London Boroughs and Areas We Cover
Each area page sets out who the landlord is, exactly how repairs are reported, the local complaints route and the disrepair issues most often raised there.
Housing disrepair claims in Camden
Camden Council Housing
Around 23,000 council homes across Camden Town, Kentish Town, Hampstead and Holborn, with damp reported in pre-war mansion blocks and communal heating failures on the larger estates.
Housing disrepair claims in Southwark
Southwark Council Housing
London's largest council landlord with around 55,000 homes across Peckham, Camberwell, Walworth, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, alongside Peabody, Notting Hill Genesis and L&Q estates.
Housing disrepair claims in Lambeth
Lambeth Council Housing
One of London's largest landlords, covering Brixton, Streatham, Clapham and Vauxhall, with repeated Housing Ombudsman findings on repairs and complaint handling.
Housing disrepair claims in Wandsworth
Wandsworth Council Housing
Council-run repairs across Battersea, Putney, Tooting and Balham, with damp on the post-war estates and inter-flat leaks in Victorian and Edwardian conversions.
Housing disrepair claims in Kings Cross
Camden Council or Islington Council
A two-borough area where the first step is confirming whether Camden, Islington or a housing association is your landlord before reporting or complaining.
Housing disrepair claims in Farringdon
Islington, Camden or City of London
Clerkenwell, Smithfield and the Barbican sit across three authorities, each running its own repairs service and two-stage complaints procedure.
Who is Housing Repair Help?
The facts about who we are, how we work and what you pay, set out plainly.
Who operates the service
Housing Repair Help is a trading style of Reclaim Experts Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16058317) with its registered office at Innovation Centre, 49 Oxford Street, Leicester, LE1 5XY.
FCA status
Reclaim Experts Ltd is a Claims Management Company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 1030701. You can check its entry on the FCA Register. It is also registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (registration number ZB869483).
What our role is
We provide free, plain-English information about housing disrepair, run a free eligibility check based on the details and evidence you provide, and help organise photos, reports and correspondence into a clear case file. Housing Repair Help is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal representation.
What happens after you submit an enquiry
Every enquiry is reviewed against the same criteria before it is passed on: whether the disrepair falls within the landlord's repairing obligations, whether the landlord was told about the problem and given a reasonable chance to fix it, the severity of the problem, the quality of the evidence, and how long it has continued. If your case is not suitable we tell you and point you to free routes such as the Housing Ombudsman Service, Citizens Advice and Shelter.
Our relationship with the solicitor
Suitable cases are introduced to specialist housing disrepair solicitors on our panel. Those firms are independent of us and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. They decide whether to take a case on, and any legal advice comes from them once they have been formally instructed and a client care agreement is in place.
How referrals work
When a case is suitable, we pass it to a specialist housing disrepair solicitor on our panel. Reclaim Experts Ltd receives a fee from the solicitor for any successful recommendation. You are never charged for the introduction.
What you pay
You pay nothing to Housing Repair Help. We do not charge tenants a fee for our eligibility check or our introduction service.
What "No Win No Fee" means
The solicitors on our panel may offer to run your claim under a No Win No Fee agreement. Under such an agreement, the solicitor's fee is only payable if your claim succeeds, and is then usually recovered from your compensation. If your claim does not succeed, you do not pay the solicitor a fee for their time. The solicitor will explain the full terms before you sign anything, and you are free to choose a solicitor of your own instead.
How Repairs Are Reported to a London Landlord
Every London borough runs its own repairs service, and social housing is split between councils that still manage their own stock, arms-length organisations and large housing associations such as L&Q, Peabody, Notting Hill Genesis, Hyde, Origin and Metropolitan Thames Valley. Whichever applies, the reporting route matters as much as the repair itself.
Report in writing wherever possible — through the borough's tenant portal, the landlord's app or by email — rather than by phone alone. A dated written report with a job reference is the evidence that later shows how long the landlord has known about the problem. Photograph the affected rooms each month with the date visible, and note every appointment that is cancelled, missed or closed as complete while the problem continues.
The categories below are general examples of urgency, not guaranteed legal deadlines. How quickly a repair should be done depends on the nature and severity of the problem, your landlord's repairs policy and the legal requirements that apply.
- Emergency examples: total loss of heating or hot water, an uncontrollable leak, unsafe electrics or an insecure property — usually treated as the most urgent.
- Urgent examples: partial loss of an essential service, or a leak that is contained but ongoing.
