Your landlord has offered compensation: should you accept it?

If you have complained about disrepair or received a letter before action, your landlord may offer you a sum of money to settle the matter. Before you accept, it is worth understanding what the offer is actually for, whether it is fair, and what you give up if you accept it.

Why landlords make offers

Landlords, particularly large housing associations and councils, sometimes make compensation offers proactively, or after receiving a formal complaint or solicitor's letter. Common reasons include:

• Settling a complaint under their internal complaints process
• Responding to a letter before action to avoid court proceedings
• Making an offer through a solicitor once a claim has been lodged

An offer at any stage is a sign the landlord accepts that something went wrong. It does not automatically mean the amount offered is fair.

What should fair compensation include?

A reasonable disrepair settlement typically reflects:

• General damages: compensation for living in a home that was below the standard you were entitled to, usually calculated as a percentage of your rent for the period the disrepair affected you
• Special damages: out-of-pocket losses you have proved, such as damaged belongings, increased energy costs, or money you spent trying to address the problem yourself
• Personal injury damages: if the disrepair caused or worsened a physical health condition, this can be an additional head of claim
• Distress and inconvenience: a separate element, particularly where the disrepair caused you significant stress or affected your daily life

A low offer may only account for one or two of these elements, or may undervalue the general damages percentage.

What does accepting mean?

If you accept a settlement, you will typically be asked to sign a form of words that brings the claim to an end and releases the landlord from further liability. This means:

• You cannot bring a further claim for the same period of disrepair
• If the issue returns, you could only claim for the new period from when it re-emerges (assuming the landlord re-acknowledges it)
• You cannot later argue the offer was too low, once accepted, it is binding

For this reason, you should not accept an offer hurriedly or without understanding what it covers.

Factors that affect whether an offer is reasonable

Some questions to ask:

• Does the offer account for the whole period the disrepair existed, or only part of it?
• Is the general damages percentage realistic? Courts often award between 25% and 50% of rent per week for significant disrepair.
• Does it cover special damages (your actual losses)?
• Has a health impact been recognised and valued?
• Is the problem actually fixed, or will you be accepting money while still living in a disrepaired property?

It is rarely wise to accept a first offer without at least checking whether it reflects what you are likely to recover in court.

What if the offer is made without prejudice?

Many offers are marked "without prejudice", this means the offer cannot be used as evidence in court if you reject it and proceed to a hearing. It does not mean the offer is secret, or that you cannot discuss it with a solicitor. You can turn it down and pursue your claim normally.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your landlord has made you an offer and you are unsure whether to accept it, call us on 0800 030 4669. We can advise on whether the offer looks fair and whether you would be likely to recover more through a formal claim.

There is no charge unless we win, and the fee comes from the compensation.

Sources

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

Related articles

• Letter before action, what it is and when to send it