Repairs and disrepair — Torus

Before thinking about any legal claim, complain to Torus. It is free, you can do it yourself, 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 Torus online account at portal.torus.co.uk, or call the Torus Customer Hub on 0800 678 1894 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 8am to midday).^[7] Emergency repairs cannot be reported online: phone the same number, which takes emergency calls at any time.^[7] Report damp and mould early and in writing: it was one of the largest sub-categories in the Ombudsman's 2025-26 findings about Torus.^[4]

Then complain, if it isn't fixed. Complain by phone to the Customer Hub, through the online complaints form on torus.co.uk, or by email to info@torus.co.uk.^[7] Torus acknowledges a complaint within 5 working days and aims to respond at Stage One within 10 working days of that. If you are still unhappy, you have 28 days to ask for Stage Two, which it aims to answer within 20 working days of acknowledging your request.^[9]

Complain in time, and before any claim. Torus's complaint policy lets it turn down complaints about issues that happened more than twelve months ago — though not usually where safety is at stake — and complaints made after legal proceedings have started, which it treats as including a formal letter of claim.^[9]

If the complaint doesn't fix it: the Housing Ombudsman. If you have been through Torus's two stages and are still unhappy — or your complaint is not progressing — you can take it to the Housing Ombudsman. It is free and independent, and you can ask it for advice at any point. The Ombudsman can order your landlord to carry out repairs, apologise, and pay you compensation. You need no claims company or solicitor to use it, and nobody takes a share of anything it awards.

Free advice. Shelter and Citizens Advice both give free, independent housing advice at any point. 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, 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
• 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 Torus if all of these apply:

1. Torus is your landlord. Check your tenancy agreement — the landlord named on it is what counts. Torus is the trading name of Torus62 Limited.^[14] Torus also lists Helena Homes, Golden Gates Housing Trust and Liverpool Mutual Homes as names connected with it — if one of those is on your agreement, ask Torus to confirm who your landlord is.^[13]
2. Torus knew about the problem. Usually that means you reported it — through your online account or the Customer Hub — so keep your repair reference numbers, emails, photos and any HMS appointment records.^[7]
3. It failed to fix the problem in a reasonable time. What is "reasonable" depends on the problem — Torus's 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 Torus 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 Torus 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.

A claim is not the only way to get compensation. The Housing Ombudsman can order it for free, and in its 2025-26 Torus cases its orders included compensation, apologies and repairs.^[4]

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 Torus 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 Torus formally, and usually arranging an independent inspection of your home. Most disrepair cases settle without anyone going to court.

Torus's own advice. Torus publishes a page on disrepair claims warning tenants about claims management companies that approach them about disrepair claims, sometimes saying they are from Torus or HMS.^[13] Whoever you talk to — us included — you should never be pressed to sign anything on the doorstep, and you can complain to Torus directly at any stage.

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.^[16] 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.^[16] 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.