Housing Disrepair Liverpool: Your Rights as a Tenant
Call our helpline on 0800 098 2791
In 2024, our telephone helpline advised over 56,700 households, including hundreds from Liverpool, Birkenhead, Knowsley, St Helens, and surrounding areas.
Tenants Advice is a claims management company coveringh Liverpool and other areas. You can make a claim for free using the Housing Ombudsman Service or you can make a claim yourself.
Understanding Housing Disrepair & Your Landlord’s Responsibilities in Liverpool
For tenants across Liverpool, ‘housing disrepair’ refers to a landlord’s failure to maintain a rented property in a safe, healthy, and habitable condition, as required by law. This can include a wide range of issues from common problems like damp and mould to more severe structural concerns.
Your landlord in Liverpool has clear legal obligations to ensure your home is fit for human habitation. Their responsibilities include:
Maintaining the Property Structure
This covers the exterior walls, roof, foundations, and external doors and windows.
Ensuring Essential Services
Keeping heating and hot water systems, gas pipes and boilers, and electrical wiring in safe and working order.
Sanitary Facilities
Maintaining sinks, baths, toilets, pipes, and drains.
Start a Claim Today
Common Housing Disrepair Issues Affecting Liverpool Homes
You do not need to suffer in silence as tenants have rights too! If you have notified your landlord of issues with your home and these have been left unattended, you are legally entitled to seek legal advice or for a solicitor to make your landlord carry out your home repairs. You could be eligible to claim for housing disrepair if your home has any of the below issues.
Damp and Mould
Ongoing Leaks
Rotten Windows and Doors
Rodent, Cockroach and Pigeon Infestations
Request A Callback
See how we’ve helped our customers.
Dangerous, exposed light fitting.
Fully repaired wall.
Replastered wall.
Talk To An Expert
Why Choose Tenants Advice for Your Liverpool Housing Disrepair Claim?
When you’re dealing with housing disrepair in Liverpool, you need a team that understands your local challenges and is committed to your well-being. At Tenants Advice, we pride ourselves on:
Expert Local Knowledge
Our team possesses a deep understanding of Liverpool’s housing landscape and the common disrepair issues faced by tenants here.
Dedicated Support
We provide compassionate and dedicated support, guiding you through every step of the claims process with clarity and empathy.
Stress-Free Process
We aim to simplify the complex claims process, allowing you to focus on your well-being.
Focus on Tenant Well-being
Our priority is to ensure your home is fixed and that you receive fair compensation for the hardship endured.
Questions We Often Hear from Liverpool Tenants
If you haven’t found the answer you were looking for in our FAQ’s below, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly. We’re here to assist you!
help@tenantsadvice.co.uk
Does my tenancy agreement affect my right to claim?
The type of tenancy agreement you have can affect your rights and responsibilities. Generally speaking, if you do not have exclusive use of any part of a property, you have a license to occupy. If you have exclusive use of part or the whole of the property, you are likely to have an assured or short-hold tenancy agreement.
Our experienced team of advisers can help you establish your rights with regards to your individual circumstances. Simply complete our online claim enquiry form to establish your right to make a claim.
What legal obligations does my landlord have?
Your landlord is under no obligation to improve your property, however, they are legally required to carry out repairs in order to maintain the property and ensure your safety.
They are specifically responsible for: The structure and exterior of the premises; Water pipes and instillations relating to water usage – such as baths, sinks, drainage systems and toilets; Gas pipes and electrical wiring; Heating systems (excluding cookers);
Will I be entitled to compensation?
If you have a valid claim for housing disrepair, aside from compelling the landlord to repair your property, you can also claim compensation for:
- Inconvenience caused;
- Damage to personal property;
- Personal injury or ill health resulting from the disrepair – including respiratory illness caused by damp conditions;
- Any financial losses suffered as a result of the failure to rectify the disrepair.
How much will I have to pay?
A no win, no fee agreement is a simple way of ensuring your costs are covered if you need to take legal action due to your council/housing association property being in an unliveable condition. Also known as a conditional fee agreement (CFA), it means that the lawyer representing you in the case will not take any payment until the end of the case.
In the event of a loss, the lawyer will take no fee and there will be no cost to the client at all.
After signing the CFA, there is a 14 day “cooling off” period during which the client may cancel at no cost. After this ’14 Day Cooling off’ period, any cancellation may incur legal fees, this is something that your panel solicitor would be able to advise you on. Our Panel of Solicitors will deduct 25% of any compensation awarded plus VAT.
If your case is successful, then the legal fees will be paid for by the client’s housing association or council. The solicitor will also take a deduction of any compensation received. We do not charge you a fee for our service, and you do not pay us any fee at any point for our service. If your claim is successful, we will be paid a fee for referring your claim to one of our panel Solicitor/Lawyer.
Call us on 0800 047 2017 to receive specialist advice on how Tenants Advice can assist you further.
How much compensation will I receive?
Each case is individual. The amount of compensation received is dependent on the severity of the disrepair, how long it has been an issue and the effect it has had upon you.
How long will it take to process my claim?
Each case is individual. On average, housing disrepair claims undertaken by our team are generally settled within a matter of months. During this time, we act entirely on your behalf, removing any stress from the process.
What do I need to do?
You need to report your housing issues to your landlord via telephone or writing. If the landlord does not fix the repairs within a reasonable period of time, you can get in touch with us. We will either provide free housing advice or force your landlord to carry out the repairs.
Knowing Who Is Responsible For What in Your Liverpool Home
Your landlord is legally responsible for most repairs in your home in Liverpool. They should make sure that your home is safe, healthy, and free from any hazards. It is their duty to ensure the property meets the Fitness for Human Habitation standards throughout your tenancy.
Landlord’s Responsibilities
Your landlord is legally responsible for most repairs in your home in Liverpool. They should make sure that your home is safe, healthy, and free from any hazards. It is their duty to ensure the property meets the Fitness for Human Habitation standards throughout your tenancy.
Their responsibilities include repairs to:
- Electrical wiring
- Gas pipes and boilers
- Heating and hot water
- Chimneys and ventilation
- Sinks, baths, toilets, pipes, and drains.
- Common areas including entrance halls and stairways.
- The structure and exterior of the building.
Tenant’s Responsibilities
While your landlord has significant responsibilities, as a tenant in Liverpool, you also have duties to ensure the property is well-maintained and that any issues are reported promptly.
You must treat your home with care, and you may be charged for repairs or damage that do not count as fair wear and tear.
This means:
- Keeping your home reasonably clean
- Safety checks on electrical appliances you own
- Keeping gardens or outside areas in a reasonable state
- Minor maintenance such as changing light bulbs or smoke alarm batteries
Start Your Housing Disrepair Claim in Liverpool Today
Don’t endure housing disrepair in Liverpool any longer. Contact Tenants Advice today for a free, no-obligation initial consultation. We’ll discuss your situation, assess your eligibility, and explain how we can help you get the repairs you need and the compensation you deserve.
Call our helpline on 0800 098 2791 or fill out our online contact form to get started. Please have details of your tenancy and any records of reporting the disrepair ready