Guide

Housing disrepair claims: how they really work

A plain-English guide to the three ways you can pursue a disrepair problem — and which route fits your situation.

By the Landlord Record research team

Independent analysis of published Housing Ombudsman decisions. Last updated: 30 May 2026.

Reviewed against Housing Ombudsman published guidance.

Tenant comparing landlord complaint, Ombudsman and court routes for a housing disrepair claim.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Landlord Record is independent and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Housing Ombudsman Service. We organise and analyse decisions published under the Open Government Licence.

A housing disrepair claim is a complaint that your landlord has failed to repair or maintain your home to a reasonable standard. If you are a social housing tenant in England, you have three main routes: (1) a formal complaint to your landlord, (2) the free Housing Ombudsman service, and (3) a court claim, usually with a solicitor. The right path depends on what you want to achieve, how strong your evidence is, and whether you need a quick resolution or a legally binding court order.

This guide is neutral. We show the free route first because most social housing tenants do not need a solicitor to get a fair outcome. Where court claims are genuinely the better option, we say so honestly. Where the Ombudsman route is faster, cheaper and sufficient, we explain why.

Whatever route you choose, evidence is the foundation. Keep a dated record of every report you made, every response you received, every photograph of the defect, and every cost you incurred. Medical evidence, repair reports, inspection notes and complaint emails all strengthen your position. The Ombudsman and the courts are both evidence-led, and a clear timeline often matters more than the legal label you attach to the problem.

In the current Landlord Record dataset of 16,224 published Housing Ombudsman decisions, the median compensation award is £450 and the average is £808. Landlord Record analysis of Housing Ombudsman decisions (Open Government Licence v3.0).

The three routes compared

Most social housing tenants should understand all three routes before choosing one. The table below compares cost, typical speed, what each can deliver, and the main drawbacks.

Route	Cost to you	Typical speed	What it can deliver	Key drawback
Formal complaint → landlord	Free	Weeks	Repairs, apology, explanation, internal review	No independent enforcement; landlord decides outcome
Housing Ombudsman	Free	Weeks to a few months	Compensation, repairs ordered, apology, policy change, staff training	Not a court; cannot award damages in the same way
Court / solicitor	Potential legal costs; deductions from damages if no-win-no-fee	6–18 months	Court order for works, damages, injunction	Cost, risk, complexity, stress; may still settle for less

Route 1 — formal complaint to your landlord. Every social landlord must have a complaints policy that meets the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. You start by describing the defect, when you reported it, what impact it has had, and what you want the landlord to do. The landlord should respond within its published timescales, and if you are unhappy with the outcome you can escalate to stage 2 or go straight to the Ombudsman. This route is free and should always be your first step.

Route 2 — Housing Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is an independent dispute-resolution service, not a court. It is free for social housing tenants. You can refer your complaint once you have completed your landlord's internal process or after 8 weeks if the landlord has not responded. The Ombudsman investigates the landlord's handling of the complaint and can order compensation, repairs, apologies, policy reviews and staff training. Its orders are binding on the landlord, and the Ombudsman monitors compliance. See our guide to how to complain to your landlord for the first steps.

Route 3 — court claim with a solicitor. A court claim is a legal action for breach of the landlord's repairing obligations. It is governed by the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims, which expects both sides to exchange information before starting proceedings. Court claims can lead to damages, court orders for specific works, and injunctions. However, they involve legal costs, court fees, expert evidence, disclosure and the risk of losing or receiving less than expected. Some solicitors offer "no win no fee" arrangements, but these are not cost-free: success fees and insurance premiums are typically deducted from any damages you receive.

For most social housing tenants with a standard disrepair problem — damp, mould, heating failure, leaks, or repair delays — the Ombudsman route delivers a fair outcome without legal costs or litigation risk. Court claims are better reserved for serious cases where the landlord refuses to act, the financial or personal impact is large, or you need a legally enforceable order that the Ombudsman cannot provide.

