We were instructed at the end of October 2021 by Mrs C from Oldham, Manchester who had been experiencing ongoing disrepair within her council flat since 2018. We took her case on under a ’No Win No Fee’ agreement.
In the summer of 2018 our client noticed a mouse in the kitchen of her second floor flat. After investigations by her son, it was found that there were a substantial amount of mouse droppings in the lower cupboards and behind the kick boards. Our client reported this to the council numerous times but received no reply. By the winter of 2018 our client was unable to store food or utensils in her cupboards and using her kitchen at all had become extremely unsanitary due to the large amount of rodent faeces.
Later, at the end of 2018, our client noticed a slow leak in the corner of her boiler cupboard. This was reported to the council via email and telephone along with the mouse reports but again our client received no response.
By the end of 2019 the slow leak in the boiler cupboard had become a lot worse: there was some staining to the walls and a small amount of mould was starting to grow. Around the same time our client started to notice slight staining on the walls of her bathroom which were damp to the touch, this was also added to the weekly email to the council to no avail.
After living for two years with a slow leak and a mouse infestation and getting no response from the council she contacted us, and we took on her case on a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement.
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.
We instructed a surveyor to inspect the property. The surveyor reported that some of the main issues were, but not limited to, a leak found on the external wall, an ingress of rainwater from a defective verge to gable wall, a small amount of water damage to floors and carpets in the hallway (the likely cause of which was defective flashing due to vegetation growth) and defective roof components, plus an infestation of mice caused by numerous holes throughout the property.
Some weeks later we received an acknowledgement of the letter of claim from the councils’ solicitors. They instructed their own surveyor to assess the property, and their surveyors’ report agreed with ours in some part but not on all counts. Therefore the landlord rejected our expert surveyors report and denied liability.
At this point our only option was to issue small claims court proceedings and request a joint inspection between both parties’ expert surveyors. Once the joint inspection took place it became apparent that the landlord’s surveyor had initially missed the leak in the boiler cupboard. The landlord’s surveyors’ report was then updated to reflect this.
As the hearing date drew closer, the landlord’s solicitor contacted us with what is known as a part 36 offer to settle out of court. The offer that was put forward was very low in monetary value but included a term that all repairs were to be completed within 120 days. We rejected this offer and made a counter-offer of £1900.00 in damages plus repairs to be done within a much shorter time frame. The landlord accepted this offer.
Although this claim was small in comparison to most of our housing disrepair cases, our client had up until the point of instruction lived with a slow leak and a mouse infestation for a number of years which had caused her much distress and frustration and, as such, getting her home back to a liveable state was the priority, with the compensation that our client received a comfort but secondary.
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 MJV&Co
An Overview of Security of Tenure
What is it?
Security of tenure was created by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (‘1954 Act’). It gives a tenant the right to renew a business lease on the same terms as the existing lease. The landlord is able to resist a renewal, but only if they can demonstrate one of the statutory grounds for doing so.
If the 1954 Act applies, the tenancy is known as a ‘protected tenancy’. It automatically applies to all business tenancies, but it is possible to opt out if certain conditions are met.
Benefit for tenants
The right to renew a lease on the same terms as their existing lease gives business tenants peace of mind and confidence that they can build their business from their premises. Without this security they would face having to relocate at the expiry of their lease each time. Leases are often granted for three or five years and businesses would face significant upheaval and cost if they were required to relocate on their expiry.
Restrictions on landlords
Landlords are unable to evict tenants at the end of a commercial lease unless they are able to demonstrate one of the permitted grounds for doing so, which are that:
the tenant did not keep the property in a good state of repair;
the rent was frequently late;
the tenant committed substantial breaches of other obligations under the tenancy agreement;
the landlord is able to offer suitable alternative premises;
the property was a sub-let of a whole property and the landlord is able to obtain a greater rent by letting it as a whole;
the landlord wishes to demolish or otherwise redevelop the property; or
the landlord intends to occupy the premise.
It should be noted that being able to obtain higher rent or longer term from a different tenant or the landlord wishing to sell the property are not valid grounds for terminating the tenancy.
Control for landlords
Landlords are able to avoid these restrictions by asking the tenant to opt out of security of tenure. They can only do so prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Notice must be served no fewer than 14 days before the lease is entered into. The prospective tenant must then make a statutory declaration agreeing to opt out of the provisions.
Many landlords require all prospective tenants to opt out of security of tenure if they are to agree to grant them a lease. That is not to say that they would not consider granting a new lease, but that they do not wish to be required to do so on the same terms as the existing one. For example, a landlord may have agreed to a three year lease with an 18 month break clause for a first lease. Even if the rent were to remain the same, the landlord may wish to remove the break clause.
