 in damages with all repairs to be completed within 60 days and all legal fees covered by the other side.
Our client’s had up until the point of instruction lived with damp and mould for months and whilst getting their home returned to the state it should have been in was the priority the compensation that our client received for his stress and frustration 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/
by Jane Willacey
Notice is often the point of dispute in a housing disrepair claim.
Disrepair
Part of the test to assess whether a potential client is likely to have a claim for housing disrepair is that their home is in a poor condition due to their landlord failing to undertake repairs that are their responsibility.
We will not go into this in any detail in this article as we will be writing in the near future on what is meant by disrepair and what type of issues typically fall under the landlord’s obligations.
Notice
The second part of the test is that the tenant has given their landlord sufficient notice. The disrepair or defect must be brought to their attention. If, having received notice of disrepair for which the landlord is responsible, they fail to carry out repairs within a reasonable time, you are likely to have a good claim for housing disrepair.
Without the notice, a landlord is likely to agree to undertake the repairs, but not compensate you for the inconvenience and distress their failure to act has caused.
Method
Most of our clients report issues with disrepair by telephone. While many landlords are very good at keeping records and record any such reports, many do not.
We are often instructed by clients a few years after they say they first reported a particular problem and so they cannot give much information as to the date that the issue was reported. If there is no record within the evidence the landlord discloses to us, it is much more difficult for a claim to succeed as it is necessary for a tenant to give a landlord notice.
As such, we recommend, whether you are intending to bring a claim or not, you should always report any disrepair by e-mail. You will then have a written record of the date and time of each report as well as the contents of each complaint. You can refer back to this for years to come.
Nobody knows whether their landlord will act responsibly for if they will fail in their duty towards them. As such, you should always proceed cautiously.
External Disrepair
It is not necessary for a tenant to report items of disrepair to the exterior of the property. These are discoverable without the landlord gaining entry to the property. However, where the external disrepair gives rise to internal problems (such as if there are issues with the pointing at the property allowing water to enter) then the issues affecting the inside must still be reported.
Constructive Notice
If there has been an inspection since an internal problem first showed, provide it was discoverable by the naked eye, the landlord can be considered to have constructive notice.
However, while a tenant may say that it was discoverable, landlords are likely to deny this and so deny that nootice has been served.
The Importance
A claim for housing disrepair compensation cannot succeed unless a tenant can prove that notice was given to the landlord.
The damages you receive will be calculated based on the period from the date a reasonable landlord would have completed the repairs having received notice. More can be found on how compensation is calculated here: https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
Just in case you ever need to bring such a claim, always report issues by e-mail and always save those e-mails. You will, hopefully, never need them, but you will be glad you followed this advice if you do.
by Jane Willacey
We were instructed at the end of December 2021 by Mrs W from South London who had been experiencing ongoing disrepair within the council flat she shared with her two young children since 2007. We took her case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
In the winter of 2007, our client noticed a slow leak coming from the ceiling of the master bedroom, our client reported this to the council several times over the period of a few months however our client didn’t receive a reply.
By the spring of 2008 black mould had started to form on the ceiling where the leak originated and the plaster work in this area had begun to crumble, again the disrepair was reported and this time our client received a reply, she was informed that an appointment had been made for a contractor to attend however they didn’t turn up to the appointment.
Our client attempted numerous times over a Fourteen year period to have her property repaired however all her requests were ignored
As soon as we took instruction, 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.
The councils’ solicitors acknowledged our letter of claim and both parties arranged for the property to be inspected by our nominated expert surveyors. The surveyors reported that some of the main issues were but not limited to
Damp and mould found in the master bedroom which recorded a high damp meter reading.
Defective rendering, guttering and damage to drainage pipes which was the main cause of the initial slow leak and subsequent mould.
We made a part 36 offer to settle without the need for court proceedings, our first offer was rejected however the other party accepted a subsequent offer of £8590.00 in damages and repairs to be completed within 60 days plus all legal costs recovered from the other side.
Although the disrepair for this claim was small in comparison to most of our housing disrepair cases the amount of time that our client lived within a state of disrepair meant that she received a substantial amount of compensation and whilst getting her home back to a liveable state was the priority the damages 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/
by Jane Willacey
We were instructed at the end of April 2022 by Mr H from North London who had been experiencing ongoing disrepair within his council owned flat since December 2017. We took his case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
In the winter of 2017, our client noticed that mould was beginning to form on the walls and ceilings in the bedroom, bathroom and living room plus he was finding a large number of slugs within the property when the weather was cold and damp. Our client reported this to the council via phone and email a considerable number of times over a five-year period with no response from the council.
By the start of 2021 the damp and mould had become so bad that it had ruined all the soft furnishings within the property, carpets, bedding, and curtains to name just a few were saturated with damp and mould which had a negative impact on our clients physical and mental health.
As soon as we took instruction, 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 and we instructed an expert surveyor to assess the disrepair.
The surveyor reported that some of the main issues were but not limited to severely blocked guttering and drainage pipes, inadequate ventilation and blown seals on all windows and doors.
Some weeks later we received an acknowledgement of the letter of claim from the councils’ solicitors however they were reluctant to enter in to negotiations to commence repairs and settle out of court, therefore we issued court proceedings.
As the hearing date drew nearer we received a part 36 offer to settle out of court. The offer was lower than our valuation therefore we made a counter offer which in turn was rejected.
The judge ruled that the council were in breach of express and implied terms of tenancy and/or breach of their statutory and common law duties and awarded our client £3850 in compensation with all repairs to be made within 90 days.
Our client up until the point of instruction had lived with damp, mould and a slug infestation for four years which had caused him considerable distress and frustration and whilst getting his home back to a liveable 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/
