Exceptional Case Funding: legal aid for housing cases

Legal aid for civil cases in England was cut hard by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, LASPO. Mainstream civil legal aid leaves housing disrepair claims out. But a scheme called Exceptional Case Funding, ECF, exists. In limited cases it can fund a case that would otherwise get no legal aid at all.

What is Exceptional Case Funding?

ECF is a legal aid scheme run by the Legal Aid Agency, the LAA. It can fund legal help in civil cases sitting outside legal aid's normal reach. To qualify, you show that going without a lawyer would mean:

• A breach of your rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. Article 6, the right to a fair trial, and Article 8, the right to private and family life, matter most here. Or
• A real risk of such a breach under the European Convention on Human Rights

ECF is a safety net, for cases where having no lawyer would itself break your human rights.

When does ECF apply in housing cases?

ECF comes automatically to no disrepair claim. Succeeding means showing:

1. Without a lawyer, a real risk exists that you could not take proper part in the court process
2. That would breach your Article 6 right to a fair trial, or
3. The state of your home engages your Article 8 right to private and family life, and the case touches those rights

Article 8 has run in some housing cases where the home sits central to a person's wellbeing and dignity. Serious disrepair touching a disabled person, a sick child, or an older person may engage it more strongly than a plain claim for a healthy adult.

Who can apply for ECF?

A financial means test also applies. Income above a set level can bar you even where the case meets the ECF tests.

You apply through a legal aid solicitor. Not all solicitors do legal aid work. You need one holding a housing legal aid contract, who can send the ECF application to the LAA for you.

How likely is ECF to be granted?

ECF gets granted sparingly. Over the years the LAA received few applications and granted only a modest share. A refusal can be fought, at the price of time and cost.

For most disrepair cases, no-win-no-fee is the more practical route to legal help. ECF matters mainly where a strong human rights element runs beyond a plain compensation claim.

Housing cases that do get standard legal aid

Some housing cases still sit inside standard legal aid, subject to means and merits tests:

• Loss of your home: possession proceedings with you as defendant
• Homelessness appeals to the county court
• Injunctions stopping illegal eviction or harassment
• Cases mixing domestic abuse and housing
• Disrepair that also defends against possession, in some circumstances

A case involving any of these may get legal aid with no ECF needed.

Finding a legal aid housing solicitor

The gov.uk legal aid finder lists legal aid solicitors handling housing cases. Choose "housing" and enter your postcode. Not every area holds one: big gaps run outside major cities.

Law centres and some Citizens Advice offices also give legally aided housing advice.

The no-win-no-fee route for housing disrepair

For disrepair claims outside legal aid, the most common route is a conditional fee agreement: no-win-no-fee. That is how the claims we refer work. We check whether you may have a claim, then refer you to a panel solicitor. Nothing gets paid upfront.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Weighing your options for a disrepair claim, and wondering about legal aid or funding? We can explain how the no-win-no-fee route works, and whether your situation is one we can help with.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Human Rights Act 1998 (legislation.gov.uk)