If you have an acquired brain injury (ABI), from a stroke, head injury, encephalitis, or another cause, and your rented home has disrepair, you have the same
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If you have an acquired brain injury (ABI), from a stroke, head injury, encephalitis, or another cause, and your rented home has disrepair, you have the same repair rights as any other tenant. There are also some additional protections that apply because of your disability. Below, we walk through both.
What is an acquired brain injury?
An acquired brain injury is any damage to the brain that occurs after birth. Common causes include:
- Stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
- Road traffic accident or other traumatic head injury
- Encephalitis or meningitis
- Hypoxic or anoxic brain injury (from lack of oxygen)
- Brain tumour
ABI can affect memory, attention, communication, mobility, fatigue, behaviour, and emotional regulation. The effects vary widely from person to person.
Your repair rights as a tenant
Your landlord's legal duties to maintain your home apply regardless of your disability. Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the structure, exterior, and installations in repair. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the property must be fit to live in at the start and throughout the tenancy.
How ABI can make disrepair particularly harmful
Disrepair in the home can have a greater impact on someone with an acquired brain injury because:
- Cold conditions: cold temperatures can worsen fatigue and cognitive symptoms, and are particularly harmful after stroke
- Damp and mould: respiratory and immune effects can be more serious where there is pre-existing neurological vulnerability
- Lighting and visual hazards: poor lighting or damaged flooring can increase fall risk for those with balance, vision, or mobility difficulties post-ABI
- Noise from disrepair: noise from plumbing, structural movement, or pest activity can significantly worsen cognitive symptoms and sleep disruption
The Equality Act 2010
ABI is a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 if it has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Most people with significant ABI will meet this definition.
The Equality Act requires your landlord to make reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants. Relevant adjustments may include:
- Communicating with you in a format you can understand (plain language, written rather than verbal, or through a representative or support worker)
- Not requiring you to manage complex processes without support
- Prioritising repairs where your disability means the disrepair has a greater impact
If your landlord refuses to make reasonable adjustments, this may be disability discrimination.
Reporting disrepair
Reporting disrepair in writing is important. If you find written communication difficult because of ABI, for example, due to dyslexia, word-finding difficulties, or attention problems, you can:
- Ask a family member, support worker, or case manager to help you write the letter
- Use email, which creates a written record and is more flexible than a letter
- Ask Support for Tenants to handle communications with your landlord on your behalf, once you have started a claim
Capacity and legal proceedings
If your ABI affects your mental capacity to manage legal proceedings, you may need a litigation friend, someone who can manage the claim on your behalf. This is common in personal injury cases and is also available in civil claims including housing disrepair.
If you have a Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs, your attorney can act for you. If you lack capacity and have no LPA, a deputy may need to be appointed by the Court of Protection.
Contact us to discuss how we can work with you and any support you may have.
When should I contact Support for Tenants?
If your home has disrepair and your landlord will not fix it, call us on 0800 030 4669. We work with tenants with ABI and can adapt how we communicate to suit your needs.
No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation. If you don't win, you pay nothing.
Sources
- Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Equality Act 2010 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)
Related articles
- Disability discrimination in housing
- Equality Act, housing disrepair reasonable adjustments
- Older tenants and housing disrepair
We review every guide at least twice a year and update it when the law changes. If you spot something out of date or wrong, email help@supportfortenants.co.uk.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 15 June 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only and not guaranteed; every case is different.
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