- Routine examples: plaster damage, joinery, non-urgent roofing and external repairs.
- Damp and mould: Awaab's Law sets fixed investigation deadlines for social landlords and requires immediate action on significant hazards.
Council House Disrepair in London
Council house disrepair in London can involve persistent leaks, defective heating, damaged windows or structural problems. For council tenants in England, Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 generally requires the landlord to keep the structure, exterior and essential installations for water, sanitation, heating and electricity in repair. Responsibility depends on the defect and tenancy; not every maintenance issue is the council’s responsibility.
Check your tenancy agreement before reporting: a former council home may now belong to a housing association. If the council is your landlord, use its official repairs service and describe the affected rooms, when the problem began and any immediate safety concerns. Keep the job reference and follow a telephone report with an email or written confirmation. Use the landlord’s emergency reporting route for an immediate hazard rather than waiting for a claim assessment.
If repairs remain outstanding, keep dated photographs, appointment records and copies of reminders. Ask for an update and use the landlord’s formal complaints procedure if the response does not resolve the problem. The Housing Ombudsman can help with complaints about social landlords in England; its complaint process is separate from a legal claim.
Specialist review may be worth exploring where the council knew about a defect within its repairing responsibilities but did not act within a reasonable time. Evidence, urgency and the impact on your household matter; compensation is not automatic. Our council house disrepair guide explains the reporting and claim considerations in more detail.
Housing Association Disrepair in London
Housing association disrepair in London should be reported to the organisation named as your landlord, rather than automatically to the local council. The local landlord information above includes L&Q, Peabody, Notting Hill Genesis, Hyde, Origin, Metropolitan Thames Valley; check your tenancy agreement to confirm which organisation is responsible for your home. Housing associations have repairing obligations for the structure, exterior and essential services. Their own reporting channels and repair policies explain how to request work.
Use your landlord’s repairs portal, email address or telephone service, and save confirmation of each report. Explain whether the problem is recurring, whether an earlier repair failed and how it affects daily use of the home. Tell the landlord about relevant health concerns or household vulnerabilities so it can consider urgency. Keep photographs over time, repair references, contractor messages and a record of missed or cancelled visits.
A visit does not necessarily mean the underlying defect has been resolved. If a leak returns, heating remains unreliable or mould reappears, report the continuing problem and refer to the earlier job number. Ask what work remains and when you can expect an update. Where repair requests are repeatedly ignored or closed without a lasting repair, make a formal complaint and request escalation through the association’s complaints procedure if needed.
The Housing Ombudsman offers a free complaint route for social housing tenants in England. Specialist legal advice may also be appropriate if the landlord has been notified but a repair within its responsibilities remains unresolved. A solicitor can assess the evidence and explain possible options without guaranteeing a claim outcome. Read our guide to housing associations ignoring repairs for practical next steps.
Disrepair Issues Common to London Housing Stock
London's housing mix — Victorian conversions, pre-war mansion blocks, post-war estates and recent regeneration schemes — produces a recognisable pattern of disrepair.
Condensation damp in post-war estates
Solid-wall and system-built blocks from the 1950s to 1970s were built with little insulation and weak ventilation, so cold bridging and black mould are the most common London complaints.
Leaks between converted flats
London's Victorian and Edwardian houses split into flats produce persistent leaks from the flat above, shared soil stacks and failed roof coverings, often with a dispute over who is responsible.
Communal heating failures
Many London estates run district or communal boiler systems. When these fail, whole blocks are left without heating or hot water — an emergency repair, not a routine job.
Overcrowding making damp worse
High occupancy raises moisture levels, but a landlord cannot use that to avoid a repair where the underlying cause is a defective extractor fan, failed insulation or a leak.
Ageing high-rise stock
Window failures, water ingress at the facade and lift or communal-area disrepair are widely reported in London's older towers.
Defects in newer regeneration blocks
New-build is not exempt. Water ingress, faulty mechanical ventilation and condensation in recently completed London developments are still repair obligations.
What Is Housing Disrepair?
Housing disrepair means a rented home has a problem the landlord is responsible for fixing, and that problem has not been put right within a reasonable time after it was reported. It covers faults with the structure and exterior of the property, and with the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.
Disrepair is different from everyday wear and tear or damage caused by the tenant. It refers to repairs that fall to the landlord under the tenancy agreement and under the law in England and Wales — most notably section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Our housing disrepair guide explains the basics in more detail.
