What type of evidence is required in order to demonstrate disrepair in a Housing Disrepair claim?
The first thing that you are asking when you bring a claim what evidence do you have to support your claim.
To bring a successful housing disrepair claim, you need to have evidence that you have reported the issues of disrepair to your landlord.
It is therefore very important that you maintain a record of all communication you have made with your landlord in relation to the disrepair i.e. copies of emails, correspondence sent and a note of the person who you spoken to on the phone with the time and date.
In addition to the above, we would be beneficial that you take photographs of the disrepair. Not only would this show the disrepair, but it would also assist in assessing your claim against the landlord.
As well as claiming for disrepair to your property you can also claim for the following:
- Personal items
You must provide proof that you own the items, photographs of the damages and receipts to confirm proof of purchase.
- Additional expenses
If you have incurred additional expenses as a result of the disrepair at the property, again you will need to provide evidence in the form of receipts. If you have incurred expense via utilities bill then you would need to provide copies of the relevant bills for a period of 3 months prior ot the appearance of the disrepair, to date.
- Personal Injury
To pursue a successful claim for personal injury you must have discussed your issues with your GP. Copy of your medical records would be required to support the claim.
At Specters, we have a team who specialised in housing disrepair claims and would be happy to assist you. Specters are able to handler many claims for housing disrepair on a No Win No Fee basis.
Can I claim for personal injury caused by housing disrepair against my Landlord?
When you rent a property, you’re protected by common law. This may also be called “implied terms” in your tenancy agreement. Common law states that a property should be in a condition that poses no significant risk to you or your visitor. Also, all landlords have a legal obligation to maintain the structure and exterior of their property to a reasonable standard of repair.
The landlord’s obligations are set out under several pieces of legislation, namely, the Landlord and Tenant Act (LTA) 1985, which applies to tenancies entered into after 1961. In summary, section 11 ensures that the landlord will:
a) Keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes,
b) Keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths an sanitary conveniences but not other fixtures, fitting and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity, and
c) Keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.
As well as claiming for the disrepair to the property you can also claim for personal injury. If the disrepair has caused your or anyone else in the house ill health, then this is potentially something you can claim for.
The amount of compensation you receive would depend on a number of factors, including the severity of the illness and how long it lasted.
In addition to the above you would also be able to able to claim for any financial losses you incurred due to the illness i.e. treatment costs of loss of earnings.