What the Ombudsman actually orders

The Housing Ombudsman does not use a fixed tariff. It applies its published remedies guidance and weighs the severity of the failing, how long it lasted, the impact on you, and whether the landlord already offered redress. Compensation is one of several possible orders. The Ombudsman can also require the landlord to apologise, complete repairs, review a policy, change a process or train staff.

Across 9,417 published decisions in the Landlord Record index that include a compensation award, the median ordered amount is £450, the average is £808, and the middle 50% of awards fall between £200 and £900. The largest single award recorded is £358,282. Landlord Record analysis of Housing Ombudsman decisions (Open Government Licence v3.0).

For damp and mould specifically — one of the most common disrepair issues — the median award is £700 across 3,759 compensation decisions. The middle range is £350 to £1,320. Landlord Record analysis of Housing Ombudsman decisions (Open Government Licence v3.0).

The most serious cases attract a finding of severe maladministration. The index currently records 2,499 such findings. These cases usually involve prolonged failure, repeated missed opportunities to put things right, or significant impact on the resident. You can browse the severe maladministration rankings to see which landlords appear most often.

Do not treat the highest award as a realistic starting point. Outliers reflect unusual facts: several linked failures, serious health impact, or years of unresolved problems. The median and middle range are more useful benchmarks for most tenants. You can explore the compensation calculator to see where your issue sits in the published data, or read our housing disrepair compensation guide for a deeper breakdown by issue type.

Remember that the Ombudsman's role is to put things right, not to punish the landlord. A decision may order a repair to be completed within a set number of weeks, an apology within a deadline, and a policy review with a report back date. Compensation recognises the distress, inconvenience and time and trouble you experienced. It is not the same as court damages, and the Ombudsman does not follow the same calculation methods a court would use.

The Ombudsman also looks at complaint handling separately from the original disrepair. A landlord may eventually complete the repair but still be found at fault for missing response deadlines, failing to escalate, giving unclear updates or not learning from earlier reports. In those situations, compensation may reflect the extra time and trouble caused by the complaint process itself, not just the physical defect.

When a solicitor is genuinely worth it

A solicitor-led court claim can be the right choice in specific circumstances. If your landlord has completely refused to carry out essential repairs, if the disrepair has caused significant personal injury or damage to your belongings, or if you need a court order to force works to happen, litigation may be necessary. A solicitor can also help if the landlord has ignored the Ombudsman's orders or if your financial losses are large and well documented.

However, the free Ombudsman route is usually better when:

You mainly need repairs completed, an apology, and a modest compensation payment.
The landlord has already accepted fault but you disagree with the remedy offered.
You want a faster resolution without legal costs or the stress of court.
Your evidence is clear but not extensive enough to justify litigation risk.
You are unsure about your legal position and want an independent finding before spending money.

Be cautious of solicitor marketing that promises large payouts without assessing your evidence. The Ombudsman's median award is a useful reality check against inflated expectations. A "no win no fee" agreement may still leave you paying insurance premiums or success fees, and you may not recover all your costs even if you win. Some agreements also require you to pay the other side's costs if you lose, unless insurance covers it. Read any agreement carefully and ask what you will actually receive after deductions.

If you are unsure, start with the Ombudsman route while keeping your options open. The evidence you gather for a complaint — dates, photographs, emails, medical notes, receipts — is the same evidence a solicitor would need later. You are not locked into one path, and an Ombudsman finding of maladministration can strengthen a later court claim if you decide to pursue one.

Check your landlord's record first

Before you choose a route, it helps to know how your landlord has been assessed in past Ombudsman decisions. Some landlords have repeated patterns of repairs delay, poor complaint handling or high maladministration rates. Others rarely appear in adverse findings. This context shapes both your strategy and your expectations.

Landlord Record indexes every published determination. You can search your landlord to see their decision history, compensation record and whether they appear in any of our rankings. If your landlord is in the worst landlords overall table or the highest-compensation rankings, that context can strengthen your complaint by showing the Ombudsman (or your solicitor) that the landlord has a documented history of service failure.

