Section 82 EPA: a step-by-step guide for tenants

Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 lets you take your landlord to the magistrates' court. It applies where the landlord has let your home become a "statutory nuisance". The route skips the civil courts. No solicitor is required, though legal advice is always worth weighing. Here is the process, step by step.

What is a statutory nuisance?

A statutory nuisance is usually a problem with your home that:

• Harms health, or
• Counts as a nuisance in law

In housing, the problems argued most often:

• Damp and mould that harms health, or counts as a nuisance
• A building in a state that harms health: say, bad disrepair with structural faults
• Pests, rats or mice for example
• Noise, though it comes up less in disrepair cases

Not every repair problem counts. It must run bad enough to meet the legal test. Cold alone does not count by itself. Cold born of bad structural faults may come close. The facts decide.

Before you start: what Section 82 cannot do

Section 82 proceedings in the magistrates' court can:

• End in a nuisance order making the landlord abate the nuisance by a set date
• End in a fine on a landlord who breaks the order
• Award you some compensation, though usually modest next to a civil claim

Section 82 cannot match the full compensation a civil claim might bring. Where money is the main goal, a civil claim under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 usually serves better. Section 82 helps most when the repairs are the point. The court process costs nothing and needs no solicitor.

Step 1: Document the condition

Before any legal step, gather the evidence:

• Photos of the disrepair, taken regularly, dated
• The dates you reported the problem, and how
• Copies of written reports, emails, texts
• Every landlord response, and every silence

Step 2: Report to the council's environmental health team

Section 82 requires notice to the landlord first. But telling the council's environmental health team early is worth it too. The council may inspect. A notice from them may move the landlord. Court may never be needed.

See our guide: /help-centre/how-to-request-an-hhsrs-inspection.

Step 3: Serve a 21-day notice on the landlord

Before starting the case, a written notice must go to the landlord. It must say:

• The home is a statutory nuisance, or is likely to become one
• You intend to bring Section 82 proceedings in the magistrates' court
• The landlord holds 21 days to put it right

Put it in writing. Send it a way that proves arrival: recorded post, or handed over with a witness there.

The notice should:

• Name the person responsible: your landlord
• Describe the problem clearly
• Say you are giving notice under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
• Give the landlord 21 days to fix the problem

Keep a copy of everything.

Step 4: Wait 21 days

In this window the landlord can put things right. Repairs done well inside 21 days may end the matter. Going ahead anyway stays open to you, say to seek compensation.

No reply, or repairs done badly? Go ahead and start the case.

Step 5: Issue proceedings in the magistrates' court

The case starts at your local magistrates' court. No solicitor needed; you speak for yourself. It works like this:

• Go to the court in person and say you want to bring Section 82 proceedings
• Fill in the court's form; the clerk will help
• The court sets a hearing date and tells the landlord

Starting a Section 82 case costs no fee.

Step 6: At the hearing

At the hearing you will need to:

• Show the evidence: photos, letters, reports
• Explain the toll on you and your family
• Show the problem carried on despite the 21-day notice

The landlord gets a chance to reply. The court then decides whether a statutory nuisance exists, and whether to make an order.

Step 7: after the order

Where the court finds a statutory nuisance, it can order the landlord to put it right. The named works must then be done by the given date. Breaking the order is a criminal offence and can bring a fine. An unmet order takes you back to court.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Section 82 is one tool among several. A housing solicitor can advise which route fits your situation and what each route can achieve. We check whether you may have a disrepair claim and refer suitable matters to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor.

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

• Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 82 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• What is an EPA Section 82 claim?
• How to request an HHSRS inspection
• Landlord not fixing damp, what to do