Ending protected tenancies
If a tenancy is protected, a landlord may still offer a new lease on different terms. They must serve a notice on their tenant stating the date the current tenancy will end and setting out the new offer. There are certain, specific requirements for the notice to be valid. It must be served not more than 12 and no fewer than 6 months prior to the date the term is due to end. It must be clear, in writing and served correctly. It must state within the notice how it was served, when and on whom. If there are multiple tenants, it must be served on all of them.
If the tenant does not respond, the tenancy will end on the date stated in the lease. If they do, they must either agree the new terms or reject them. This is article is not intended to offer advice to either landlords on tenants on how to proceed in the event of a dispute and so we do not propose to say more on how to proceed if you are a landlord or tenant involved in a dispute of the renewal of a protected tenancy, but there are articles available that provide an overview and one such feature is here: https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/section-25-notice
The process is the same if the landlord can demonstrate one of the permitted grounds. However, if the tenant objects and requests a new lease, the landlord will succeed in resisting this if the ground is proven.
Tenant’s renewal
To renew, the tenant must serve notice requiring a lease on the same terms. It must be served no more than 12, but no fewer than 6 months before the end of the tenancy. However, the tenant may not serve notice if the landlord has first served notice. As such, tenants who wish to renew on identical terms are wise to serve on the first day possible.
Landlords only have the right to refuse the renewal if they can demonstrate one of the permitted grounds.
Tenant’s termination
If a tenancy is protected, a tenant may still choose to leave at the end of their lease. they must serve at least three months’ notice and this must expire no earlier tan the expiry date of the lease.
Help and assistance
Whether you are a landlord or tenant entering into a new lease or seeking to end a lease, it is wise to take legal advice. MJV Solicitors are based in Thornton-Cleveleys, near Blackpool and provide expert assistance and advice on all areas of commercial property law.
For a free, no obligation consultation, either call us on 01253 858231 or e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk
by MJV&Co
Refusing entry for repairs
There are many things that arise regularly in housing disrepair claims and landlords claiming tenants refuse entry to undertake repairs is one.
Landlords have the right to enter your property, provided they give reasonable notice to either carry out an inspection or repairs.
Breach of tenancy agreement
As landlords have the right to enter, such a refusal is a breach of a tenancy agreement. If this were to happen regularly, it could lead to eviction. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 allows evictions on certain, specific grounds. These are found at Schedule 2 of that Act and Ground 12 is that:
“The Tenant has breached any of the terms listed in the tenancy agreement”.
If you are a tenant of a housing association or council, it is likely that the type of tenancy you have would not enable your landlord to evict you using Section 21 of the Act and so eviction is only normally possible when the agreement is breached.
Housing disrepair claim
It is not common for us to encounter a client who has been, or has been threatened with being, evicted for failing to allow entry. Instead, the issue arises in the course of their housing disrepair claim.
A tenant must give notice of any items of disrepair.
For more information on notice requirements, read our guide to this https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-notice/
Once notice has been given, the tenant must allow their landlord access to undertake inspection and then undertake any repairs. While it sounds obvious that a tenant would allow entry for repairs they have reported, this is not always the case.
Often, tenants are unhappy with the work that their landlord has proposed. We often encounter landlords who misdiagnose a problem and try and solve it multiple times despite it failing to do so previously. This is common with damp. Landlords inspect and find damp. They treat the walls with damp treatment or paint and consider the problem solved. When it reappears, they return and apply the same treatment. In one case, the landlord did this five times.
It is not unreasonable for a tenant to be frustrated by such behaviour. Such landlords are clearly in breach of their repairing obligations under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. As of 20 March 2020, they are also likely to be in breach of them under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 also.
However, to refuse access remains a breach of the tenant’s responsibilities and would provide the landlord with a defence to any claim.
What to do instead
If you have a housing disrepair issue and your landlord fails to address it correctly, contact MJV Solicitors for help.
Even when we are involved, we advise our clients to allow access and to ensure that they comply with the tenancy agreement.
If, as in the example above, your landlord has failed to properly investigate an issue and undertaken inadequate repairs, we can help. We will instruct a specialist surveyor to attend the property and prepare an expert report. It is extremely common for it to be revealed that there was a more serious, underlying problem that the landlord had chosen to ignore or missed entirely.
If a landlord continues to carry out inadequate repairs it is unlikely that these would disguise the true problem and so there is nothing to gain for a tenant by refusing entry.
