How much compensation for housing disrepair?

In the current Landlord Record dataset, the typical Housing Ombudsman compensation award is £450, with an average award of £808. The middle range is £200 to £900, but housing disrepair compensation depends heavily on the issue, the severity, the duration and the evidence.

Our index currently holds 16,224 Housing Ombudsman decisions across 603 landlords. Compensation is recorded in 9,417 ordered-award decisions, totalling £7,607,904. Landlord Record analysis of Housing Ombudsman decisions (Open Government Licence v3.0).

Use these figures as a benchmark, not a promise. The Ombudsman decides each complaint on its own facts. A short delay with limited impact can lead to a very different outcome from months of unresolved damp, repeated missed appointments, poor complaint handling or evidence that the resident's health, belongings or use of the home was seriously affected.

What the Housing Ombudsman actually awards

The table below shows real compensation distribution by issue tag. A decision can involve more than one issue, so rows should not be added together. The median is usually the best quick benchmark because a small number of very high awards can pull the average upwards.

For disrepair, the most useful comparison is usually the issue closest to your problem. Damp and mould, leak and water ingress, heating and hot water, repairs delay and complaint-handling delay can all sit inside a wider repairs complaint. If your case involves several failures, compare the whole pattern rather than picking the highest row.

Also look at what the award was compensating. A disrepair decision may include money for the physical condition of the home, but it may also include complaint handling, missed appointments, poor communication, delay in arranging inspections, failure to follow a surveyor's recommendation, or failure to keep adequate records. Two cases can both involve damp and mould but sit in different parts of the range because the landlord response was different.

A useful way to read the table is to start with the median, then ask whether your facts make the case weaker or stronger than a typical published decision. A weaker case might be one where the landlord inspected quickly, completed work within a reasonable period and gave clear complaint responses, even if the final outcome was frustrating. A stronger case might involve repeated reports, failed repairs, avoidable delay, unclear ownership inside the landlord, or evidence that the resident could not use parts of the home normally.

Do not treat the highest award as a realistic starting point. High outliers usually reflect unusual facts, several linked failures, serious impact, or a long period before the problem was properly resolved. The average can move upwards because of those outliers. For most readers asking "how much compensation can you get for housing disrepair?", the median and middle range are more useful than the maximum.

In the same live index, repairs delay appears in 11,274 decisions and damp and mould appears in 5,641 decisions . That tells you how common the issue is in published decisions, not what your award will be.

How redress is calculated

The Housing Ombudsman does not use a fixed tariff for housing disrepair compensation. Its remedies guidance says remedies should be fair, proportionate and based on the individual circumstances of the case. Compensation is one possible remedy, alongside apologies, completing repairs, taking specific action, reviewing policies and changing processes.

The main redress categories are practical rather than formulaic. The Ombudsman may look at distress and inconvenience, quantifiable financial loss, and the time and trouble you had to spend pursuing the complaint. It also looks at the seriousness of the failing, how long it lasted, whether the landlord had a reasonable chance to put it right, whether the landlord already offered redress, and the cumulative impact on you.

That is why a simple "average housing disrepair compensation" figure can mislead. The median gives a useful centre point, but the facts still matter: whether the landlord knew about the defect, whether inspections or repairs were delayed, whether temporary fixes failed, whether complaint responses were late, and whether you can evidence the impact. Keep repair reports, photographs, complaint emails, inspection notes, medical evidence where relevant, receipts and a dated record of contact.

Financial loss is treated differently from general inconvenience. If you paid for something because the landlord failed to act, keep the receipt and explain why the cost was necessary. If belongings were damaged, keep photographs, inventories and any insurance information. If you are claiming that a room could not be used properly, keep a dated record of how the problem affected daily life. The Ombudsman is evidence-led, so a clear timeline can matter as much as the label attached to the repair.

Complaint handling can also affect redress. A landlord may eventually complete the repair but still have handled the complaint poorly by missing response deadlines, failing to escalate, giving unclear updates or not learning from earlier reports. In those situations, compensation may recognise the extra time and trouble caused by the complaint process, not just the original disrepair.

The Ombudsman can also decide that non-financial remedies are more important than money. It may order the landlord to inspect, complete works, apologise, review a policy, change a process, train staff or check whether the same problem affects other residents. When you estimate your own outcome, think about the remedy you actually need. A fair result may be a mix of completed repairs, explanation, apology, process change and compensation.

Disrepair claim vs the free Ombudsman route

A housing disrepair claim is a legal claim, usually about whether the landlord breached repair or fitness obligations and what damages or other court remedies should follow. A court claim can involve formal procedure, legal costs, expert evidence and litigation risk. Before court, the housing conditions pre-action protocol expects the parties to exchange information and try to narrow or resolve the dispute.

The Housing Ombudsman route is different. For social housing tenants, you normally complain to the landlord first and can then escalate to the Ombudsman if the complaint remains unresolved. The Ombudsman route is free, independent and focused on whether the landlord's handling amounted to service failure or maladministration. It can order compensation, but it does not award damages in the same way as a court.

Landlord Record is not a solicitor and does not run claims. If you are comparing routes, start with the evidence and the outcome you need. If you mainly need repairs completed, an apology, complaint handling put right and an Ombudsman compensation benchmark, the free complaint route may be the practical first step. If you are considering litigation, read the process carefully and consider independent legal advice. See our plain-English guide to how housing disrepair claims work.

The route can also affect timing and control. In the Ombudsman process, the complaint is considered against the landlord's obligations, published guidance and what would be fair in the circumstances. In court, the case is framed as a legal claim and may require pleadings, expert evidence, disclosure and formal settlement discussions. Neither route should be chosen only because a headline award looks attractive. Start with the problem, the evidence, the repair still needed and the risk you are prepared to take.

If you are still inside the landlord's complaint process, keep the complaint focused. Identify the defect, when you reported it, what happened next, what impact it had, what records support that account and what you want the landlord to do. That same timeline will help whether the case later goes to the Ombudsman, a solicitor or another advice service.

Estimate your own award

To make the data usable, Landlord Record provides an Ombudsman compensation calculator. It is not a legal valuation and it cannot predict an individual decision. It uses the same live award distribution behind this guide to show where past published decisions sit.

The best way to use it is to choose the issue closest to your complaint, then adjust your expectations for severity. A case involving short inconvenience and a prompt repair should not be compared with a long-running failure affecting several rooms, repeated appointments, poor communication and months of complaint chasing.

If your complaint involves more than one issue, run more than one comparison and then read the decision examples behind the numbers. The calculator is designed to orient you in the published Ombudsman data, not to replace judgement. A well-evidenced moderate case can be stronger than a serious allegation with a thin timeline, and a completed repair can still leave a separate question about distress, inconvenience or complaint handling.

You can also browse the underlying records for damp and mould and responsive repairs, compare the highest-compensation rankings, or read the programme pages for responsive-repairs compensation. The category pages are useful when your complaint is broader than a single issue tag.

Sources

The compensation figures on this page come from Landlord Record's structured analysis of published Housing Ombudsman decisions under the Open Government Licence. For the official remedies approach, read the Housing Ombudsman guidance on remedies .

For court-route context, see the GOV.UK page on housing disrepair claims , the GOV.UK page on making a court claim for money , and the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England) . For tax treatment, HMRC guidance on compensation for personal wrong or injury explains the general capital gains tax position. Take advice if your award includes rent, reimbursement, property damage, business income or another specific payment type.