Disrepair claims

Your home could be said to be in disrepair if it's damaged or not maintained to a good standard. It's our responsibility to make sure your home is safe and sustainable.

If you feel your home is in disrepair or damaged then the best thing to do is report it to us so we can investigate.

Claims management companies may contact you about disrepair or you may find them online. Please beware as they may not provide the information you need and could cost you money.

What is disrepair?

As your landlord we have a responsibility to maintain your home to a good standard by:

  • Completing any repairs to a reasonable standard
  • Completing repairs in good time
  • Maintaining the structure of your property
  • Making sure installations of sanitary ware, electricity, gas and water are all in working order

If you feel we haven't done this and it's causing damage to your home or belongings then your home could be in disrepair. It's our responsibility to investigate this and put it right.

Independent advice on repairs and disrepair

It's good to seek independent help, advice and information from a trustworthy source - lots of people do this. It can help you understand your right and responsibilities when it comes to repairs and the process to get them resolved. We've listed a few below:

Report disrepair to us

If you feel that we've not maintained your home properly, or think that your home is in disrepair then please report it to us at disrepair.investigators@mhs.org.uk with your full name, address and details of the disrepair so that we can look into this for you.

We investigate all reports of disrepair to make sure they're honest and reasonable.

If something hasn't been reported as a repair to us before then we'll book an appointment to get it fixed.

What happens when I report disrepair

Here's the steps we'll take to investigate your report of disrepair:

  • Our Disrepairs Coordinator will investigate your disrepair claim and check our records to see if the repairs have been reported to us before
  • We'll get in touch with you within two working days to let you know the outcome of our investigation and our plan of action
  • We'll arrange an inspection of your home. This'll be done by one of our surveyors so they can make note of any repairs
  • If the survey identifies repairs that are our responsibility we'll book you an appointment to put things right

If your home has not been maintained to a good standard, damage has been caused, or you have experienced inconvenience or disruption then we will take this into account in our investigation.

If you're still not happy with our service, or the standard of our work, then you should raise this as a complaint.

Claims Management Companies

Claims management companies may contact you about disrepair or you may have come across them when you search online. Please beware that they're not always trustworthy. They may not provide you all the information you need, they could cost you money and you could end up worse off.

If you're thinking of making a claim it's best to seek independent advice through Citizens Advice, and report any disrepairs to us directly.

How do they work?

Claims Management companies often target social housing tenants. They often use selling tactics and may pressure you to try to get you to make a disrepair claim, often claiming 'no-win, no fee'. They may cold call you or try to visit your home.

They will offer to act on your behalf and represent you. They are not legally qualified, if your claim needs legal assistance they'll pass this on to a solicitor for legal advice or representation.

If anyone claims to be from mhs home please do not let them in. Our colleagues always carry ID and we'll always call you or make an appointment first. If you're ever unsure please close the door and call us to check, we'll always wait.

Risks of using a claims management company

  • Hidden fees and costs - they usually take a percentage of your claim to cover their fees, their could be unfair agreements or additional insurance policies you need to pay for. They may even charge you if you want to cancel
  • Cancellation fees - You may not be able to stop the claim and be charged for it. You could end up responsible for our legal costs too
  • Time - It could take a long time and you may need to appear in court. If you report any claims directly to us it'll usually be much quicker
  • Breach of tenancy - if you do not allow us access to your home to do any repairs you will breach your tenancy agreement. Some companies advise not to let us in to do repairs to your home
  • Our services - It's expensive for us to us to manage disrepair cases in this way. This can stop us from investing in other important services