How To Claim Compensation From Your Landlord
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 26th June 2024. In this guide, we explain how you could potentially claim against your landlord if you have been harmed by landlord negligence.
Landlords (including housing associations and local councils) have a responsibility to ensure that the homes they lease are safe for the people who live in and visit them.
If a landlord is aware of a safety issue at a home they are leasing but they fail to take appropriate action, then they may be considered negligent. This lack of response can put residents or visitors of the home in danger of harm.
This may include physical injuries and emotional distress. Those who are harmed because of negligence by a landlord may have grounds to claim against them.
Contact Our Team
Our team of advisors are here to help. If you’d like to start a landlord injury claim, contact us today by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Filling in our online form.
- Or you can message us through our 24/7 live chat service.
Select a Section:
- Claiming Compensation For An Accident That Was The Fault Of Your Landlord.
- Tenant Personal Injury Claims Against The Council
- Top Tips On How To Claim Compensation From Your Landlord For A Personal Injury
- How Long Do I Have To Claim Personal Injury Compensation From My Landlord?
- Make A Personal Injury Claim Against A Landlord – What Evidence Do I Need?
- Compensation Payouts For Injuries Caused By Landlord Negligence And Emotional Distress
- Can You Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A Personal Injury Caused By Landlord Negligence?
Claiming Compensation For An Accident That Was The Fault Of Your Landlord
When you are considering claiming compensation from your landlord, one of the most important considerations is whether or not your landlord has acted in a negligent manner.
The issue of how to prove landlord negligence can be confusing without research and a good understanding of the British legal system.
Different types of landlords, such as private landlords, can only be considered responsible for your accident if they have acted negligently by ignoring the standards set by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
If they are not in breach of this act, nor the duty of care they have towards housing association tenants or private tenants such as yourself, then they likely cannot be considered legally responsible for your accident. If your landlord breaches their duty of care, then you may be able to claim.
To highlight the difference, please consider the following example. You have suffered a serious leg injury as a result of the collapsing floor of your rented property.
While you may believe your landlord to be responsible for damaged items, if they took the required precautions concerning the floorboards, such as having them regularly maintained, then they may not be acting in a negligent fashion.
However, if your landlord refuses to make repairs to the floor then they could be considered responsible as a result of negligence. In order to determine landlord negligence, a court hearing may be required.
Tenant Personal Injury Claims Against The Council
According to the Government, local authorities in England alone owned 1.59 million homes in 2018.
If you are living in a council-owned property and believe you could make a tenant injury claim, you may be scared of challenging the authority of your local council and potentially losing your housing. However, you should not live in fear of making your tenant injury claim.
With regard to such claims, the tenant injury procedure for the council is identical and your local authority is treated exactly the same as any other landlord would be.
If you believe that you have a valid tenant injury claim against the council, you should follow the same steps highlighted in this guide.
Firstly, prioritise the gathering of evidence to support your claim. Then, contact a Claims Service such as our company that is experienced in dealing with tenant injury claims against local councils.
If you’re wondering how to claim compensation following landlord negligence, please read on.
Top Tips On How To Claim Compensation From Your Landlord For A Personal Injury
As mentioned above, in this guide, we’ll explain what steps to take to make a claim against your landlord. Top tips on how to claim compensation from your landlord include:
- Identify the issue, ensuring that an actual repair rather than an improvement would be needed to resolve it
- Collect evidence of the issue, including photos of the damage and proof of any harm it’s causing you, such as a letter from your GP or a bank statement
- Report the issue to your landlord asking them to resolve it, preferably in writing or by email so you have a hard copy of your correspondence as evidence
- Contact environmental health if the issue is causing you health problems and your landlord has failed to act upon it after being notified
- Try a mediation service as an alternative resolution method
- See if you can get compensation by getting in touch with our team at Legal Expert today
To learn more about these steps and some additional information in the meantime, please read on or get in touch with us today for a free consultation. See whether you could be entitled to compensation today.
How Long Do I Have To Claim Personal Injury Compensation From My Landlord?
You might be wondering how long you have to start a landlord negligence claim. Generally, when claiming for a personal injury, you will have three years to begin proceedings.
This is set out by the Limitation Act 1980, which also outlines the exceptions to this rule.
However, if you are intending to claim compensation from a landlord for housing disrepair, this time limit differs. In this instance, you will generally have 6 years to begin legal proceedings.
Contact our team today to learn more about the time limit for suing a landlord for either a personal injury or due to housing disrepair.
