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

Sometimes your landlord will not fix a problem in your home. You have already complained to them, but it has not worked. Now you have two main choices: the Housing Ombudsman or a court claim. These are very different paths. The right one for you depends on what you want to get.

What is the Housing Ombudsman route?

The Housing Ombudsman is a free, independent service. It looks into complaints about social landlords, council tenants and housing association tenants. Since April 2024, you can take your own case straight to the Ombudsman. First you must finish your landlord's full internal complaints process.

The Ombudsman checks whether the landlord acted fairly. It then makes a finding of maladministration or no maladministration. It 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

This route is usually slower than a court injunction. But it is faster than a full court trial. Most cases are sorted out in months, not years.

What is a court disrepair claim?

A court claim for housing disrepair is a civil claim. You bring it in the county court, usually through a solicitor or claims management company. It is brought 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 covers everything you have lost. This includes general damages for the whole time of the disrepair, special damages for damaged belongings, and damages for personal injury
• Grant an injunction. This forces the landlord to do set repairs by a fixed date. If they miss the date, they risk contempt of court
• Award much 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 how the landlord handled things, not just the cost of the disrepair
• You want an official finding that the landlord acted badly. For example, to back up a complaint to a regulator or a request to move home
• The amounts are small and you want a free, simple route
• You are a social tenant who has finished the complaints process. The disrepair matters, but it has not caused serious injury or a very large money loss

When a court claim is likely the better choice

• The disrepair has caused serious injury, health problems, a hospital stay, or lasting harm
• You have lost a lot of money: damaged belongings, extra heating costs, or the need to stay somewhere else
• You need binding repair orders with tight, set deadlines, not just suggestions
• You are a private tenant (the Ombudsman does not cover you)
• Your claim is likely to be worth a lot

Can I do both?

In short, no. You cannot use both at the same time for the same problem. If you bring a court claim for disrepair, the Ombudsman will usually not take the same case. If you go down the Ombudsman route, you should not bring a court claim at the same time.

You can switch between the two. If the Ombudsman process does not sort out your case, you can still bring a court claim later. But there are time limits. These are usually 6 years from when the disrepair should have been fixed, or 3 years for personal injury.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Are you thinking about a court disrepair claim? Maybe as your first step, or because the Ombudsman route has not worked. Either way, call us on 0800 030 4669. We can tell you whether a claim is likely to win and what it might recover.

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

• 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