Repairs and disrepair — Kingston Council

Start by reporting the repair, if you have not already: the council takes repair reports through its Report a repair service for council tenants, with an emergency route for repairs that can't wait — keep the reference number.^[4]

If a reported repair is not put right, complain to the council. 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.

Kingston's complaints process. The council runs a two-stage complaints process, set out in its Housing Landlord Complaints Policy. At stage 1, the policy says "a full response will be issued within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged by an investigating officer".^[3] If you are unhappy with the answer, you can ask for a stage 2 review, which the policy answers within 20 working days.^[3] You can escalate unless an exclusion applies — for example if court proceedings have started. After stage 2, you can take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.^[3]

“A full response will be issued within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged by an investigating officer.”^[3]

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Housing Landlord Complaints Policy (v1, effective 1 April 2024) (1 April 2024)

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. If you have been through the council's process and are still unhappy — or it is not progressing your complaint — you can take it to the Housing Ombudsman. The service is free and independent, and you can contact it at any point. It can order your landlord to carry out repairs, apologise and pay you compensation, and you do not need a claims company or a solicitor to use it.

Free advice if you want it. 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 deal with a serious risk to health or safety, though not normally for a compensation-only claim.

Kingston Council is a local-authority landlord that manages its own council housing directly, through its own housing teams, rather than through an arm's-length company.^[2] Its day-to-day repairs are carried out by a contractor, the Cardo Group — though the council remains your landlord.^[5]

"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 Kingston Council if all of these apply:

1. Kingston Council is your landlord — you are a council tenant (if you rent from a housing association or a private landlord, your claim is against them, not the council).
2. The council knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — so your texts, emails, photos, and repair reference numbers are gold. Keep them.
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem — the council's published repair target times are a good guide.
4. You were affected — for example, your health suffered, your belongings were damaged, or part of your home became unusable.

Leaseholders of council-owned buildings have rights too, though the route is a little different.

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 council 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 value a claim before seeing the evidence. A proper assessment weighs the specific problem, how long it went on after the council knew, and the harm it caused — and says plainly whether the case looks strong.

Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you reported it, what the council 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. Where your case needs a solicitor, we make the introduction — and we will be upfront about how that works before you commit to anything. They take it from there: advising you, notifying the council 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 — usually six years from when the landlord should have fixed the problem^[10] — so even long-running problems can often still be claimed for, but it makes sense to check where you stand rather than assume. Go in with a realistic timescale, too: disrepair claims usually take months rather than weeks to resolve, and some take longer — which is one more reason to complain first and keep the pressure on for repairs while any claim runs.