You can also browse decisions in the responsive repairs category to find cases similar to yours. Reading how the Ombudsman framed orders in comparable situations helps you set realistic expectations and write a stronger complaint. Look for cases with a similar defect, a similar timeline, and a similar landlord response. Note what the Ombudsman ordered and why. That pattern is often more predictive than any average figure.

Rankings are league tables, not verdicts. A landlord with many decisions may simply be large, while a smaller landlord with a high maladministration rate may have a more concentrated problem. Read the underlying decisions rather than relying on position alone. If you are a housing association tenant, you may also find our planned guide to how to complain to a housing association useful for understanding internal escalation routes.

If you are preparing a complaint, keep a clear timeline from the first report to the present day. Include dates, photographs, emails, repair reports, inspection notes and medical evidence where relevant. The Ombudsman is evidence-led, so a well-documented timeline matters as much as the legal label attached to the repair.

Frequently asked questions

How does a housing disrepair claim work?

A housing disrepair claim is a legal claim that your landlord has failed to keep your home in reasonable repair. For social housing tenants, the typical first step is a formal complaint to the landlord, then escalation to the Housing Ombudsman if the issue remains unresolved. The Ombudsman route is free and can order compensation, repairs and other remedies. Alternatively, you can bring a court claim, usually with a solicitor, which may lead to damages but involves legal costs and litigation risk. Most tenants start with the landlord complaint process, then the Ombudsman, and only consider court if those routes do not deliver the outcome they need.

How long does a housing disrepair claim take?

The Housing Ombudsman normally expects landlords to respond to complaints within set timeframes, and Ombudsman investigations typically take several weeks to a few months once accepted. Court claims can take longer — often 6 to 18 months depending on complexity, evidence, court availability and whether the case settles. The free Ombudsman route is usually faster and less adversarial than court. If your disrepair is urgent, the Ombudsman route may deliver an order for immediate works sooner than a court date.

Can I sue my landlord for mould and damp?

You may be able to bring a court claim if your landlord is responsible for the defect, had notice and failed to put it right within a reasonable time. Damp and mould are common grounds for disrepair claims. For social housing tenants, the free Housing Ombudsman route is also available and can order compensation and specific repairs. The best route depends on your evidence, the severity and what outcome you need. Court claims require you to prove the landlord was at fault and that you suffered loss; the Ombudsman route focuses on whether the landlord handled the complaint fairly and reasonably.

Do I need a solicitor for a housing disrepair claim?

Not for the Housing Ombudsman route — you can complain directly and escalate for free. For a court claim, a solicitor is strongly advisable because litigation involves procedure, evidence rules, costs and risk. Some solicitors offer conditional fee arrangements, but you should understand fees, deductions and your obligations before signing. The free Ombudsman route is often the better first step for social housing tenants. If you do see a solicitor, ask what you will receive after all deductions, what happens if you lose, and whether you are expected to pay any upfront costs.

Is it worth making a housing disrepair claim?

It depends on what you need. If you want repairs completed, an apology, compensation and a formal finding without legal costs, the Housing Ombudsman route is usually worth trying first. If you need a court order for specific works, or your losses are large and well evidenced, a court claim may be worth the cost and time. Start with clear evidence and a realistic view of the outcome you want. Even a modest Ombudsman award, combined with ordered repairs and an apology, can represent a fair result without the stress and cost of litigation.

What can I claim compensation for?

In a Housing Ombudsman complaint, compensation can cover distress and inconvenience, time and trouble, quantifiable financial loss, and the impact of poor complaint handling. The Ombudsman also orders non-financial remedies such as repairs, apologies and policy changes. In court, damages can include repair costs, damage to belongings, personal injury and inconvenience, but you must prove each element. Keep receipts, photographs, medical notes and a dated record of contact to support either route.

Sources

The findings and process described here are defined by the Housing Ombudsman Service. For the authoritative position — including its Scheme, Complaint Handling Code and remedies guidance — see the Housing Ombudsman website.

For court-route context, see the GOV.UK page on housing disrepair claims and the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England) . For the Ombudsman's approach to remedies, read its guidance on remedies .

This page summarises and explains that material; it is not produced by the Ombudsman and does not constitute legal advice.