Housing Disrepair Success Stories – Water Leak Causing Damp Issues
We were instructed to deal with a case involving housing disrepair, this included a leak from the bathroom which lead to damage on the bedroom walls and hallway, the leak also caused there to be an issue of damp and mould in the property.
It is an implied term of the tenancy agreement, pursuant to Section 11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 that her landlord would keep in repair the structure and exterior or the dwelling house and the installations therein for the supply of gas, water, electricity, sanitation and space heating.
Hodge Jones & Allen prepared a detailed letter of claim which was sent to the landlord setting out the defects that had been instructed to us by the client and comprised a list of special damages suffered by the client.
Our client had a claim for the landlord’s breach of obligations in respect of the properties housing conditions, our client also had a claim for compensation of general and special damages for financial loss.
After the 20 day deadline, no works were carried out so Hodge Jones & Allen instructed a surveyor to do a report on the property. The expert report revealed that there were various disrepair issues including staining, mould growth and cracked and dented walls.
Hodge Jones & Allen then sent various letters enclosing the expert report and prepared a detailed second letter of claim.
The other side responded with a letter that set out their willingness to resolve the claims by way of works carried out. A second inspection was confirmed by the other party in which an expert also inspected the property. The surveyor report confirmed our client’s claims and suggested works to be carried out by our client’s landlord.
A memorandum of agreement was then confirmed by both parties and an offer was put forward for £3,500 and works to be completed within 120 days, this offer was accepted and the damages were awarded to our client.
Jayesh Kunwardia is a partner in our leading Housing Team (ranked tier 1 by Legal 500 and Chambers UK legal directories). He litigates across a broad range of areas of housing and property law disputes ranging from disrepair claims, landlord and tenant disputes, judicial review, possession claims, review/appeals relating to local authority housing decisions to matters concerning freeholder or leaseholder disputes, injunctions, boundary disputes, property nuisance/negligence claims, rights of way and party wall disputes.
If you need help with housing disrepair, you can try our housing disrepair compensation calculator or talk to our housing law specialists today. Call us on 0330 822 3451 or request a call back.
