How to take your landlord to court for repairs

Your landlord is responsible for certain repairs.

You can take your landlord to court if they:

• refuse to do repairs

• do repairs badly and the problem keeps coming back

• damage your belongings when fixing things in your home

The court could:

• order your landlord to do repairs

• tell them to pay you compensation

For example, you could get compensation if you lost money or had stress or inconvenience because of delayed repairs or things not being fixed.

Risks of going to court

You need to decide if it's worth going to court.

Risk of eviction for private tenants

A private landlord could try to evict you if you start court action.

Check if you're protected from revenge eviction.

You can claim compensation after you move out, as long as you have the evidence.

Problems with getting compensation

Your landlord might ignore the court order to pay you compensation.

You will then have to go back to court and pay more fees.

It might take a long time to get the money if your landlord cannot or does not want to pay.

Landlord's counterclaim

Your landlord could make a claim against you, for example for rent arrears or damage to the property.

You might end up owing your landlord money if the court agrees with them.

Legal help

You could get free legal help if:

• you claim benefits or have a low income

• the conditions in your home are very bad and affecting your health or safety

You cannot get this help if you only want to claim compensation or you earn too much.

No win no fee

You could help from a 'no win no fee' solicitor. This is called a conditional fee arrangement.

It means a solicitor will not charge you unless you win your case.

If you win, you usually have to pay the solicitor's fee from your compensation.