Repairs and disrepair — City of London Corporation
Damp, mould or a repair the City of London Corporation has left unfixed can be grounds for a disrepair claim. The Regulator of Social Housing graded the Corporation C3 in February 2026. The Housing Ombudsman found property condition its largest failure area, with leaks, damp and mould the joint-largest sub-category.[2][5]
The fastest free route is usually to complain to the council first. Checking whether you may have a claim is also free, and you commit to nothing by asking.
Could you have a disrepair claim against the City of London Corporation?
If you rent from the City of London Corporation and are living with damp, mould, leaks or repairs that never get done, you have legal rights. If the Corporation knew about a problem and failed to fix it in a reasonable time, you may have a disrepair claim.
"Disrepair" means problems with your home that your landlord is legally responsible for fixing but hasn't. Common examples include:
- damp and mould
- leaks — from the roof, pipes, or a flat above
- broken heating or no hot water
- rotten or draughty windows and doors
- cracked walls, unsafe ceilings or other structural problems
- faulty electrics.
You may have a claim against the City of London Corporation if all of these apply:
- The City of London Corporation is your landlord — you are one of its tenants (if you rent from a housing association or a private landlord, your claim is against them, not the Corporation).
- The Corporation knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — so keep your texts, emails, photos and repair reference numbers; they are the evidence any claim relies on.
- It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem — the timescales lower down this page are a good guide.
- You were affected — for example, your health suffered, your belongings were damaged, or part of your home became unusable.
Leaseholders of Corporation-owned buildings have rights too — the route is a little different from a tenant's disrepair claim.
Complain to the City of London Corporation first — how to do it
Before thinking about any legal claim, complain to the Corporation. It is free, it is often the fastest way to get repairs moving, and it creates a written record of what you reported and when — the evidence any later claim relies on.
Where to report and complain. Report a repair to the Corporation's Property Services team on 0800 035 0003 — the line is open 24 hours a day, taking emergency repairs only out of hours — with the email route for non-emergency repairs on its report-a-repair page at cityoflondon.gov.uk.[12] Lodge a formal complaint with its Housing Complaints and Customer Feedback Team, by phone on 020 7606 3030, email or post — the routes are on the Corporation's housing complaints and customer feedback page at cityoflondon.gov.uk.[13]
The Corporation's complaints process. As recorded in a Housing Ombudsman decision, the Corporation aims to respond to a stage 1 complaint within 10 working days, and to a stage 2 complaint within 20 working days.[6]
If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. If you have been through the Corporation's process and are still unhappy — or your complaint is stuck — you can take it to the Housing Ombudsman. The service is free and independent, and you can contact it for advice at any stage, not just at the end. It can order your landlord to carry out repairs, apologise, and pay you compensation — and nobody takes a fee or a share of anything it awards you.
Free advice is there if you want it. Shelter and Citizens Advice both offer free housing advice. A local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid — available for disrepair where there is a serious risk to health or safety, though not normally for a compensation-only claim.
Complaining and claiming are not either/or. Complaining first is the right move in almost every case. If the repairs still don't happen, the record you have built makes any claim stronger, not weaker.
What a disrepair claim can cover
A housing disrepair claim can deal with two things: getting the repairs done, and recognising what living with the problem has cost you. Depending on your situation, a claim may cover:
- the repairs themselves — a court can order the Corporation to carry out the work;
- inconvenience and distress — compensation may be sought for the disruption of living with the problem;
- effects on health — for example where damp and mould have made a breathing condition worse;
- damaged belongings — clothes, furniture, carpets or electronics ruined by damp, mould or leaks;
- loss of use of part of your home — such as a bedroom or bathroom you could not safely use.
Every case is different, and no honest adviser can say what a claim is worth before looking at the evidence. A proper assessment starts from your record: what was reported, when, and what happened next.
What happens if you start a claim
Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you reported it, what the Corporation did (or didn't do), and how it has affected your household. Photos, repair references and complaint responses all help.
Step 2 — get your free report. We assess your answers against the legal tests on this page and give you a clear written view of whether you may have a claim and how strong it looks. Your first conversation with us is always free.
Step 3 — if your case is strong, we connect you with an independent, regulated law firm. We will be upfront about that before you commit to anything. The firm takes it from there: advising you, notifying the Corporation formally, and usually arranging an independent inspection of your home. Most disrepair cases settle without anyone going to court.
A note on time limits. Legal time limits apply to disrepair claims. A disrepair claim is normally a contract claim, and the usual limit is six years.[14] If a claim includes compensation for injury to health — for example a breathing condition made worse by damp and mould — that part usually has a shorter, three-year limit.[14] Even long-running problems can often still be claimed for, but check where you stand rather than assume. Disrepair claims usually take months rather than weeks to resolve — one more reason to complain first and keep the pressure on for repairs while any claim runs.
Living with disrepair in a City of London Corporation home?
Tell us what's happening in your home and we'll help you work out the right next step.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — if the City of London Corporation is your landlord, it knew about the damp or mould, and it failed to deal with it in a reasonable time, you may have a disrepair claim. Damp and mould can breach its repair duties under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and its duty to keep your home fit to live in; since 27 October 2025, Awaab's Law has added legally binding timescales. In the Ombudsman's 2024/25 report for the Corporation, repairs to leaks, damp and mould were the joint-largest sub-category of failure.
Awaab's Law — legally binding on councils since 27 October 2025 — gives the Corporation 10 working days to investigate a potential damp and mould hazard, with a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation concluding. Where a significant hazard is found, work to make your home safe must be completed within 5 working days of the investigation concluding. An emergency hazard must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours. If it cannot, the Corporation must offer your household suitable alternative accommodation at no cost. Its own repair priorities have no damp-and-mould category, so these Awaab's Law timescales apply.
