A 78-year-old council tenant lives in a flat in a mid-century housing block. Her storage heaters stopped working 18 months ago. The council sent an engineer who reported the heaters were "old but working." They were not working. She has spent two winters in a flat that does not heat properly.
Her social prescriber visits in January and finds her sitting indoors in two coats. The social prescriber uses the refer page on the Support for Tenants website to send through a short referral with the tenant's details and a summary of the problem.
The triage call is arranged with both the tenant and the social prescriber present. The team requests the engineer's visit notes under a Subject Access Request and asks for photos of the heaters. An independent survey is arranged.
The surveyor confirms the storage heaters are non-functional and that the property does not meet the HHSRS standard for thermal comfort. The evidence covers two winters of inadequate heating.
The case is referred to a panel solicitor on a no-win-no-fee Conditional Fee Agreement. The settlement includes the cost of repairs and compensation that reflects two winters of cold conditions. The social prescriber receives a single update when the repairs are confirmed, and nothing further is needed from her side.