Housing Ombudsman or court claim: which is right for you?

When your landlord has failed to fix a problem in your home and internal complaints have not worked, you have two main options: the Housing Ombudsman or a court claim. They are very different routes and which one is right for you depends on what you want to achieve.

What is the Housing Ombudsman route?

The Housing Ombudsman is a free, independent service that investigates complaints about social landlords, council tenants and housing association tenants. Since April 2024, you can refer your own case directly to the Ombudsman after completing your landlord's full internal complaints process.

The Ombudsman investigates whether the landlord has acted reasonably, makes findings of maladministration or no maladministration, and can:

• Award compensation (usually in the hundreds to low thousands of pounds)
• Order the landlord to carry out repairs
• Order the landlord to change its procedures
• Publish its findings

The process is typically slower than a court injunction but faster than a full court trial, most cases are resolved within months rather than years.

What is a court disrepair claim?

A court claim for housing disrepair is a civil claim brought in the county court (usually through a solicitor or claims management company) under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, or common law.

A court claim can:

• Award compensation that reflects the full extent of your loss, including general damages for the entire period of disrepair, special damages for damaged belongings, and damages for personal injury
• Grant an injunction forcing the landlord to carry out specific repairs by a fixed deadline, with the risk of contempt of court if the deadline is missed
• Award significantly larger sums than the Ombudsman in serious cases

Court claims can cover both social and private tenants.

Key differences at a glance

When the Ombudsman is likely the better choice

• Your complaint is about the landlord's handling of a situation rather than purely the cost of the disrepair
• You want an official finding that the landlord acted badly, for example, for a complaint to a regulator or to support a transfer request
• The sums involved are modest and you want a free, straightforward route
• You are a social tenant who has completed the complaints process and the disrepair, while significant, does not involve substantial personal injury or a very large financial loss

When a court claim is likely the better choice

• The disrepair has caused significant personal injury, health conditions, hospitalisation, or lasting effects
• You have suffered significant financial loss, damaged belongings, extra heating costs, the need for alternative accommodation
• You need binding repair orders with tight, enforceable timescales rather than recommendations
• You are a private tenant (the Ombudsman does not cover you)
• The value of your claim is likely to be substantial

Can I do both?

Generally, no, not at the same time for the same issue. If you pursue a court claim for disrepair, the Ombudsman will usually not accept the same case. If you pursue the Ombudsman route, you should not simultaneously bring a court claim.

You can switch between routes. If the Ombudsman process does not resolve your case satisfactorily, you can still bring a court claim later, though time limits apply (generally 6 years from when the disrepair should have been fixed, or 3 years for personal injury).

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If you are considering a court disrepair claim, either as your first step or because the Ombudsman route has not worked, call us on 0800 030 4669. We can explain whether a claim is likely to succeed and what it might recover.

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

• Housing Ombudsman Service
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, Section 11 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims, England (justice.gov.uk)

Related articles

• How to complain to the Housing Ombudsman, step by step
• Housing Ombudsman maladministration, what it means