Thousands of renters could be owed compensation up to £20,000 over issues including mould and leaks – how to complain
RENTERS in social housing could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation for issues such as broken lifts, leaks and damp – but many do not know their rights.
Landlords are responsible for making any repairs to a property and ensuring that tenants have hot water, heating and power.
But some landlords fail to fix problems, forcing tenants to live in damaged or low quality homes.
If this happens and social tenants have already complained to their landlord then they can take their case to the Housing Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman resolves disputes between social tenants and landlords and awards compensation or suggests solutions to problems.
Last year it made 21,740 suggestions to put things right for residents, ranging from doing repairs to paying compensation or improving practices.
This was three times as many as in the previous year.
In total it paid out £4.9 million in compensation, four times as much as the previous year when £1.1 million was paid out.
Among those to be awarded compensation was a tenant who received £20,000.
The Ombudsman said that the high level of compensation reflects the severity of some of the issues it has seen.
Some residents received huge payouts because they had only recently found out that they could bring a complaint to the Ombudsman after living with damp and mould for a decade.
You could be due compensation for any distress or inconvenience the complaint has caused or if there is a loss of enjoyment of the home.
For example, the Ombudsman may take into account the rooms impacted by damp and mould and order the landlord to pay compensation based on that.
How much money you will get depends on the severity of the issue and the impact as a result.
But you could be due thousands of pounds in compensation.
How to complain
Council, housing association and private tenants can all ask for compensation.
Your landlord's responsibilities
Your landlord must do anything your tenancy agreement says they have to do.
On top of this, your landlord is also generally responsible for keeping in repair:
- The structure and outside of your home including the walls, roof, foundations, drains, guttering, external pipes, windows and external doors
- Basins, sinks, baths, toilets and their pipework
- Water and gas pipes
- Electrical wiring
- water tanks
- Boilers
- Radiators
- Gas fires
- Fitted electrical fires
- Fitted heaters
The responsibility to do these repairs cannot be removed by anything your tenancy agreement says.
Your landlord cannot pass on the cost of any repair work they are responsible for to you.
Your landlord only has to make repairs when they know there is a problem so tell them about any repairs that are needed.
According to housing charity Shelter you could ask for compensation if:
- Your landlord does not make repairs within a reasonable time
- The repairs are poor quality or do not fix things
- Your home is unfit to live in
You should wait until your tenancy ends if you are a private tenant to avoid receiving a section 21 eviction notice.
First you must make a complaint to your landlord.
To do so, use an email or letter to set out what your complaint is about, what you want your landlord to do and when you want them to respond.
Check if your landlord has a complaints procedure before you make your complaint.
Once this is done you can escalate your complaint to the Ombudsman.
It is free to make a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman if you are a resident in social housing.
You will need to explain what you think has gone wrong and what you think the landlord should do to put it right.
It will only consider investigating your complaint when it has received evidence that your landlord has supplied a full and final response to your complaint.
For a complaint to be investigated, it must be referred to the Housing Ombudsman within 12 months of the landlord’s final response.
The Ombudsman will then work with you and your landlord to reach an agreement, which is known as a resolution.
This is much quicker than going through a full investigation.
If you and your landlord agree to a resolution then it will set out the agreed terms in writing, also known as a determination.
Last year the Ombudsman made 5,465 determinations.
The Ombudsman will also follow up with you and the landlord to check that all of the agreed actions have been completed before it closes the case.
When it will launch an investigation
If a solution cannot be found through a resolution then the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution team will complete a formal investigation of the case.
A full investigation can take 12 months while high-risk cases can be determined within 6 months.
An investigation will assess whether a landlord has acted fairly and whether their actions were reasonable, considering all the circumstances of the case.
The investigation will establish whether the landlord has been responsible for maladministration.
This could include if they:
- Failed to comply with any relevant legal obligations or relevant codes of practice
- Did not apply their own policies and procedures
- Behaved unreasonably when dealing with the issue
- Were unfair, unreasonable or incompetent
- Treated the resident in an unsympathetic, inappropriate or heavy-handed way
If this is the case then the Ombudsman may order the landlord to take steps to put things right.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, it may set out orders and recommendations to the landlord in its report to put things right.
This could include telling the landlord to:
- Pay compensation
- Apologise
- Review its policies and procedures
- Complete any outstanding repairs
Landlords are obliged to follow any orders from the housing Ombudsman.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories