Uninhabitable Home Claims

Legally reviewed by: LPC & GDL Matthew Shiels Updated: January 18, 2023In: Housing Disrepair

Contents

• Uninhabitable home
• When is a home uninhabitable?
• Home (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
• What properties does the Homes Act apply to?
• Lodgers, temporary housing and licence agreements
• Steps to take for tenants living in an uninhabitable home
• Landlord’s exceptions for an uninhabitable home
• Using the Homes Act
• How our housing disrepair solicitors can help

Figures show that 43 million households were rented in the UK in 2021. The tenants who rent their homes, put their trust in their landlord to fulfil their duty and keep in keeping the property fit to live in. However, in some situations, landlords neglect these duties, resulting in their tenants living in an uninhabitable home.

The new Home (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which will be referred to in this article as the Homes Act, was introduced on the 20^th March 2019, to ensure landlords make their rentals fit for their tenants. As a result, vulnerable tenants can now take their landlords to court for a failure of these duties. The court can enforce your landlord to carry out repairs and pay compensation to the tenant.

When Is a Home Uninhabitable?

Your landlord legally has a legal obligation to make your home fit to live in during your tenancy.
A rented home is unfit to live in if it:

• Seriously affects your health
• Puts you at risk of physical harm or injury
• Results in you not being able to make full use of your home

Home (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

On the 20^th March 2019, a new law came into force to ensure that rented houses and flats are fit for residency. This means that the home is safe, healthy, and free from things that could cause serious harm. Therefore, landlords have an obligation to make sure the houses and flats that they rent out are secure, safe, and fit to live in.

However, some landlords fail this duty resulting in their tenants living in dangerous or unhealthy conditions.

The new Homes Act strives to help venerable tenants by holding irresponsible landlords accountable for improving the property or leaving the business.

If your house or flat is not ‘fit for human habitation’, you are now able to take your landlord to court. The court will be able to enforce your landlord to carry out repairs or correct the health and safety issues. Additionally, the court can enforce the landlord to pay compensation to the tenant.

What Properties Does the Homes Act Apply To?

The Homes Act applies to the following:

• Council housing
• Housing association
• Private landlord or letting agent

You are covered straight away if your tenancy started after the 19^th March 2019 or if:

• You have signed a new fixed-term agreement
• Your tenancy became period (rolling)
• Your tenancy is fixed for less than 7 years

If your tenancy starts before the 19^th March, the new rules apply from the 20^th March 2020.

It does not matter if you pay rent or if you are on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for the Act to apply.

Lodgers, Temporary Housing and Licence Agreements

If you have a licence agreement rather than a tenancy, you are not covered by the Homes Act rules. As a result, you are likely to have a licence agreement if:

• Firstly, you live in temporary housing or a hostel
• Additionally, you are a lodger that lives with your landlord

Steps to Take For Tenants Living in an Uninhabitable Home

Assess the Issues

When assessing what the issue is that is causing your home to be uninhabitable some of the uninhabitable home reasons covered in the Homes Act are:

• the building has been neglected and is in a bad condition
• the building is unstable
• it has an unsafe layout
• there’s not enough natural light
• there’s not enough ventilation
• there is a problem with the supply of hot and cold water
• there are problems with the drainage or the lavatories
• it’s difficult to prepare and cook food or wash up
• damp and mould growth
• excess cold
• excess heat
• asbestos and manufactured metal fibres
• biocides (chemicals that treat mould)
• carbon monoxide
• lead
• radiation (from radon gas, which is airborne or in water)
• uncombusted fuel gas (leaks in gas appliances)
• volatile organic compounds (chemicals which are gases at room temperature)
• crowding and space
• entry by intruders (such as not having a lock on your front door)
• lighting
• domestic hygiene, pests, and refuse (including inadequate provision for disposal of wastewater and household waste)
• noise
• food safety
• personal hygiene, sanitation, and drainage
• water supply
• falls associated with bath or shower
• falls associated with stairs and steps
• falls on the level (danger of falling on a flat surface)
• falls between levels (danger of falling from one level to another, for example, falls out of windows)
• electrical hazards
• fire and fire safety
• hot surfaces and materials
• collision and entrapment
• explosions
• physical strain associated with operating amenities (e.g. very heavy doors)
• structural collapse and falling elements

What If My Issue Isn’t Covered By the Homes Act?

If your issue is not covered in the above list, there is a chance you cannot use the Homes Act. You can ask for help from our expert housing disrepair solicitors. Additionally, if you are a council housing tenant, you make a complaint to your local council.
Read more about how to make a complaint to your local council here.

