Need guidance on claiming compensation from a housing association? If you’re experiencing adverse health effects because of housing disrepair and sub-standard conditions in your home, your social housing landlord or provider could be liable to pay you damages. This guide explains how you can claim for personal injury caused by housing disrepair or the disrepair itself without suffering an injury.
We begin by looking at social housing tenants’ rights to seek compensation for disrepair or injury (or both). After this, we explore how compensation is evaluated and what it can cover for physical, emotional and financial harm, as well as the costs generated by repair needs and damage to personal property. You’ll need evidence to launch either type of claim. This can include medical records, photos of injury, proof of property damage and receipts or statements reflecting these impacts.
The final section explains how our solicitors could support you through the entire claims process by offering their services through a No Win No Fee agreement. Working this way frees you from concerns about needing money upfront to appoint legal representation. Please continue reading or find out more about our solicitors now:
- Ring us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online here.
- Ask a question via the live discussion window at the bottom of this screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Tenants’ Rights For Claiming Compensation From Housing Associations
- What Could Compensation From Housing Associations Be Awarded For?
- How Much Housing Association Compensation Can I Get?
- What Is Needed To Start Housing Association Claims?
- Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against My Housing Association?
- More Information
Tenants’ Rights For Claiming Compensation From Housing Associations
As a tenant, you have the right to claim compensation if landlords and housing associations fail to meet their repair obligations. Typically, you start by reporting the need for a repair. If the housing association fails to carry this out in a timely manner, you can escalate this to a complaint. A complaints procedure can usually be found on the housing association website.
If the association fail to respond (typically within 10 days of the complaint) and the disrepair issue persists, they normally have another 20 working days to investigate the issue. Typically, the housing association will review the complaint, explore a potential resolution and enact repairs. You can complain to the Housing Ombudsman if they fail to do this. You may also start a claim for compensation.
Housing Disrepair Claims
Your rights regarding housing disrepair obligations are detailed in Section 11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985. This legislation states that landlords are required to carry out repairs and ensure the maintenance of external pipes, drains and gutters. They must also ensure that water, electricity, and gas supplies are in proper working order (this includes baths, sinks, and basins). Also, that heating and hot water installations are in proper working order.
Should a landlord or housing association fail to fix the disrepair, the tenant could make a housing disrepair claim to be compensated for any damage to their home and personal property. You will need evidence of this such as photos and statements proving the financial impacts of dealing with prolonged disrepair.
Disrepair Injury Claims
Perhaps the housing disrepair caused you to suffer an illness or injury. You could be eligible to make a personal injury claim against the housing association if it failed to take sufficient action to remedy the problem. Under Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, landlords can be held responsible for your injuries or illness if you meet the following three criteria:
- The landlord/housing association must have been aware of the housing disrepair.
- They failed to fix the problem within a reasonable time frame.
- This caused you to suffer injury or illness.
Evidence is required to back the claim up, such as medical records, photos of harm or other proof of related injuries like psychologists’ reports for emotional stress.
A claim can still apply if the disrepair necessitated you to move into a new social home. Please call the advisory team to discuss any social housing complaints you made prior to this move. Or if you have any general questions about the process of claiming compensation from a housing association, call now.
What Could Compensation From Housing Associations Be Awarded For?
There are numerous circumstances where a housing association might need to pay compensation to an impacted tenant. For example:
- A delay or inadequate response to no running water, gas or electricity.
- Illness caused by a delay in dealing with penetrating damp.
- Breathing issues (particularly in children) caused by untreated condensation and mould.
- Illness or infection caused by untreated insect infestations from rotten floors or windows.
- Failure to repair damaged or missing roof tiles in a reasonable time frame which exposed a tenant to prolonged cold and damp from a roof leak.
- Failure to correctly address subsidence which resulted in the building being unfit to live in when walls began to shift and crack.
There can be a host of other service failures that mean a housing association are in breach of their obligations. Please connect with our team of advisors to discuss claiming compensation from a housing association.
How Much Housing Association Compensation Can I Get?
When a disrepair claim for illness or injury is successful, the compensation can be made up of two categories of loss called general and special damages. Under general damages, a compensation amount is calculated that reflects the physical pain, psychological suffering and overall detrimental impact on that person’s quality of life.
To assess this, those involved often refer to medical evidence that has been put forward as supporting evidence. In addition to this, they might consult publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a compendium of compensation brackets for various injuries based on their severity. The table below has been devised using some entries, except for the first line shown.
Importantly, the figures used are strictly guidelines only. Every compensation claim against a housing association will have unique factors that shape the final amount.