Common Types of Housing Disrepair in London
Across London's council and housing association homes, the problems reported most often include:
Damp and mould
Persistent black mould and condensation damp, often linked to poor ventilation, cold bridging or penetrating damp from the building fabric.
Read the guideLeaks and water damage
Leaking roofs, gutters, pipes and overflowing bathrooms causing damage to ceilings, walls and flooring.
Read the guideNo heating or hot water
Broken boilers and heating systems left unrepaired, which landlords are required to keep in working order.
Read the guideElectrical hazards
Faulty wiring, exposed cables, damaged sockets and unsafe consumer units.
Read the guideStructural problems
Cracked walls, subsidence, damaged windows and doors, and unsafe floors or stairs.
Read the guidePest infestations
Rats and mice entering through defects in the structure of the building that the landlord is responsible for.
Read the guideWhat Are a Landlord's Legal Responsibilities?
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, landlords of most rented homes in England and Wales must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property — including drains, gutters and external pipes — and keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation, and for space heating and heating water.
Since the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 came into force, landlords must also ensure the property is fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout. A home with serious damp, mould, excess cold or other hazards may fail that standard.
These duties apply to councils and housing associations just as they do to private landlords. A landlord is generally only responsible once it knows about the problem, which is why reporting repairs in writing — and keeping a record — matters. You can read more on GOV.UK's guidance on repairs in rented housing.
What Should You Do If Your Landlord Ignores Repairs?
If your council or housing association has not carried out a reported repair, these steps protect your position:
- Report the problem again in writing and keep a copy, along with any job or reference numbers.
- Take dated photographs and videos of the disrepair and any damage to your belongings.
- Keep a record of how the problem affects your household, including any impact on health.
- Make a formal complaint through your landlord's two-stage complaints process.
- If the complaint is not resolved, contact the Housing Ombudsman Service free of charge.
- Consider whether a housing disrepair claim may be appropriate, alongside any complaint.
Our guides on councils ignoring repairs and housing associations ignoring repairs walk through each step.
When Can You Make a Housing Disrepair Claim?
A claim may be possible where you have reported a repair your landlord is legally responsible for, the landlord has had a reasonable time to carry it out, and the problem remains unresolved. The more clearly you can show what was reported, when, and how the disrepair has affected you, the stronger the position tends to be.
Where a claim succeeds, the court can order the landlord to complete the repairs and may award compensation. The amount depends on the severity and duration of the disrepair and its effect on your household — our page on housing disrepair compensation explains how this is assessed.
Every situation is different, so whether you may have grounds for a claim depends on your own circumstances. You can start your claim online for a free initial assessment, with no obligation.
Complaints Route and the Housing Ombudsman in London
Every social landlord in London — council or housing association — must follow the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. That gives you the same two-stage route whichever borough you live in.
Step 1 — Stage 1 complaint to your landlord
Put it in writing, quote every outstanding job reference and say what outcome you want. A Stage 1 response is due within 10 working days.
Step 2 — Stage 2 review
If the repair is still not done, ask for escalation to the landlord's final review stage. A response is due within 20 working days.
Step 3 — Housing Ombudsman Service
Once the landlord's process is exhausted, or it misses those deadlines, refer the case free of charge at housing-ombudsman.org.uk or on 0300 111 3000.
Step 4 — Environmental health or a disrepair claim
Private renters can ask their borough's private sector housing team to inspect under the HHSRS. A legal disrepair claim can be pursued alongside any complaint.
Why Tenants Trust Us With Housing Disrepair Claims
Tell us about your housing problem
Complete our online enquiry form with details of the repairs you have reported and the problems you are experiencing.
Initial eligibility check
We review the information you provide to assess whether your enquiry meets our criteria for onward referral.
Save & Return
Your answers are saved as you go, so you can finish your claim later.
Independent solicitor referral
Where appropriate, we may share your enquiry with an independent specialist housing disrepair law firm. The firm will independently decide whether it can assess your circumstances and take your matter forward.
Start Your London Housing Disrepair Claim
Tell us about the repairs your landlord has not carried out. Our panel of SRA-regulated solicitors will review your case free of charge, with no obligation.
Start Your ClaimNo obligation.
Guides for London Tenants
How to report disrepair to the council
Building the written record your claim will rely on.
Repair timescales explained
What counts as emergency, urgent and routine work.
How compensation is calculated
Rent-reduction bands, belongings and typical settlements.
Outside London? We also help tenants in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Coventry, Oldham and Wolverhampton.
