Housing Disrepair Case Study: Damaged Gutters
We were instructed at the start of May 2020 by Mrs K from Leicester who had been experiencing ongoing mould and damp within her property since 2018. We took her case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
Our client moved into her property in the late winter of 2017, within just a few weeks she noticed mould appearing in both the bathroom and second bedroom to the rear of the property. Our client contacted the council via both phone and email but received no response.
By the winter of 2019 the mould was getting a lot worse and carpets and curtains were saturated, all attempts by our client to clean and repaint the walls were in vain.
The council made no response to our client’s complaints and there was no attempt to investigate the source of the disrepair.
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 their responsibility for the maintenance and repairs of the structural integrity of the building and we instructed an expert surveyor.
Our surveyor reported that some of the main issues were but not limited to severely blocked gutters which were cracked in numerous places along the back of the property which allowed water to penetrate the rear wall.
The council’s solicitor acknowledged our letter of claim and many discussions they made a part 36 offer to settle out of court. The offer was a little lower than anticipated therefore we made a counteroffer of £3,550, repairs to be fully completed within 60 days and all costs recovered from the other side. The council agreed to settle.
Our client’s had up until the point of instruction lived in a state of disrepair for over 2 years and whilst getting their home returned to the state it should have been in was the priority the compensation that our client received for 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/