As a tenant, you have the right to live in a comfortable and safe home – after all, you pay rent to ensure the property is kept in a good condition by the landlord. However, if your landlord refuses to make the necessary repairs to your home and you’ve suffered as a result of this inaction, you may be able to make a claim for unfit housing compensation.

Make A Complaint To Your Landlord

If you feel that your health or safety or comfort has been compromised and put at risk, you should contact your landlord straightaway so that he or she can take the necessary action.

Your landlord has a legal duty to keep the property in a safe condition for the tenant and is obliged to repair or replace any faults as soon as possible, and always within a reasonable amount of time after being notified.

Usually, landlords will work to fix the issues once informed by their tenants – but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.

What Happens If Your Landlord Ignores Your Complaint?

If you have informed your landlord of the fault or damage in your home and waited a reasonable amount of time for him or her to respond but heard nothing, you should speak to a housing solicitor for advice.

You may have a case for making a house disrepair claim for compensation.

Can You Claim Against Your Landlord For Unfit Housing?

Depending on your experience and circumstances, if your landlord has been neglectful of your ongoing issues with your rented home then you may be eligible to make a claim against him or her.

As a guide, you can usually claim for one of the following reasons:

• Mould or Damp
  If there is mould or damp in your property that your landlord won’t help to fix, you can usually claim compensation for any damage to your belongings caused by the damp living conditions. Make sure you take photos of the damaged items as proof and keep safe any receipts of items that you have had to repair or replace because of the mould.
• Poor Health
  If the housing disrepair has had a bad effect on your health, then you may be able to claim for compensation. The amount you would receive would depend on how ill you have been and for how long, and whether or not you have had to miss work as a result of your ill health.
• Inconvenience
  Even if your housing disrepair has not damaged your belongings or your health, it might have caused you inconvenience and discomfort which is not fair either. As a good rule, always tell your landlord of any fault or damage in your house as soon as possible so that he or she can act upon it and find a way to fix it. Your landlord should prioritise your welfare and action the repair, and if this does not happen you may be eligible to make a claim.

How We Can Help You With Your Unfit Housing Claim

Our housing solicitors have successfully handled numerous claims for compensation against negligent landlords and are here to help if you have been living in unfit housing as a result of your landlord’s refusal to take action.

Only recently, our team in our Chester office were able to help a local family of five (mum, dad and three children) claim for compensation after living as tenants in rented accommodation owned by a local housing association. Despite making complaints for 3 years about the damp in the property, the landlord did nothing. As a result of this, everyone in the family suffered from ill health due to the damp conditions, and their possessions were damaged too.

Together with our help, the family claimed compensation for the loss of use and inconvenience of living in unfit housing conditions plus for damaged property and ill health. In total, dad was awarded £6,000, mum £1,750, the two children still living at home £1,100, and the child who had moved in with their grandparents as the mould was so bad in their bedroom received £400 in compensation.

Our specialist solicitors have the experience and understanding of housing law to help you with your unfit housing claim and will assist you at every stage to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.

Make a free enquiry today

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