Repairs and disrepair — Plymouth Community Homes

Before thinking about any legal claim, report the problem to Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) and, if it is not fixed, complain. It is free, often the fastest way to get repairs moving, and creates a written record of what you reported and when.

Report the repair. Use the contact form (opens in new tab) on its website or your MyPCH account, or call 0808 230 6500. The same number takes emergency repairs 24 hours a day. If you live on the Pembroke Street estate, you can also report repairs to the Pembroke Street Estate Management Board.^[14]

Report damp and mould by phone. PCH asks tenants to call the same number about damp and mould, and says it prioritises inspections in line with Awaab's Law. The legal timescales are in the FAQs below.^[14]

Then complain, if it isn't fixed. Use the contact form, MyPCH or the same phone number.^[14] The complaints page (opens in new tab) sets out a two-stage process:^[12]

• it acknowledges a complaint within 5 working days;
• it aims to give a full Stage 1 response within 10 working days of that, or up to 10 more;
• it asks you to request Stage 2 within one month, though its policy says it will not unreasonably refuse a later request;
• someone other than the person who handled Stage 1 reviews it at Stage 2;
• it aims to respond at Stage 2 within 20 working days of acknowledging it, or up to 20 more.^[12]

Complain in time. Its complaints policy accepts complaints made within 12 months of the issue, or of when you became aware of it. It makes exceptions for ongoing problems it knows about, and will consider later complaints where there are good reasons.^[12]

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. Once you have been through PCH's two stages, you can go to the Housing Ombudsman, and you can ask it for advice at any stage.^[12] It is free and independent, can order repairs, an apology and compensation, and needs no claims company or solicitor.

Free advice. Shelter and Citizens Advice give free, independent housing advice. A local law centre can tell you whether you qualify for legal aid — available for disrepair that seriously risks health or safety, but not normally for a compensation-only 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
• blocked or broken drains
• 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 Plymouth Community Homes if all of these apply:

1. Plymouth Community Homes is your landlord. Check your tenancy agreement — the landlord named on it is what counts. Plymouth City Council transferred its homes to Plymouth Community Homes, so a former council home in the city is now likely to be one of its homes.^[19]
2. Plymouth Community Homes knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — online, through MyPCH or by phone — so keep your repair reference numbers, emails, photos and appointment records.^[14]
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem — Plymouth Community Homes' own published timescales, in the FAQs below, are a good guide.
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 PCH home, you have rights too, though the route is a little different — see the shared-owner question in the FAQs below.

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 Plymouth Community Homes 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, bathroom or toilet you could not use properly.

A claim is not the only way to get compensation. The Housing Ombudsman can order it for free: in its 2025-26 Plymouth Community Homes cases, 5 of its orders were for compensation, alongside orders for apologies and repairs.^[5] In one of those cases, about drains that kept backing up, it ordered compensation for the tenant's reduced use of her toilet as well as for her distress.^[7]

Every case is different, and no reliable figure can be put on a claim before the evidence has been looked at.

Step 1 — tell us what's happened. You answer some straightforward questions: what the problem is, when you reported it, what Plymouth Community Homes 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 Plymouth Community Homes formally, and usually arranging an independent inspection of your home. Most disrepair cases settle without anyone going to court.

Your complaint can continue alongside a claim. PCH's complaints policy says it may pass the damages part of a complaint to its insurers or legal advisers, but will normally keep looking at service failures and delays. Once court proceedings are filed, it may stop considering the complaint, though it says it will look at whether separate service issues can still be dealt with.^[12]

Whoever you talk to — us included — you should never be pressed to sign anything on the doorstep.

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.^[20] 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.^[20] Even long-running problems can often still be claimed for, but it makes sense to check where you stand rather than assume.

How long a claim takes. Disrepair claims are rarely quick — which is one more reason to complain first and keep the pressure on for repairs while any claim runs.