You've reported the leak in writing, twice, and your landlord still hasn't sent anyone. A landlord disrepair claim is how you make them fix it and get compensation for the time you lived with it.
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the structure, exterior and key installations of your home in repair. A term in your tenancy agreement can't take that duty away unless a court approved it, which is rare (section 12).
This guide covers England. Since 1 December 2022, Welsh renters have their own repair rules under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
What counts as disrepair under Section 11?
Section 11 covers two things. The landlord must keep the structure and exterior in repair, including walls, roof, windows, gutters and drains. They must also keep the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water in repair and proper working order.
Put simply, a broken boiler, a leaking roof, a rotten window frame or unsafe wiring is your landlord's job to fix.
Section 11 is about things that are broken or have deteriorated. It doesn't cover your own belongings, cosmetic wear, or damage you caused. Some damp and mould comes from a defect such as a leak or a failed damp course, which is disrepair. Some comes from the home's design, with nothing broken. That second kind can be covered instead by the duty to keep the home fit for human habitation, if it's serious enough to make the home unfit to live in, so many claims rely on both.
What can a court order in a disrepair claim?
A court can do two things. It can order your landlord to carry out the repairs, and it can award damages for the period the disrepair affected you.
Damages for the inconvenience are often worked out as a share of the rent for the affected period. Say your rent is £1,200 a month and the disrepair cut the comfort and use of your home by 30%. That would be £360 a month, or £4,320 over a year. The percentage is for the court to decide on the evidence, so treat any figure as a starting point, not a promise.
You can also claim for belongings the disrepair damaged, such as clothes or furniture ruined by a leak. An injury or illness caused by the disrepair is valued separately. Our guide to how much disrepair compensation is worth goes into the figures.
How to report disrepair to your landlord in writing
For problems inside your home, your landlord's duty usually starts once they know about them, so how you report matters. Put every report in writing. An email or a text is fine, and a letter that names section 11 and gives a deadline is better.
Say what the problem is, where it is, when it started and how it affects you. Give a clear deadline. The law allows the landlord a reasonable time, which depends on the problem, and two weeks is a common deadline for straightforward repairs. A home with no heating or hot water in winter needs a much faster response.
Keep a log. Take dated photos from the first day, save every message, and follow up any phone call with a written summary. Most disrepair claims are won or lost on proof that the landlord knew and did nothing.
What to do if your landlord still won't fix the disrepair
Report it to the council. Your council's environmental health or private housing team can inspect your home and score the hazards. If it finds a serious one, it must take enforcement action, such as an improvement notice, under section 5 of the Housing Act 2004. It costs you nothing and creates an official record. If the council is your landlord, it can't take this action against itself, so use its complaints procedure and then the Housing Ombudsman.
Send a letter before claim. Before going to court, you're expected to follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims. That means a formal letter setting out the disrepair, what you want done and your damages, with 20 working days for the landlord to reply and a chance to inspect. Many landlords act at this stage, and our disrepair protocol guide walks through it.
Take it to the County Court. A disrepair claim goes to the County Court, not the First-tier Tribunal. Which track it goes on under CPR 26.9 decides how much of the legal costs the winner can recover:
- Small claims track. A claim that asks for a repairs order stays here only if the repairs cost £1,000 or less and your other damages are £1,000 or less. If you only want money, because the work is done or you've moved out, the usual £10,000 limit applies, unless the compensation for pain and suffering from an injury is more than £1,500. Each side usually pays its own legal costs, apart from court fees and small fixed amounts.
- Fast track. Most claims worth up to £25,000, where the trial should take no more than a day. If you're asking for a repairs order, the court must also think the fast track is in the interests of justice. The winning side can normally recover its legal costs, as assessed by the court, because the fixed-costs scheme doesn't apply to disrepair claims.
- Intermediate track. The normal track for a money-only claim worth up to £100,000, with a trial of up to three days. A claim that asks for a repairs order goes here only if the court thinks it's in the interests of justice. Otherwise a bigger claim goes to the multi-track.
Check the current court fees on GOV.UK before you file. If you have a low income or get certain benefits, Help with Fees may cover some or all of them.
The new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman isn't an option yet. The rules for approving a scheme came into force on 17 September 2026, but membership isn't compulsory, and the government expects it to be from 2028. Our ombudsman guide has the detail.
Do you need a no win no fee solicitor for a disrepair claim?
Not always. No win no fee deals are common in disrepair claims, and they come in two kinds. Under a conditional fee agreement, the firm can charge a success fee of up to 100% of its normal fees, and for a housing claim no law caps how much of your compensation that takes. Under a damages-based agreement, the firm takes a share of what you recover instead, capped at 50% including VAT. If your claim includes an injury, both are capped at 25% of the compensation for it. Insurance premiums and expenses can come out of your compensation on top of either.
Our guide to what percentage no win no fee solicitors take explains the limits, and the good, the bad and the ugly of no win no fee covers what to check before you sign. For a clear-cut claim with good evidence, many landlords settle at the letter-before-claim stage, before a solicitor is needed at all.
If you want a solicitor, you can contact one listed in our legal help directory. Each one is independent, and you contact them directly.
If your landlord is ignoring a repair, Remedy can help you report it in writing and keep a dated record of your messages and photos. It can then help you take it to the council or, if your landlord is a council or housing association, to its complaints process and the Housing Ombudsman. Remedy does not give a legal assessment of disrepair compensation or bring claims for you.