Make A Personal Injury Claim Against A Landlord – What Evidence Is Needed?
Whether you want to sue your landlord for emotional distress or physical injuries, you need to be able to prove that landlord negligence occurred. To do this, you’ll need to collect evidence that supports and strengthens your case.
This could include:
- Photographs of your injuries or of the accident site.
- Correspondence between you and your landlord that could prove they were acting negligently.
- Medical records, or the results of an independent medical examination
- Witness statements from anyone who witnessed the accident. While you can’t collect these yourself, a solicitor can do it for you.
- Bank statements, receipts, or invoices that show any financial losses you’ve suffered because of your injuries.
If you choose to sue your landlord with a solicitor, they can help you collect relevant evidence and prove your claim. Contact our advisors today for more information on the question, “Can I sue my landlord?” or keep reading to find out more.
Compensation Payouts For Injuries Caused By Landlord Negligence And Emotional Distress
If you successfully claim compensation for a personal injury in a rented property, your compensation award can be made up of two parts. The first is general damages, which are awarded to every successful claimant.
General damages cover the pain and suffering caused by your injuries. For example, if you were to suffer a leg injury as a result of your landlord’s negligence, and this causes significant pain and limits your ability to participate in your hobbies, this would all be covered by general damages.
Those who value this head of claim may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. This document offers guideline compensation amounts for different types of injuries and ill health, some examples of which you can find below.
Please note that these are guideline figures only, and the first entry in this table is not taken from the JCG.
| Type Of Injury | Severity Of Injury | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages | Serious | Up to £500,000+ |
| Head/Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Leg Injury | Severe Leg Injuries (b) (i) | £117,460 to £165,860 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| Lung Disease | Disease (c) | £66,890 to £85,460 |
| Asthma | Severe and permanent (a) | £52,550 to £80,240 |
| Asthma | Chronic (b) | £32,090 to £52,490 |
What Are Special Damages?
The second head of claim is called special damages. This compensates you for the financial losses you endured as a result of your injuries.
For example, if you were electrocuted as a result of faulty electric wiring in rented accommodation, this could prevent you from working while you recover. In this case, you could potentially claim back any lost earnings under special damages.
This head of claim can also help you cover the costs of:
- Home adjustments.
- Travel costs.
- Medical expenses, such as prescriptions.
- Help with cooking and cleaning.
- Childcare.
However, you have to prove these losses in order to claim them back. Because of this, it can be helpful to keep any relevant invoices or receipts, for example.
To learn more about making a personal injury claim as a social or private tenant, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer more information surrounding the claims process.
Can You Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A Personal Injury Caused By Landlord Negligence?
If you are eligible to claim against your landlord for injuries, then we recommend you do so with the support of an experienced solicitor.
If you contact our advisors about claiming compensation, then they could assess your case, and they may then connect you with one of our experienced No Win No Fee solicitors.
Our No Win No Fee solicitors can support injury claims against a landlord under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When claiming under this type of agreement, you won’t need to pay any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor for their services. This can help with the burden of legal costs.
Also, you won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work if your claim proves unsuccessful.
If your claim is a successful one, then your solicitor will receive what’s called a success fee. This means your solicitor will take a small, legally capped percentage of the compensation awarded to you.
Contact Our Team
For more advice on making a landlord compensation claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor, you can reach our advisors by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Filling in our online form.
- Or you can message us through our 24/7 live chat service.
Helpful Links And Further Resources
- Housing association home complaints
- Understand how your council works
- Private renting complaints
- How Much Compensation Can I Claim Against the Council or Local Authority?
More Helpful Personal Injury Guides
-
- Housing Disrepair Compensation Calculator
- How To Complain To The Council About Housing
- How to Complain to The Housing Association About Disrepair?
- Housing Disrepair Roof Leak Compensation Claims Guide
- Rising Damp, Leading To Mould Landlord Housing Disrepair Claims
- A Guide on How to Claim
- Social Housing Claims Guide
- Head Injury Claims
- Car Park Accident Claims
- Read about housing disrepair compensation claims. Learn about claiming housing disrepair compensation following landlord negligence.
- Get help making prisoner compensation claims with our helpful guide.
- Learn how to make seat belt injury claims with our guide.
We hope our guide on making a landlord compensation claim has proven useful. If you still have any questions about suing a landlord in the UK, then you can speak to our advisors online or on the phone using the contact details in this guide.
