As a tenant or leaseholder, your landlord is responsible for certain repairs to your home. If you have notified your landlord of disrepair in your home and they have failed to carry out the relevant repairs, you may be able to issue a claim against them for disrepair. An award of compensation for housing disrepair generally aims to put you back in the position you would have been if your landlord had carried out their obligations under the law and/or under the tenancy agreement. Remember, compensation is not meant to be a punishment to your landlord.
What compensation can I get for disrepair?
A successful claim against your landlord may result in three things:
An order requiring your landlord to do the works.
Financial compensation.
Legal costs
When does compensation for disrepair run from?
Compensation will be awarded from the date that your landlord had a reasonable time to carry out the works (not the date that the disrepair actually occurred) and failed to do so up till the date that the works were eventually carried out.
What types of compensation can I get for disrepair?
Inconvenience/suffering/loss of amenity as a result of the disrepair
- Disruption to your daily life.
- Not having the full use of your home.
- Time waiting for builders.
- Discomfort.
- Ill heath caused by the disrepair.
2. The loss of value of furniture and other belongings destroyed/damaged by the disrepair and other financial loss, e.g., cleaning costs and extra heating costs because of your landlord’s breach.
This list is not exhaustive and those advising you should look at this in detail. If you do not claim for this, you will not receive any compensation.
Generally, you will not be awarded compensation for the full replacement value of your belonging. This is not a “new for old” award.
Compensation is awarded on the basis that the lifetime of your belonging has been cut short, and therefore tends to reflect the value of the remaining lifetime. However, it may be argued that the full replacement value must be awarded, but this is case dependant and comes down to evidence.
Proof is extremely important, if you don’t have receipts or photographs, you may still be awarded some compensation, but it is likely to be less that what you would have received if you had had evidence of the purchase.
If the disrepair is so serious and you have to move to temporary accommodation, you can still claim compensation.
How much compensation will I receive?
A court will look at different factors when deciding how much compensation to award, there is much caselaw that provides guidelines. But there is no magic formula, so it is possible that similar cases could have different outcomes.
Examples:
A plumbing leak into 1 room for 1 year.
Rent – £1000pcm.
Value of rent for the whole period is £12000.00.
Compensation at 25% = £3000.00.
Clothes are likely to be valued at what they would cost to replace from a second-hand shop, although this is unlikely to include such items as undergarments.
Compensation for disrepair is not an exact science, there are many factors that can affect the level of compensation that you will receive and so should be discussed in detail with your advisor.
Your solicitor or legal advisor should ensure that there are enforceable provisions to complete the repairs and pay compensation within a specific period that are included in the settlement or order. If this is not included, you will be unable to enforce.
Dealing with a case of disrepair can be stressful in itself. Don’t let pursuing legal action and securing appropriate compensation be an additional source of stress. Let one of our expert lawyers take care of it for you. Get in touch for more information.
* Disclaimer: The information is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. *