My daughter, 4, was hospitalised by mould and damp in our council house – I’m so upset and angry
A MUM-OF-TWO was left heartbroken after her young daughter was left hospitalised by mould and damp in their council home.
Louise rents a council flat in Leeds with her two daughters, including four-year-old Ellie, who suffered ill health because of their living conditions.
Mould is a hazard for young children and can cause respiratory problems.
Louise told Channel 4 news she had been asking Leeds City Council to do repairs for eight-years, but most of it was only completed within the last month.
But she was still left with wallpaper hanging off the walls, unfinished plaster and loose floorboards.
The authority told the broadcaster it was aware of further issues in the home and was arranging a time to carry out the repairs.
She said: “My little one who’s four, she keeps saying ‘mum I don’t want to live here – I want a house’.
“Listening to my four-year-old saying that, it’s heartbreaking.
“It’s really upset me. It’s stressing me out just being here. I don’t even want to be here anymore.”
Many social tenants living in conditions like Louise and her family are turning to “no win no fee’” solicitors to take on their cases and get them compensation.
It comes as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Channel 4 revealed revealed that nearly 17,000 legal claims have been made by social tenants to 50 councils in England since 2020.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act, which came into force in 2019, means landlords must make sure their properties meet certain standards.
How much compensation you get for housing disrepair depends on your circumstances and how bad the problem is.
It is usually calculated as a percentage of the rent you paid while living in the conditions.
A completely uninhabitable property could get 100% of rent as compensation, but this is rare.
More typically, compensation would be between 25% and 50% of your rent, according to legal experts.
How to settle a dispute with your private landlord
THE first step is to try and talk through the problem, but if this does not go to plan you can write a formal letter.
Simply explain the problem and what you want them to do to resolve it.
If unsuccessful, the next step is to complain to your local council, which can help with issues regarding:
- repairs that cause a risk to your health and safety not being done (e.g faulty electrical wiring not being fixed)
- illegal eviction
- harassment
- dishonest or unfair trading behaviour
If your landlord still doesn’t sort out your problem or if the council can’t help, you might be able to take court action.
Just remember this can be expensive so make sure it’s the right option for you.
You can get free advice from Shelter and free advice from Citizens Advice about disputes and housing problems.
In Wales, you can contact Shelter Cymru.
Civil Legal Advice (CLA) can offer some people free and confidential services as part of legal aid, if you’re in England and Wales.
A solicitor can also help you too, but they might charge a fee.
If you’re a social tenant, you should complain to the Housing Ombudsman.
Still, tenants will have to pay court fees unless they’re entitled to free legal aid, but you’ll get some back if you win your case.
Plus, no-win, no-fee firms take a portion of your refund if your case is successful.
Your rights and how to complain
According to Shelter you can ask your landlord for compensation if they fail to carry out repairs in a reasonable time frame.
Issues you can take action for include:
- Damp and mould throughout the property
- Defective plasterwork
- Defective brickwork
- Defective windows throughout the property
- Defective/faulty electrics
- Excess cold due to lack of radiators in the property
- Defective/leaking shower
- Lack of extractor fans in the property
- Defective / cracked rendering
- Defective heating
You can also claim if it’s unfit to live in because of poor conditions.
These rules apply to private landlords, councils and housing associations.
You’ll first need to go to your landlord or letting agent to complain and you’ll need to show evidence and set out why you think you’re entitled to a payout.
If your landlord doesn’t agree you can take court action, but beware that this can cost money.
You can do this when you are still living there, like Chelsie, or after the end of a tenancy.
But Shelter warns that some private landlords evict tenants who ask for compensation, so it may be better to wait.
You can claim up to six years from when the work should have been carried out, or three years for a personal injury claim.
You can make a claim for the inconvenience as well as financial losses.
For example damage to your belongings, the cost of having to buy a heater if your boiler breaks, or loss of earnings from taking time off work if your health is affected.
Before going to court your landlord might settle the claim by offering you compensation or a rent reduction.
If not, before heading to court you could go to the Housing Ombudsman to make a formal complaint if you are a council or housing association tenant.
You can also complain to a redress scheme if you rent privately through a letting agent, but only if the agent contributed to the dispute.
For claims of under £1,000 you can take it to the small claims court.
Fees are lower and you won’t have to cover the costs of your landlord if you’re unsuccessful.
You can also do this yourself and don’t have to have a solicitor.
For larger claims there are higher fees and you’re likely to need a solicitor.
The costs can add up but you might be able to get help through legal aid.
You could also use a no-win, no-fee firm, but remember that it will take a cut of any payout.
The court can force a landlord to carry out a fix and pay compensation.
If the court finds in favour of the tenant then the landlord could be liable for some or all of the legal costs.
Compensation for housing disrepair usually ranges from 25% to 50% of your rent.
For example, if you paid £9,600 in rent over a year and had heating issues continuously for that period, if your claim was successful you could get 25% of that back – which is £2,400 in compensation.
How much you’ll get will depend on the damage and how long the landlord took to make the repairs.
But if not, you could be left covering costs so it’s worth considering court as a last resort.
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