See If There Is a Reason the Landlord Won’t Help

If your case goes to court, you will need to have a justifiable reason as to why the disrepair in your property makes it an uninhabitable home.

In an emergency, your landlord is allowed to enter the property. However, when making repairs to the property, your landlord needs to give at least 24 hours of notice. Additionally, the visit should be during ‘reasonable hours.’ This usually means not late at night, too early in the morning or during your work hours.

If your landlord has not given any notice or has tried to make a repair during an unreasonable hour, they cannot say they have made reasonable efforts to make the property habitable.

Make sure to keep all records of conversations with your landlord. As a result, this will help prove that you were not given reasonable notice.

Tell Your Landlord

Make sure to inform your landlord of the issues in the property.
Your landlord is obligated to fix the issues in your home once you have informed them. You can inform your landlord in an email, text, or letter. It’s best to do so in writing so records of conversations can be kept. You should allow a reasonable amount of time for your landlord to respond to the problem.

Fixing an Uninhabitable Home in a Reasonable Amount of Time

Once your landlord has been informed of any issues with the property, they are obligated to fix them in a reasonable time frame, depending on the severity of the issue. Therefore, if you live in social housing, your landlord may be held accountable by the Housing Ombudsman for the length of time to fix the issue.

Landlord’s Exceptions for an Uninhabitable Home

• Issues caused by the tenant’s behaviour
  If you or another tenant at the property has behaved either irresponsibly or illegally the landlord may not have to fix any of the house problems caused by your behaviour
• Events that are out of the landlord’s control such as floods, fires, or storm damage
  If your house has been damaged by something outside of your or your landlord’s control, you cannot use the Homes Act, but you can still contact your local council for help if your landlord doesn’t take the steps to help.
• If the landlord is unable to get permission from other parties
  You are not able to use the Homes Act if your landlord has not been given permission to do work from people such as the owners of the building that your flat is in, or the local council if planning permission is needed. However, you can ask for evidence that your landlord has tried to get permission, and you can still contact your local council for help.
• If the damage does not belong to the landlord, such as furniture belonging to previous tenants
  This would be if the items that are damaged were not included in the inventory at the beginning of your tenancy.

Using the Homes Act

If your landlord is taking too long or has not fixed the problem in your property our solicitors can advise you on whether you can use the Homes Act to take your landlord to court.

Firstly, you will need to write to your landlord again asking them to solve the issue. This should be done via email or letter. As a result, if you go to court this will be used as evidence, you tried to sort the issue with your landlord first. If you are using a letting agent, you should also inform them too.

Your letter should include what is wrong with the property and what needs fixing. You should also include if you have had to ask them for this more than once. Finally, you should include any issues this has caused you physically or mentally.

Make sure to keep a copy of the letter and any reply you receive. Your landlord may offer to make repairs or come to an agreement which can sometimes be easier than going to court.

If your landlord has still not co-operated our team of housing disrepair solicitors can guide you through the next steps and start your court process.

How Our Housing Disrepair Solicitors Can Help with an Uninhabitable Home

Our housing disrepair solicitors can guide you through each step of the court process, assuring you go in with the strongest case you can. Therefore, our solicitors will help you compile all the necessary evidence.

Knowing what evidence can be used in your case can help you collect it, making the court process easier. Some of the evidence that may be included is:

• Photographs of the issues
• a doctor’s note regarding any mental or physical health problems that have been caused or made worse by your home being ‘unfit for human habitation’
• receipts from items you have had to replace
• a copy of your tenancy agreement if you have one, or proof you are paying rent to your landlord
• a report from any experts you have paid to look at the problem. Their evidence can help to strengthen your claim. This is optional and examples include electricians or the environmental health department of your local council. If your local council’s environmental health department, or your council’s estates team, have already inspected, they might have provided a report.

Whether your claim is big or small, the process can provide complicated. Therefore, our housing disrepair solicitors can help make sure you have the best chances for compensation.

AWH has handled many cases where tenants have been treated unfairly and misinformed of their rights by their social landlords. Additionally, all our disrepair solicitors are authorised and regulated by the solicitors regulation authority.

Our housing disrepair solicitors do more than just help you make a housing health claim. They can guide and support you when you have suffered and get you the justice you deserve. Our housing disrepair solicitors are regulated by the solicitors regulation authority SRA and your claim is on conditional fee agreements.