London Housing Disrepair: Frequently Asked Questions
How long do councils in London have to carry out repairs?
There is no single legal deadline for every council repair — exact timescales are set by each landlord's repair policy, and the most serious hazards are covered faster by Awaab's Law. Here is how the standard timescales usually work in London.
Emergency repairs
Emergency repairs pose an immediate risk to health, safety or the property — for example total loss of heating or hot water, an uncontainable leak, loss of power, or severe damp and mould affecting a vulnerable household. Councils typically aim to attend emergency repairs within 24 hours. Under Awaab's Law, emergency hazards in social housing must now be addressed within 24 hours of the landlord being made aware of them.
Urgent repairs
Urgent repairs do not pose an immediate danger but could get worse if left — such as partial loss of heating, a leaking roof, a broken window or a less severe leak. Target timescales vary between councils, but urgent work is usually attended within 3 to 7 days.
Routine repairs
Routine repairs are non-urgent jobs that pose no risk to health or the property, such as minor plasterwork or a sticking door. Most councils aim to complete routine repairs within 28 days of the issue being reported, although exact targets differ between landlords and some allow longer for lower-priority work.
What happens if the repair isn't completed
Missing a repair target does not remove the landlord's obligation to carry out the work. You can report the repair again and ask for a new reference number, request an update in writing, and escalate through the council's formal complaints procedure. For social housing, if the complaint has not been resolved within 8 weeks, it can be escalated free of charge to the Housing Ombudsman. You may also be entitled to bring a housing disrepair claim for compensation and to have the repairs enforced.
What evidence tenants should retain
Keep every repair reference number, copies of anything you reported in writing, dated photographs or video of the problem, notes of phone calls including the date, time and who you spoke to, and any letters or emails you have received. Records showing when the issue was reported and how long it has continued are usually the most important evidence in a housing disrepair claim.
When a complaint may be appropriate
A formal complaint is usually appropriate when a repair has passed its target time, you have had no response after reporting it, or promised work has not been carried out. Every council has a formal complaints procedure, and social housing tenants who remain unhappy after 8 weeks can escalate free of charge to the Housing Ombudsman.
When professional advice may be appropriate
Professional advice may be appropriate if the disrepair continues after you have complained, is affecting your or your family's health, or has damaged belongings. At that point, you may be entitled to compensation as well as the repairs themselves, and specialist housing disrepair solicitors can review your evidence on a no win no fee basis.
How do housing disrepair claims work in London?
The process is the same across every London borough. You must have reported the disrepair to your landlord, the landlord must have failed to repair it within a reasonable time, and the problem must fall within their repairing obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 or the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. A solicitor will usually arrange an independent survey and request the landlord's repair records before sending a formal letter of claim.
Which London borough is my landlord?
Your tenancy agreement and council tax account confirm it. Some London councils manage repairs directly (such as Camden, Lambeth and Wandsworth), while other homes are owned by housing associations including L&Q, Peabody, Notting Hill Genesis, Hyde and Metropolitan Thames Valley. The legal duties are the same regardless of which type of landlord you have.
Can I claim compensation for damp and mould in my London council home?
You may be able to. If you reported damp or mould to your council or housing association and it was not properly investigated or put right within a reasonable time, you may be entitled to have the problem fixed and to claim compensation. Awaab's Law now requires social landlords to investigate reported damp and mould hazards and act within fixed timescales. Keep dated photos, your repair reports and any medical records, as these help show how long the problem lasted and how it affected your household.
When can I go to the Housing Ombudsman about a London landlord?
Once your landlord's own two-stage complaints process is exhausted, or it fails to respond within the timescales in the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, you can refer the case free of charge. The Ombudsman can order an apology, compensation and completion of works. It does not stop you from also pursuing a disrepair claim.
Can private renters in London make a disrepair claim?
Yes. Our service focuses on council and housing association tenants, but private tenants across London are also protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Your borough's private sector housing or environmental health team can also inspect the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and require the landlord to remove hazards such as damp, mould and excess cold.
How much compensation do London tenants receive?
Awards depend on how severe the disrepair was and how long it lasted. They usually combine a percentage reduction of the rent paid during the affected period with damages for inconvenience, damaged belongings and any documented health impact. Most claims settle without the tenant attending court.
Free Independent Advice
You do not have to use a claims service. Free, independent housing advice is available from Shelter, Citizens Advice and the Housing Ombudsman Service. This page is general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice about your own case.