Repairs and disrepair — Clarion

If you rent from Clarion and are living with damp, mould, leaks or repairs that never get done, you have legal rights. If Clarion knew about a problem and failed to fix it in a reasonable time, you may have a disrepair claim. The landlord named on your tenancy is Clarion Housing Association Limited, part of the wider Clarion Housing Group.^[2] The Housing Ombudsman investigates the housing association; the Regulator grades the group.^[3]

"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 Clarion if all of these apply:

1. Clarion is your landlord. Check your tenancy agreement — the landlord named on it is what counts. Clarion was created by the merger of Affinity Sutton and Circle Housing in November 2016.^[5] If your tenancy is older than that, one of those names may appear on your original agreement.
2. Clarion 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.
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem — Clarion's own published timescales are a good guide: a response within 24 hours for emergencies, and a first visit within 28 days for routine repairs.^[15]
4. You were affected — for example, your health suffered, your belongings were damaged, or part of your home became unusable.

If you are a shared owner or a leaseholder in a Clarion building, you have rights too — the route is a little different from a tenant's disrepair claim. See the shared-owner question in the FAQ below.

Before thinking about any legal claim, complain to Clarion. It is free, you can do it yourself, and it is often the fastest way to get repairs moving. It also creates a written record of what you reported and when — the evidence any claim relies on later.

Where to report and complain. Report the repair itself through the "Request a repair" pages on myclarionhousing.com — emergencies can be reported at any time on 0300 500 8000.^[15] If the repair still does not happen, complain through the "Making a complaint" page on the same site.^[14]

How Clarion's process works. Clarion runs a two-stage process under the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code.^[14] It says it will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days.^[14] It aims to resolve stage 1 within 10 working days of that acknowledgement, or 20 with a properly applied extension.^[14] Clarion says a stage 2 review — carried out by a different member of staff — is answered within 20 working days, or 40 with an extension.^[14]

What to expect. Complaint volumes alone are not evidence of wrongdoing: Clarion's review notes that of almost 300,000 repairs completed in 2024/25, just under 1% resulted in a complaint.^[1] Expect the process to work, but keep your dates and be ready to chase.

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. After Clarion's two stages — or if your complaint is stuck — you can go to the Housing Ombudsman (0300 111 3000).^[14] The Ombudsman can order Clarion to carry out repairs, apologise, and pay you compensation. Using it costs nothing, and nobody takes a fee or a share of anything it awards you. Shelter and Citizens Advice offer free housing advice, and a local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid.

Complaining and claiming are not either/or. If the repairs still don't happen, the record you have built makes any claim stronger, not weaker.

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 Clarion 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.

Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you reported it, what Clarion 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.

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. They take it from there: advising you, notifying Clarion 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.^[20] 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.^[20] 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, and some take longer — one more reason to complain first and keep the pressure on for repairs while any claim runs.