Repairs and disrepair — Southwark Council

Before thinking about any legal claim, 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 — which is exactly the evidence a claim relies on later, if you need one.

Southwark's complaints process. The council runs a two-stage complaints process, in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. At stage 1, it aims to give you a full written response within 10 working days (this can be extended by up to a further 10 working days for complex cases). If you are unhappy with the answer, you can ask for a stage 2 review — carried out by someone not involved at stage 1 — with a full written response within 20 working days (again extendable by up to a further 20).^[8] You can complain by email or through the complaints form on southwark.gov.uk.^[8]

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. If you have been through the council's process and are still unhappy — or the council is not progressing your complaint — you can take it to the Housing Ombudsman. The service is free and independent, and you can contact the Ombudsman for advice at any point, not just at the end.^[8] The Ombudsman can do more than look into your complaint: it can order your landlord to carry out repairs, apologise, and pay you compensation. Using it costs nothing, you do not need a claims company or a solicitor to do it, and nobody takes a fee or a share of anything it awards you. Where this page quotes compensation figures, they are exactly that kind of outcome — sums recorded or ordered by the Housing Ombudsman in its published casework, not payouts arranged by a claims company.

Free advice, if you want it. If you want free, independent advice at any point, Shelter and Citizens Advice both offer 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 Southwark Council if all of these apply:

1. Southwark 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 targets 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 tell you what a claim is worth before looking at your evidence. A proper assessment of your situation is what tells you, plainly, whether it 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. If your case needs a solicitor, 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 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, though a claim for personal injury from the disrepair normally has a shorter, three-year limit.^[10] 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.