False allegations
It is also common for us to act for clients who are accused of refusing entry, but deny this. The truth varies from case to case:
We have acted for clients who have been at home waiting for workmen and there has been no knock at the door. Later, they noticed that a card had been pushed through claiming that they had “missed them”. They called their landlord to explain, but nobody came a second time. This has happened far more than once;
We have acted for clients whose landlords claimed to have made appointments of which our clients had no idea so did not stay in; and
Many of our clients are vulnerable and so when workmen arrive without valid photographic ID they, quite rightly, refuse entry.
Landlords we have made claims about have all used these as excuses for trying to refuse claims. We support and help our clients and so tend to succeed with such claims.
Your claim
MJV Solicitors are based near Blackpool,but serve all of England and Wales for housing disrepair claims and have clients from the Isle of Wight, to South Wales to the North East. If you think you may have a claim, call us today on 01253 858231 or e-mail michael.vincent@mjvlaw.co.uk for a free, no obligation discussion.
If we accept your claim it will be on a no win no fee basis and, in addition to the repairs we can require your landlord to undertake, we can obtain you compensation.
For more on compensation and how it is calculated, read our guide https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
by MJV&Co
Rising damp
Our client moved into a new home in 2015. Soon afterwards she noticed damp and mould forming in the porch and living room. She tried to clean it, but it got worse and so it was reported to her landlord.
Her landlord sent an agent to carry out an inspection. They claimed it was related to condensation so workmen came and painted over it, but the problem soon returned. It continued to get worse over the next few years.
Our client did the right thing. She continued to report the problems. Her landlord undertook several inspections and kept trying to paint over the affected areas. They tried this numerous times over several years, but, just as it did not work the first time, it did not work the fifth or sixth time.
The problem seemed to stem from the area around the chimney breast in the living room. Our client informed her landlord of this, but they appeared not to listen.
For more information on the requirements for notice see our guide to the subject https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-notice/
Expert’s Report
We instructed an expert surveyor to carry out an inspection. He did so and produced a comprehensive report that the landlord had no choice but to agree with.
He found the following issues:
The Cause of the Damp
The damp in the porch was penetrating damp. It had been retro-fitted with a damp proof course that had failed. It was installed above ground level and so was ineffective. It needed to be replaced and the damage caused repaired.
In the living room, the damp proof course around the chimney breast had failed. This was just as our client had suspected.
His report recommended that the plaster and skirting boards be removed and a chemical damp proof course applied. Once the treatment had been completed, the wall needed to be re-plastered, new skirting boards fitted and the room decorated.
The hallway had also fallen into disrepair due to the damp in the porch and hallway. It was recommended that, once the works were complete, the hallway be redecorated at the landlord’s expense.
Repairs
The landlord’s surveyor agreed with our expert’s findings. Her landlord arranged for the works to be completed quickly, as this client was elderly and vulnerable. They were satisfactorily completed and our client’s property was returned to the condition it should always have been in.
Compensation
Our client also accepted an offer of £4,000 in compensation. The problem had persisted for around three years prior to our instruction.
For more information on the way compensation is determined please see our introductory guide at https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
Your Claim
If you live in a council or housing association property and your landlord has not undertaken repairs when requested, you may have a claim for housing disrepair.
If we are able to assist you, we will do so on a no win no fee basis.
For your free initial consultation, e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk or call us on 01253 858231. We can provide you with expert advice at no cost to you unless your claim succeeds.
by MJV&Co
A Property in General Disrepair
Our client complained of lots of smaller problems that, over time, got worse and caused her property to descend into a state of general disrepair.
Leak
The first problem our client complained of was a leak emanating from the toilet. Her landlord sent an agent who appeared to fix it, but the problem soon returned. She reported the issue, and her landlord tried to fix it, several times, but each time the leak returned.
The water released eventually caused damp and mould to form. It entered the partition wall between the bathroom and separate toilet which resulted in the damp forming. The wall, on both sides, was wet to the touch. A bad smell was noticeable in both rooms.
Her landlord failed to undertake any proper investigation of the leak.
It was crucial that our client gave adequate notice of the disrepair or she may not have had a valid claim.
The landlord had allowed the kitchen to fall into a poor condition in general. There were several items of disrepair for which they were responsible:
The storage heaters did not function correctly;
The kitchen door was missing posing a fire risk;
There was no heat or fire detector fitted; and
The window had blown causing condensation to form around it.
Survey
As there were lots of smaller issues at the property, our client had not reported all of them. She had not even informed us of all of them prior to inspection. Her primary complaints were the leak and associated damp. These had, by far, the biggest impact upon her and her family.
