Repairs and disrepair — Magenta Living

Before thinking about any legal claim, report the problem and complain to Magenta Living. 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.

Magenta Living's phone number. Call 0808 100 9596. The contact centre answers 24 hours a day, but between 8pm and 7am it takes emergency calls only.^[12] If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, then tell Magenta Living.^[14] If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.

Report a non-emergency repair. Use the MyMagenta portal (opens in new tab), where you can also book an appointment. You can also email contactus@magentaliving.org.uk, or send a private message to Magenta Living's Facebook page from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.^[12]

Report damp and mould. Report it as a repair. Magenta Living's damp and mould page (opens in new tab) says it may ask who lives in your home and how long the problem has lasted. In most cases it then arranges a video call to look at the damp. If you cannot use video, it will visit instead.^[16]

Make a complaint — early, and before any legal case. Complain using the form on Magenta Living's complaints page (opens in new tab), by phone, letter or email, or at its office.^[17] Its policy does not normally cover issues more than 12 months old, unless the issue concerns health and safety, such as damp and mould, or the circumstances are exceptional. A complaint may be paused or stopped once court proceedings start.^[17]

How long Magenta Living takes. Magenta Living acknowledges a complaint within 5 working days. It aims to answer stage 1 in writing within 10 working days of that. If you ask for stage 2, it aims to answer within 20 working days of acknowledging your request. Either can be extended for a complex case.^[17] Ask for stage 2 within six months of the stage 1 letter.^[17]

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. After stage 2, you can take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman, which is free and independent.^[17]

Free advice. Shelter and Citizens Advice offer free housing advice. A local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid — for disrepair, it can be available to make a landlord deal with a serious risk to health or safety, though not normally for a compensation-only claim.

"Disrepair" means problems with your home that your landlord is legally responsible for fixing but hasn't. That can include:

• damp and mould
• leaks from the roof, gutters or pipes
• broken heating or no hot water
• faulty electrics
• rotten or draughty windows and doors
• cracked walls or unsafe floors and stairs.

Is it Magenta Living's repair? Magenta Living's repairs guide (opens in new tab) lists who fixes what. Tenants do minor repairs and redecorating, and replace bulbs, plugs and fuses. Magenta Living charges for repairs caused by damage or neglect.^[14]

You may have a claim against Magenta Living if all of these apply:

1. Magenta Living is your landlord. The landlord named on your tenancy agreement is what counts. An older agreement may name Wirral Partnership Homes, Magenta Living's former name.^[9]
2. Magenta Living knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — so keep emails, portal messages, photos and repair references.
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on the problem. Magenta Living's own repair targets, in the FAQs below, are a useful guide, and planned work may need an inspection first.^[13]
4. You were affected — your health suffered, belongings were damaged, or part of your home became unusable.

Let Magenta Living in to do the work. Its repairs guide says it has a right to enter to inspect or repair after giving at least 24 hours' notice, or straight away in an emergency.^[14]

A shared owner or leaseholder? Your lease, not a tenancy agreement, sets out which repairs Magenta Living must do. Shelter or Citizens Advice can explain where you stand.

A claim aims to get the work done and to recognise what living with the problem has cost you. Depending on what happened, a claim may cover:

• an order to do the work — a court can require Magenta Living to carry out the repairs;
• the impact on daily life — the inconvenience and distress of living with the disrepair;
• harm to health — for example a chest condition made worse by damp and mould;
• ruined belongings — clothes, bedding, carpets or furniture spoiled by damp or leaks;
• rooms you could not use — a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen that was unsafe or unusable.

Nobody can give a reliable figure before looking at the evidence. The value turns on how bad the disrepair was, how long Magenta Living took after it knew, and the effect on you and your household.

Compensation through the complaints process is different. In a March 2026 decision, the Ombudsman said Magenta Living "took accountability for its delayed resolution of the damp and mould issues" but "did not offer proportionate compensation" to a family with disabled children.^[4] It ordered £750, including the £250 Magenta Living had offered. Magenta Living had told the tenant to claim for her damaged sofa and flooring on her own contents insurance. The Ombudsman said liability for that damage could be decided by Magenta Living's liability insurer or the courts, and ordered it to give her its insurer's details.^[4]

“The landlord took accountability for its delayed resolution of the damp and mould issues. However, it did not offer proportionate compensation for the impact its delays caused to the resident’s vulnerable household.”^[4]

Housing Ombudsman Service, Magenta Living (202342247) (13 March 2026, 202342247)

In a September 2025 case about damp and mould and a radiator repair, the Ombudsman ordered £1,000 in compensation, most of it for how Magenta Living handled the damp and mould. It also ordered Magenta Living to review why it had not brought in a damp and mould specialist sooner.^[5]

An offer does not end Magenta Living's duty to fix the problem. Accepting one is your choice. If the problem has gone on a long time, Shelter or Citizens Advice can help you weigh it up.

Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you first reported it to Magenta Living, and what it did next. MyMagenta repair references, notes from any video call about damp, and Magenta Living's stage 1 and stage 2 complaint letters all help.

Step 2 — get your free report. We check your answers against the legal tests on this page and give you a 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. The firm advises you, writes to Magenta Living formally, and usually arranges an independent survey of your home. Most disrepair cases settle without a court hearing.

A note on time limits. A disrepair claim is normally treated as a contract claim, and because an unfixed repair is usually a continuing breach, a claim can usually reach back six years from when it is issued.^[20] Where part of the claim is for an injury to health, that part usually has a shorter, three-year limit.^[20] Keep reporting repairs while any claim runs.