For disrepair, the point that matters is where the Ombudsman's findings have concentrated: on the condition of the Corporation's homes and how it handles repairs. For a tenant living with an unresolved repair, that is independent confirmation the problem is one the Corporation has struggled with. The full record — case numbers, rates, orders and compensation — is on the main City of London Corporation page.
The Regulator of Social Housing has graded the Corporation C3, finding serious failings against the consumer standards — with the condition and safety of its homes, including homes below the Decent Homes Standard and overdue safety work, among its central concerns. For a disrepair case, that judgement is independent evidence of condition problems in the Corporation's stock. The full findings, dates and figures — and what the Corporation says it is doing about them — are on the main City of London Corporation page.
The Corporation sorts repairs by priority: an emergency within 24 hours, an urgent repair within 3 working days, an essential repair within 5 working days, and a routine repair within 20 working days. The most serious emergencies carry faster sub-targets of 4 hours, or a 2-hour response out of hours. For damp, mould and other serious hazards, the legally binding Awaab's Law timescales also apply — the damp and mould FAQ above sets them out.
In practice, yes. Courts expect both sides to have tried to resolve the problem first, and the written record a complaint creates is the evidence any claim is built on. It is also free, and often the fastest way to get repairs done. The Corporation's two-stage process and its timescales are set out above. If the complaint does not fix things, you can go to the Housing Ombudsman for free — and a disrepair claim remains open to you.
Not to start with — for compensation, not necessarily at all. You can complain to the Corporation and go to the Housing Ombudsman yourself, free — it can order repairs, an apology and compensation, and nobody takes a share of any award. A court claim is different: normally run through a solicitor, and worth considering where serious disrepair has gone on a long time or the free routes have not worked. Remedy Legal is not a law firm: we check whether you may have a claim and, if it is strong, connect you with an independent, regulated law firm.
There is no fixed amount, and you should be cautious of anyone who quotes you a figure before seeing your evidence. What compensation may be sought for depends on how serious the disrepair was, how long it went on after the Corporation knew, how it affected your household's health and daily life, and what belongings were damaged. The honest answer is that it has to be assessed case by case.
No — complaining, going to the Ombudsman, or bringing a disrepair claim should not put your tenancy at risk. Most council tenants are secure tenants, which means the Corporation can only evict through a court, on legal grounds — and asking your landlord to meet its legal repair duties is not one of them. Complaining is a formal right, and you can ask the Corporation how its complaints process works. Keep everything in writing, keep your reference numbers, and don't be put off.
Probably not. Of the Corporation's 12 housing estates, only two — Golden Lane (EC1Y) and Middlesex Street (E1) — are inside the Square Mile itself. The other ten sit outside the City, across six surrounding boroughs: Southwark, Lambeth, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham and Hackney. Wherever your estate sits, if the Corporation owns your home it is your landlord — your repair rights, complaint route and any disrepair claim all run against the Corporation, not the borough your estate is in.
About this data
Information on this page was last checked on 20 July 2026. Regulatory grades and Ombudsman figures are correct as at the dates shown against each figure and may have changed since. Grades are reviewed and may change.
We aim for accuracy. If you represent this landlord or spot something out of date, contact legal@remedylegal.ai and we will review it promptly.
Remedy Legal is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We do not carry out reserved legal activities or act as your legal representative. If your case needs a solicitor, we can connect you with an independent, regulated law firm.
Sources
- List of registered providers of social housing (29 June 2026) (opens in new tab) — Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 29 June 2026.
- City of London Corporation (00AA) — Regulatory Judgement: 25 February 2026 (opens in new tab) — Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 25 February 2026.
- City of London Corporation — publications page (opens in new tab) — Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 12 July 2026.
- Three councils fail to meet RSH's consumer standards (opens in new tab) — Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 25 February 2026.
- Landlord Performance Report 2024/2025 — City of London Corporation (data refreshed May 2025) (opens in new tab) — Housing Ombudsman Service. Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 31 March 2025.
- City of London Corporation (202423204) (opens in new tab) — Housing Ombudsman Service. Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 30 April 2025.
- Tenant Satisfaction Measures 2024-25 — full data workbook (2025_TSM_Full_Data_v1.1_FINAL.xlsx) (opens in new tab) — Regulator of Social Housing (official statistics). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 31 March 2025.
- Housing Estates — A Guide for Members (March 2024) (opens in new tab) — City of London Corporation (Housing Division). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 31 March 2024.
- Housing Estates (opens in new tab) — City of London Corporation. Checked 12 July 2026.
- City of London Corporation announces electrical safety testing programme for homes (opens in new tab) — City of London Corporation. Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 1 August 2025.
- Significant delays to social housing repairs in the City of London (opens in new tab) — EC1 Echo (local journalism — secondary). Checked 12 July 2026; data as at 5 June 2026.
- Report a repair - City of London estates (opens in new tab) — City of London Corporation. Checked 20 July 2026.
- Housing complaints and customer feedback (opens in new tab) — City of London Corporation. Checked 20 July 2026.
- Limitation Act 1980 (c. 58), section 5 (time limit for actions founded on simple contract) (opens in new tab) — legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 20 July 2026.
- Limitation Act 1980 (c. 58), section 11 (special time limit for actions in respect of personal injuries) (opens in new tab) — legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 20 July 2026.
- The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1042) (opens in new tab) — legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 10 July 2026; data as at 27 October 2025.
- Awaab's Law: guidance for social landlords — Timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector (opens in new tab) — GOV.UK (MHCLG). Checked 10 July 2026; data as at 27 October 2025.
- Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, section 42 (inserting s.10A LTA 1985) (opens in new tab) — legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Checked 10 July 2026.