Social Housing Subsidence: What Tenants Should Do
Housing Repair Help Editorial Team · Reclaim Experts Ltd is a Claims Management Company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 1030701. You do not have to use a claims management company to pursue a complaint or explore your legal options. You can report repair problems directly to your landlord. If you have an unresolved housing complaint, eligible tenants can also use the Housing Ombudsman Service free of charge: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/.
Published 11 August 2026. Last reviewed and updated 11 August 2026.
Noticed cracks, sticking doors or sloping floors in your council or housing association home? Find out what to do, how to report social housing subsidence and when you may be able to make a claim.
You may be able to get the problem investigated and, where appropriate, seek compensation if your social landlord has failed to deal with reported structural problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Signs of Subsidence in Social Housing
Diagonal Cracks Over 3mm
Usually wider at the top, running from window or door corners across brickwork or plaster
Doors & Windows Sticking
Frames pulled out of square, so they jam, rub or no longer latch
Sloping Floors
Floors that feel tilted, or new gaps opening where skirting meets the floorboards
Stepped Cracks Outside
Staircase-shaped cracks following the mortar joints in external brickwork
Separating Extensions
Porches, bay windows or rear extensions pulling away from the main wall
Rippling Wallpaper
Creasing or tearing at wall joins that is not caused by damp behind the paper
Cracks that keep growing between one month and the next are the clearest warning sign. If you also see damp patches appearing alongside movement, read our guide on landlord responsibility for damp and mould.
How to Report Subsidence to a Social Landlord
Photograph and Measure
Report It in Writing
Ask for a Structural Survey
Chase in Writing
Raise a Formal Complaint
Escalate to the Housing Ombudsman
Make a Housing Disrepair Claim
Reported subsidence but your social landlord hasn't fixed it?
If you've reported cracks, movement or other signs of subsidence and your council or housing association hasn't taken appropriate action, you may have options.
Start Your ClaimFCA Regulated Claims Management Company FRN: 1030701
No obligation.
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Who Is Responsible for the Repair
Housing Association Tenants
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires your landlord to keep the structure and exterior in repair — including foundations, walls, roofs and drains. Housing associations also work to the Housing Ombudsman's complaint handling code.
Report the problem in writing, ask for a structural inspection, and keep a copy of every reference number you are given.
Council Tenants
Councils carry the same repairing obligation as any other social landlord, and their housing repairs team should arrange the survey and remedial works.
Our council house subsidence guide covers the council-specific reporting and escalation route in more detail.
If you bought your home under Right to Buy, or hold a shared ownership lease, subsidence is usually handled through the buildings insurance policy rather than by the landlord's repairs team — check your lease to see who arranges cover.
What Happens if Your Social Landlord Does Not Fix Subsidence?
Keep reporting the problem in writing and use your landlord's complaints process. If the delay continues after your council or housing association has had notice and a reasonable opportunity to act, the Housing Ombudsman or a specialist adviser may be able to help.
Tenants across England and Wales have brought thousands of housing disrepair claims in recent years where councils and housing associations failed to act on reported structural issues. If your housing association or council has been notified and hasn't carried out the necessary repairs in a reasonable time, you may be able to make a disrepair claim. Our panel of fully vetted no win, no fee housing disrepair solicitors specialise in this area.
When Subsidence May Lead to a Claim
Where a social landlord was notified of subsidence and failed to act within a reasonable time, and you suffered as a result, tenants may be able to seek compensation for:
Damage to belongings caused by structural movement
Loss of use of rooms that became unsafe or unusable
Inconvenience and disruption from cracks, jamming doors and prolonged works
Costs of temporary accommodation or storage, where applicable
Health impacts linked to the condition of the property
This page is general information rather than legal advice — a specialist solicitor can review the specific facts of your situation.
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.
Has your social landlord ignored cracks or structural damage?
Begin your housing disrepair claim. First, a few questions about your home — then we'll take you through the rest.
Who is your landlord?
Not ready to start your claim?
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.
Evidence Worth Keeping
Dated Photos & Video
Crack widths over time, sloping floors and any damage to belongings
Repair Reports & References
Every email, portal message and job number showing when you reported it
Inspection Reports
Surveyor findings, monitoring results and environmental health notices
Drain Survey Results
CCTV survey reports where a leak is suspected as the cause
Receipts & Costs
Damaged furniture, temporary repairs, extra heating or storage costs
Medical Records
GP notes where stress, injury or a worsened condition is linked to the property
What Social Housing Subsidence Means
Subsidence is not the same as settlement or heave. Settlement is the gradual, usually harmless bedding-in of a new building. Heave is upward movement, often after a large tree is removed and the soil re-swells. Subsidence is downward movement of the ground supporting the foundations, and it tends to produce cracks that widen over time rather than staying stable.
In social housing this matters because the diagnosis decides who acts and how fast. A hairline crack from normal settlement may simply be filled and redecorated, while active subsidence needs monitoring, drainage surveys and sometimes underpinning — all of which are structural works your landlord must arrange.
Why Social Housing Stock Is Affected
Clay Soil Shrinkage
Clay ground shrinks in long dry summers and swells again in winter, cycling stress through shallow foundations
Mature Estate Trees
Trees planted when estates were built are now large enough to draw significant moisture from beneath homes
Ageing Drainage
Cracked Victorian and mid-century drain runs wash away or soften the soil supporting the walls
Former Industrial Land
Post-war housing built over old mine workings, quarries or infilled ground can move as the fill compacts
Shallow Foundations
Older social housing was often built with foundations far shallower than modern building standards require
Nearby Construction
Groundworks, new builds or deep excavation next door can disturb the ground under existing homes
How Long Subsidence Repairs Should Take
Initial Inspection
A surveyor visit should usually be arranged within a few weeks of a written report
Monitoring Period
Tell-tales and level surveys often run 6 to 12 months to confirm whether movement is ongoing
Drain Repairs
Where a leaking drain is the cause, repairs are typically completed within weeks of diagnosis
Tree Works
Pruning or removal may be scheduled around planning and tree preservation restrictions
Underpinning
Major foundation work can take several months and may require temporary rehousing
Making Good
Re-plastering, easing doors and redecorating once the structure is confirmed stable
There is no fixed legal deadline for structural work, but delays must still be reasonable. Read more about landlord repair timelines in England and Wales.
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Further Reading
This article provides general information about housing issues in England and Wales and does not constitute legal advice. Legal services may be provided by independent solicitors where appropriate.