Repairs and disrepair — Karbon Homes

Before thinking about any legal claim, report the problem and complain to Karbon. It is free, you do not need anyone to do it for you, 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 a claim relies on later, if you need one.

Report the repair. Report a repair through your MyKarbon account, or call Karbon on 0808 164 0111 — its repairs page (opens in new tab) says emergency repairs can be reported on that number at any time.^[9] For damp or mould, say so plainly when you report it.

Then complain, if it isn't fixed. Karbon runs a two-stage complaints process, set out on its Making a complaint (opens in new tab) page. It says it acknowledges a complaint within 5 working days and sends a stage one response within 10 working days of acknowledging it. If you are still unhappy, you can move to stage two, which it answers within 20 working days of acknowledging your request. Karbon says a complaint must be raised within 12 months of the issue arising.^[7]

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. Once you have been through Karbon's two stages — or if your complaint is not progressing — you can take it to the Housing Ombudsman. The service is free and independent, and you can contact it for advice at any point. It can order a landlord to carry out repairs, apologise and pay compensation, and nobody takes a fee or a share of anything it awards you.

Free advice. Shelter and Citizens Advice both offer free housing advice, and a local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid. For disrepair, legal aid can be available to make a landlord deal with 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 — and if the repairs still don't happen, the record you have built makes any claim stronger, not weaker.

"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 Karbon if all of these apply:

1. Karbon Homes is your landlord. Check your tenancy agreement — the landlord named on it is what counts. Karbon's group also includes 54 North Homes and Leazes Homes, which are separate landlords: the same repair rights apply to their tenants, but the Ombudsman and regulator findings on this page are Karbon Homes Limited's.^[1] Byker Community Trust transferred its engagements to Karbon Homes in 2021, so Karbon is now the landlord for its former tenants.^[2]
2. Karbon knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — so keep your texts, emails, photos and repair reference numbers.
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem. For damp and mould, Awaab's Law sets legal timescales; for other repairs, Karbon's published targets are a guide — both are in the FAQs.
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 Karbon home, you have rights too, though the route is different — see the shared-owner question in the FAQs.

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 Karbon 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.

The Ombudsman left a health claim to the courts. In a January 2026 Karbon case, the decision records that damp and mould had affected a vulnerable grandchild in the household. The Ombudsman said the courts are best placed to decide a personal injury claim, and ordered compensation only for distress and inconvenience.^[4] That is one difference between the two routes: a court claim can include compensation for effects on health.

Every case is different, and no reliable figure can be put on a claim before the evidence has been looked at. What a claim is worth depends on that assessment — how serious the disrepair was, how long it went on, and how it affected the household.

Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you reported it, what Karbon 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 — and we will be upfront about that before you commit to anything. They take it from there: advising you, notifying Karbon formally, and usually arranging an independent inspection of your home. Most disrepair cases settle without anyone going to court.

A note on time limits. A disrepair claim is normally treated as a contract claim, with a limitation period of six years from when the landlord should have fixed the problem.^[11] Where part of the claim is for an injury to health — damp-related breathing problems, for instance — that element usually carries a shorter, three-year limit instead.^[11] Even long-running problems can often still be claimed for, but it makes sense to check where you stand rather than assume. Disrepair claims usually take months rather than weeks to resolve, which is one more reason to complain first and keep asking for the repairs while any claim runs.