At the inspection, our expert surveyor also identified:
The boiler pressure was very high requiring further specialist investigation;
The bathroom extractor fan was not functioning correctly. This contributed to the damp and mould in that room;
The seal around the bath and sink had failed. It was also contaminated by mould and required replacing;
The smoke detector in the hallway did not function correctly;
The electrical inspection was overdue on the date of the survey;
The bedroom door was missing;
The bedroom light and fan above were missing; and
The bedroom windows had blown.
Response
Our client’s landlord undertook their own inspection and could not deny the disrepair that our expert had identified.
They agreed to undertake almost all of the work. They would not replace the kitchen door as it transpired our client had removed this. A landlord is not responsible where an issue has been caused by the tenant.
Settlement
The issues with damp and mould had caused damage to our client’s mattress. The cost of a replacement was £120.00 and we recovered this in full.
Our client also accepted an offer of £1,700 in compensation. The rent at the property was quite low and so this represented a good settlement.
While the leak was the primary issue complained of, the general disrepair at the property was addressed as part of the claim and our client’s home is now suitable for her and her family.
For more information on how compensation in housing disrepair claims is calculated, read our introductory guide: https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
by MJV&Co
We are often asked by clients how much compensation they will receive if their claim succeeds.
Unlike personal injury claims, where the Judicial College Guidelines serve as a guide, there is no such tool in housing disrepair claims.
General Damages / Compensation
General damages are more commonly referred to as compensation. They serve to compensate the tenant for the inconvenience, discomfort and distressed caused to them through their landlord’s breach of their repairing obligations.
The most commonly used method of assessing damages is as a reduction in the rental value of the property.
Take a property was comprised of 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 living room and 1 kitchen. If it was let for £100 per week and the disrepair complained of materially affected 1 of the bedrooms, the bathroom and the living room, it would affect 50% of the rooms. Using a very simplistic approach, that would mean the compensation would be £50 per week, being half of the £100 per week rent.
This is paid for the period from when a reasonable landlord would have completed the repairs to the date the landlord of our client did so.
If, in this example, the landlord undertook the repairs 50 weeks after they should have, the tenant would receive compensation of £2,500.
Special Damages
Special damages can be considered your out of pocket expenses. You are entitled to recover any money that you have paid as a result of the problems for which your landlord was responsible.
There is no finite list of these, but you must be able to prove your loss and so receipts should always be kept.
Examples of Special Damages in Housing Disrepair Claims
Cleaning costs;
Loss of earnings (such as if you have had to take time off work to meet the landlord’s agents and they have not attended the appointment);
Additional heating costs or the costs of a dehumidifier when trying to dry out the property;
The cost of alternative accommodation if your property was uninhabitable for any time;
The cost of repair, cleaning and redecoration (provided these are costs incurred personally and the work was not undertaken at the landlord’s expense);
Travel costs;
Medical costs; or
The cost of dining out (such as if food storage or cooking facilities have been damaged).
by MJV&Co
Background – Damp and Mould
Our client moved into a new home in August 2017. Shortly afterwards she noticed damp and mould in the bathroom and reported this to her landlord.
As is often the case, she was told to clean it herself and no inspection was undertaken.
Over the next few months, the problem spread to the hallway, living room and two bedrooms. She reported the problems again, but no inspection was carried out. At a routine inspection, she pointed out the problems and the surveyor agreed that there was a problem that necessitated further enquiries. However, it still took several months for someone to attend the property.
Inadequate repairs – Damp and mould
Eventually, her landlord’s agent attended the property and inspected the damp. They removed the plaster from the walls and applied a treatment to prevent the damp returning in the hallway and living room. However, he did nothing to treat the issues in the bathroom and bedrooms.
Our client contacted her landlord again to request that they send someone back to solve the problems in the other rooms, but they failed to do so.
Claim
Our client contacted us in September 2019. We agreed to help her on a no win no fee basis.
Such claims have rules for how they are to be conducted and having followed these, we instructed an expert surveyor who attended the property to carry out a joint inspection with a surveyor on behalf of her landlord.
At the inspection, the cause of the disrepair was identified. There was a concrete slab that was acting as a bridge for water to pass onto the plaster causing the damp and mould. The correct repairs were agreed between the surveyors and our client’s landlord arranged for these works to be completed within a few weeks of the inspection.
In addition to having her home repaired and decorated where required, our client’s claim settled for more than £1,000 in compensation.
by MJV&Co
The COVID-19 pandemic affects everybody. Whether you or someone you know is infected with the virus or not, it will have an impact on your life in some way. That could be on your job, your income, your health or simply your inability to leave the house.
It will, of course, have an effect upon landlords and tenants.
New issues
If you are living in a property and you encounter a problem, you should report this to your landlord in the usual way.
