If you rent from a council or housing association and you're living with damp, mould, leaks, or broken heating they won't repair, you may be entitled to compensation. Since October 2025, they have strict legal deadlines. If they've missed them, it's worth checking where you stand.
392%
increase in housing disrepair claims since 2020
FOI data, 78 councils, Legal Futures 2025
71%
of Ombudsman complaints upheld as maladministration
6.5m
UK households affected by damp or mould
There's a particular kind of tiredness that comes from asking for something to be fixed in your own home and being ignored.
You've sent the messages and made the calls. Maybe you've stopped using a room altogether. Maybe you're worried about a child's chest, or a relative's health, because of mould you can't get rid of. And still, nothing moves.
It can leave you feeling powerless in the one place you're supposed to feel safe. You shouldn't have to live like that, and legally, you often don't have to.
These are the most common issues we see from council and housing association tenants. If you've reported any of these and your landlord hasn't fixed them, you may have a claim.
Black mould on walls, ceilings, or around windows. Condensation that never goes away, no matter how much you ventilate.
Damp and mould dominates half of all Housing Ombudsman casework.
Water coming through the ceiling, dripping down walls, or pooling on floors. Damage to your belongings that nobody compensates you for.
40% of Ombudsman compensation relates to leaks, damp, and mould.
No heating in winter. A boiler that keeps breaking. Having to use electric heaters and watching your energy bill climb.
Under Awaab's Law, emergency hazards must be addressed within 24 hours.
Poor insulation, single glazing, draughts. A home that's impossible to keep warm.
NHS cost of cold/damp-related illness: £1.4 billion annually.
Cracks in walls, subsidence, crumbling brickwork, unsafe floors. Issues your landlord knows about but hasn't addressed.
15% of social housing fails the Decent Homes Standard.
Mice, rats, cockroaches, or bedbugs that keep coming back because the entry points haven't been sealed.
120 landlords have a maladministration rate above 75%.
Sockets that spark, lights that flicker, old wiring that hasn't been updated.
10% of social housing fails basic safety standards.
Windows that won't close, doors that don't lock properly, broken glass boarded up for months.
Landlords spent a record £8.8 billion on maintenance in 2024, yet claims still rose 392%.
Housing disrepair claims have grown nearly 400% in four years. The data tells a clear story: tenants are being let down at scale.
8,999
letters of claim filed against just 78 councils in 2024
FOI data via Legal Futures
474%
increase in Housing Ombudsman repair complaints vs pre-pandemic
Housing Ombudsman
120,000–160,000
social homes with notable damp and mould
Regulator of Social Housing
£8.8bn
record maintenance spend by councils and housing associations in 2024
AWH Solicitors
70%
reduction in legal aid for housing disrepair since 2012
Law Gazette
1,615
disrepair claims funded by legal aid in 2023/24, while solicitors filed nearly 9,000
FOI data via Legal Futures
The Housing Ombudsman upholds complaints 71% of the time. If you complain, you're statistically more likely to win than lose. But most tenants never complain.
A council can't act against itself. Council tenants can't use environmental health enforcement because the council's environmental health team can't enforce against the council's own housing department.
Legal costs often exceed compensation. The solicitor may bill the landlord £8,000+ in costs while the tenant receives £3,000 in compensation. This is the economic engine of the sector.
Each tenancy renewal with unremedied disrepair could be a new breach. If you've lived with damp for 6 years across 3 tenancy agreements, the compensation may apply to each agreement separately.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 has retrospective effect. From March 2020, it applies to all existing tenancies, not just new ones.
Awaab's Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family's housing association flat in Rochdale.
If your landlord has missed any of these deadlines, that's an automatic breach, and it strengthens any claim you may have.
SRA warning, October 2025
"Awaab's Law may well result in an increase in housing disrepair claims." - Solicitors Regulation Authority
If there's an immediate risk to your health or safety (like a gas leak or total loss of heating in winter), your landlord must address it within 24 hours.
Once you report a serious damp or mould issue, your landlord must carry out an investigation within 10 working days.
After investigating, they must provide you with written findings within 3 working days. This creates a paper trail.
Your landlord must make the property safe and begin remedial works within 5 working days of providing findings.
Housing disrepair compensation isn't one fixed number. It's made up of several components depending on your situation.
Compensation for the inconvenience, discomfort, and loss of enjoyment of your home. Typically 25-50% of the rent you paid during disrepair.
Example: £600/month rent, disrepair lasted 3 years, awarded 40% = £8,640.
Money back for things you've lost or spent: ruined furniture, clothing damaged by mould, higher energy bills, cleaning costs.
You'll need receipts, photos, and records. We help you gather these.
If your health has been affected by the conditions in your home (for example, asthma, respiratory infections, eczema, or mental health), this may form part of your claim.
Assessed using Judicial College Guidelines. GP records help.
If you go through the Housing Ombudsman, they can order compensation for distress, time, and trouble. Typically lower than court.
Plus Dane Housing case: £6,400 ordered for a family in damp/mould for 5 years.
It's worth knowing:Compensation in disrepair claims rarely exceeds £10,000. However, the legal costs can easily exceed this. We're transparent about this because most firms aren't.
If you have a disrepair claim, we'll connect you with an SRA-regulated solicitor from our panel who specialises in housing cases. They'll handle it on a no-win-no-fee basis. And Retriever Claim stays in the middle, so whenever you need to chase something or ask a question, there's a person there.
Using us costs you nothing. Finding out costs you a couple of minutes.
Every social landlord must have a repairs policy and a complaints procedure. Under Awaab's Law, they now have fixed deadlines.
This is always the first step. Many issues are resolved at this stage.
Stage 1 complaint, then Stage 2. Landlord must acknowledge within 5 working days and respond within 10.
Not legally binding, but creates a formal record that strengthens any later action.
Available only to council and housing association tenants. Must have gone through the complaints procedure first.
71% maladministration rate; most complaints are upheld. Can take several months.
The route that CMCs and no-win-no-fee solicitors operate in. The court can order repairs plus full compensation.
Strongest outcomes, but involves legal process. We handle this for you.
Most tenants choose us for option 4.
We handle the paperwork, the deadlines, and the solicitor relationship, so you don't have to navigate the legal system yourself.
Answer a few questions about your tenancy, your landlord, and what's wrong with your home.
A real person (not a robot) will call you within 24-48 hours to discuss your situation.
We help you gather evidence: photos, repair logs, GP records, council correspondence.
Our panel solicitor sends a letter of claim and pursues the claim on a no-win-no-fee basis.
Check if you qualify for compensation and repairs. No upfront fees. No phone number required to start.
Check if I qualify