How to Make a Housing Disrepair Claim
If you’ve experienced disrepair in your home, you might be eligible to claim compensation for it. However, there are a number of things you need to consider before making a claim. These include the causes of disrepair and the time limit for making a claim. Fortunately, there is legal assistance available to help you through this process.
Getting compensation for housing disrepair
When the state of your housing is so bad that you cannot live in it, you may be entitled to compensation. This money may be in the form of cash, or a rent rebate. The amount of compensation you can claim depends on the type of disrepair and the length of time you have been inconvenienced. For example, if the plumbing in your property is in poor condition, you can get compensation for the extra expenses you had to incur while awaiting a repair.
The first thing you should do is contact your landlord to report the problem. If the landlord does not make repairs promptly, you should continue to report the problems. However, if you stop complaining, the landlord may argue that the problem was fixed and it was no longer causing you any inconvenience.
Common causes
Public housing is a crucial source of affordable and stable housing for low-income individuals. However, recent federal budget cuts have drastically reduced funding for public housing maintenance and repairs. This has left residents with crumbling buildings and deteriorating plumbing and heating systems. They may also be plagued by mold, water leaks, and pest infestations. Because of years of neglect, repairs are now more expensive than ever. Approximately 8,000 to 15,000 public housing units are lost each year to deterioration.
Time limits for making a claim
If you’ve suffered personal injury in a housing disrepair case, you have a limited time to file a claim. The legal time limit for housing disrepair claims is six years from the date you became aware of the problem, or reported it to the landlord. If you are under the age of 18, the limitation period is three years.
When making a housing disrepair claim, you must have proof of the damages in your rental home. This can be done by taking photographs of the damaged property and documenting it with dates. Additionally, if the damage is severe enough, you can keep medical records for proof.
Legal aid
Legal aid for housing disrepair claims is no longer available. This is partly due to new rules on personal injury claims and the emergence of ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors. As a result, some tenants have been unable to access legal assistance. This may lead to tenants being stuck in properties with broken heating systems or disrepair. It also means that landlords may be unwilling to take responsibility for the conditions in their properties.
Unfortunately, there are many tenants in the UK who are unable to access adequate legal representation due to housing disrepair. Because of this, many are turning to so-called ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors, who target estates with a high proportion of their fee and little interest in completing improvement works.