Housing Disrepair: leak from the property above
Housing Disrepair Case Study
Our client contacted us in September 2019 to obtain free legal advice about her potential claim for housing disrepair.
Background
In around November 2018, a leak from the flat above caused water to enter our client’s property. The leak persisted for some time and damp and mould began to form.
Our client reported the problem to her landlord, who were also the landlord to the tenant of the property above, and they attended to carry out an inspection. They failed to carry out the checks that were needed and denied that they were responsible for fixing the problem.
Due to the leak, which our client was aware of, she was not happy with the response but did not know her legal position and so accepted the response and continued to live with the problem.
After almost a year of living in damp, mouldy and wet conditions, our client contacted us for help.
Claim
Sadly, it is often the case that landlords, including councils and housing associations, fail to undertake repairs even when they are aware that it is their legal obligation to do so.
We sent a letter of claim setting out the legal position and, in response, the landlord agreed to undertake the necessary repairs and to decorate the rooms that had been affected. They also agreed to compensate her £1,500 for the inconvenience she suffered.
If you live in a property that has been affected by a disrepair issue and your landlord has not done what they should, call us on 01253 858231 or e-mail michael.vincent@mjvlaw.co.uk for a no obligation, free consultation.