Compensation Guidelines
| INJURY | SEVERITY | AWARD GUIDELINES |
|---|---|---|
| Several forms of serious harm that also result in special damages being awarded for care, lost earnings and damage to personal property. | Severe | Up to £250,000 plus. |
| Lung Disease | (a) Serious | 122,850 up to £165,860 |
| (c) Significant | £66,890 up to £85,460 | |
| (d) Breathing difficulties | £38,210 up to £56,920 | |
| (e) Bronchitis and wheezing | £25,380 up to £38,210 | |
| Asthma | (a) Permanent and severe | £52,550 up to £80,240 |
| (b) Chronic | £32,090 up to £52,490 | |
| (d) Mild (Relatively) | £12,990 up to £23,430 | |
| Psychological Harm | (b) Moderately severe | £23,270 up to £66,920 |
| (c) Moderate | £7,150 up to £23,270 |
The other category of loss that can make up the compensation is called special damages. Under this, you can claim back the monetary harm if you have the relevant documented evidence. For example:
- Evidence of any private medical expenses.
- Invoices and proof of payment for any essential repair work and redecorating costs you carried out in your home.
- The costs of electricity if a dehumidifier were needed for prolonged periods to treat damp.
- Any receipts or invoices paid for domestic support while recovering.
- Travel expenditure to vital appointments.
- Proof of the cost to replace personal items, such as furniture or clothes ruined.
- Payslips that show how illness forced you to miss work or lose income.
Take this opportunity to discuss claiming compensation from a housing association with our advisors. If your claim is eligible, they could connect you to our solicitors to get you the best result. They know how to accurately calculate your losses going into the future, such as long-term rehabilitation or moving costs.
What Is Needed To Start Housing Association Claims?
When claiming compensation as a housing association tenant, you need to draw together evidence that shows how they failed to respond in a reasonable time frame to the issue. If you are also claiming for personal injury, you will need to show how this disrepair caused illness or injury. With this in mind, the following can be useful:
- A copy of your tenancy agreement (or other documents from the housing association).
- Duplicates of your medical records that show how the housing disrepair impacted your health. For example, chest X-rays showing damage from breathing in mould spores.
- Photographs of visible injuries. For instance, any fractures, cuts or bruises caused by disrepair hazards in your home.
- Proof of damaged belongings caused by the housing disrepair, such as photographs.
- Copies of any correspondence between the housing association and you about the repairs, such as steps you to took to complain to the housing authority.
- Witness points of contact. Should you decide to appoint a solicitor, they can obtain a statement from anyone else who has seen the disrepair and its impact on your health.
Don’t struggle with collecting evidence alone. Find out if your claim qualifies for assistance from our solicitors. Call to learn more about claiming compensation from a housing association.
Time Limits
According to the Limitation Act 1980, personal injury claims must be brought within a 3-year period that typically starts from the original injury.
Social housing disrepair claims for a breach in contract usually need to be made within a 6-year time limit. This can start from the date that you first reported the disrepair. If you’d like any guidance at all on evidence and time limits when claiming compensation from a housing association, please reach out to our advisory team on the contact options above.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against My Housing Association?
You could qualify to launch a type of No Win No Fee compensation claim against a housing association if you meet the criteria we looked at above. Our solicitors offer eligible claimants a version called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under an agreement like this, there is no expectation to pay upfront or ongoing solicitors’ fees. Also, if the claim fails, no solicitor’s fees apply for the work carried out. Claims that enjoy a positive outcome require payment of a nominal percentage of the compensation. This is called a success fee, and the amount is pre-agreed between you and your solicitor at the start.
In addition to this, a legal limit applies to the success fee. This guarantees that the person seeking compensation benefits the most from the outcome. Seeking social housing compensation with the help of our solicitors could make your claim much less stressful and it takes just a moment to see if you qualify.
Contact Legal Expert
Given that claiming compensation from a housing association will be different in every scenario, it makes sense to get in touch to discuss your particular case. You can:
- Ring us on 0800 073 8804 to discuss how housing disrepair solicitors could help you get financial compensation.
- Contact us online here.
- Ask a question via the live discussion window at the bottom of this screen.
More Information
The focus of this guide was claiming compensation from a housing association, and you might find these other resources helpful also:
- Read about penetrating damp claims for compensation.
- This article looks at tenancy deposit claims.
- Also, you can discover more about compensation payments for damaged clothing caused by housing disrepair.
External links for more information:
- Here is information about the Housing Ombudsman service.
- This link helps you understand more about housing benefits from GOV.UK.
- Lastly, read about the social housing property legal obligations.
To close our guide, thanks for your interest in claiming compensation from a housing association. We hope it has helped, and if you’re searching for any more guidance on your claim options, please reach out to the team.