Most councils and housing associations continue to function albeit with some staff being furloughed and or working from home meaning that their ability to respond is reduced. As always, we recommend reporting any issues by telephone but following this up with an e-mail. This way, you have a written record of you reporting the issue. Some landlords fail to keep full records and this causes our clients problems where they cannot prove that an issue has been reported.
If the issue is urgent, such as a leak of some sort, or it could pose a threat to the health and safety of anybody in the property, your landlord is still able to undertake an inspection despite the restrictions on movement. This is because them carrying out an inspection and then undertaking repairs is urgent and thus essential.
If the issue is not urgent or a threat to health and safety, it is likely that your landlord will not carry out an inspection until the restrictions have been lifted.
Reasonable time
Your landlord is required to carry out any repairs within a reasonable time.
In normal times, this involves them carrying out an inspection, normally we would expect this to take place within a week, and, having identified the problem, repair it promptly. We would expect, depending on the level of urgency, this to take place within around 28 days of the date that the issue was first reported. This is not set in stone and is only intended to be a general guide.
As non-urgent inspections are not currently possible, the clock for what can be considered reasonable cannot be considered to be ticking. Instead, that clock will start once the restrictions that are preventing inspections in housing disrepair claims are lifted.
Existing issues
Where disrepair was reported to a landlord prior to the restrictions being put in place, it will depend on when the issues were reported as to whether the reasonable period can be considered to be paused or ongoing.
For example, if you reported an issue in January and your landlord has not carried out an inspection or undertaken the repairs, it is quite clear that they had failed the reasonableness test before the restrictions were put in place on 23 March 2020. In these circumstances, a reasonable landlord would have undertaken and completed the work long before COVID-19 caused the lock down and so, despite the restrictions, the current time would count towards the relevant period for the purposes of housing disrepair compensation claims.
If, however, it was reported just a few days before 23 March 2020, it is likely that a landlord would be able to plead that they did not have a reasonable opportunity to undertake an inspection prior to lock down.
Claims
At MJV Solicitors, we remain open for business. Like all responsible businesses in our industry, our office is closed but our key staff are working from home and contactable in the usual ways.
We are still helping clients with their housing disrepair claims. There are delays to all cases where we are not yet in receipt of an expert witness surveyor’s report, but we will resolve this as soon as it is considered safe to instruct a surveyor to attend other people’s homes.
If you believe you may have a housing disrepair claim against a landlord who is a housing association or council, there is no benefit in waiting to present the claim. Landlords are entitled to a period of 20 working days or roughly four weeks to respond to a letter of claim and so, hopefully, the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control by then enabling us to instruct an expert while followig whatever regulations are in force at that time regarding social distancing.
Call us today on 01253 858231 or e-mail michael.vincent@mjvlaw.co.uk if you would like to know more.
by MJV&Co
It may surprise you to hear this from a Solicitor, but you do not need to instruct one 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 MJV&Co
Over recent years the government has made traditional “buy to let” investments more challenging. They have:
-banned compulsory tenant fees;
-introduced tax reforms that eat into profit;
-proposed a ban on non-fault, Section 21 evictions; and
-increased stamp duty on all BTL purchases.
The result is that investors, especially those buying with a mortgage, have found it difficult to make a profit. Many are leaving the market.
We have seen a significant increase in enquiries from new and existing clients about serviced accommodation. These are short term lets of a few days to a few weeks. They are commonly marketed through Air BnB and similar websites. They offer increased average daily rents without the same obligations that normal buy to let landlord has. There is more day to day management and bookings, cleaning, repairing and maintaining the properties are required more regularly.
Before entering the market, clients should consider:
Time: do you have the time to devote to the project or do you have the staff to do so?
Lease or Purchase: many of our clients are taking longer leases of multiple flats on commercial terms and then sub-letting as serviced accommodation. There is less risk than when buying, but also less reward. However, such a lease arrangement is likely to avoid stamp duty.
Business Rates or Council Tax: especially when multiple properties are being let, it may be beneficial to apply for a change of use. If your business owns only one property with a low rateable value it could be that you qualify for small business rates relief. It is important to take specialist legal and financial advice before completing any such transaction as the deal could be structured in a way that saves thousands. A useful guide on the issue is found here https://www.thesapodcast.com/03-planning-use-class/
Restrictive covenants: many properties have restrictions on how they can be used. It is essential that these are investigated properly before being bound to proceed.
There is much more to know and discuss and this article is intended as an introduction to the issues rather than advice upon them.
For specialist legal advice on the serviced accommodation sector, call us today on 01253 858231 to arrange your free 30 minute consultation or e-mail michael.vincent@mjvlaw.co.uk
