We represented our client, who was a secure tenant of a four-bed property living with her adult children. The landlord was a London local authority. Our client was disabled and suffered significantly with her mobility, and so the Council arranged for contractors to convert the bathroom into a wet room. Unfortunately, the works were not properly carried out and so the wet room started to leak into the rooms below it. There were other issues such as the toilet coming away from the wall, the light in the WC not working, and the extractor fan repeatedly breaking. Eventually, the leak from the wet room caused the ceiling to the bedroom below the wet room to collapse, and the Council did not put it back up until almost a year later. Despite this, the leaks continued. There was also a leak into the living room and damp in the basement.

We assisted our client by sending a letter before claim to the Council, instructing two expert surveyors, and ultimately, due to the lack of response from the Council, issuing a claim in the County Court for an order for the works to be carried out and damages to be paid to our client. Due to the urgency of the situation and the lack of washing facilities at the property, we made an application within the proceedings for an interim injunction, which was granted and our client and her family were temporarily moved from the property to Travelodge accommodation so that the works could be carried out. Despite this, the Council still failed to commence the works, and staying in a Travelodge was negatively impacting our client’s health. As such, we made a second application for an interim injunction for the works to be completed and for our client to return home. The court delayed in listing the hearing, and so we made a further application to bring the injunction hearing forwards. Ultimately, the second injunction was granted. In the meantime, the Council had failed to comply with any court directions, so we made an application to strike out their Defence, which was granted. We also instructed a further expert to report on the progress of the works.

Ultimately, the works were completed, and our client and her family were able to return home. Ahead of the trial, we successfully settled the case on the basis of £65,645.59 being paid to our client by the Council. This amount reflected the distress and inconvenience caused to our client by living with the repair issues for so long and the negative impact residing in a Travelodge had on her health. The figure also reflected actual losses incurred by our client as a result of the repair issues, such as light fittings which were destroyed by the leak.

The matter was funded by way of a Legal Aid Certificate in respect of the claim for an order for works, and a Conditional Fee Agreement for the damages element of the claim. Whilst it is unacceptable that a local authority would allow a disabled woman and her family to live in such conditions in the first place, we are very glad that we were able to assist our client to force the Council to carry out the necessary works and pay compensation to our client to reflect the very difficult circumstances she had to endure for a number of years.

If your landlord has not carried out repairs after you have reported issues in the property, please contact us on enquiries@tvedwards.com or speak to a member of our team on 020 3440 8000.