Birmingham housing disrepair: how the UK's second-largest city is failing its tenants

Birmingham is the UK's largest local authority by population, and Birmingham City Council is one of the largest direct social landlords in England, managing approximately 60,000 homes. Independent published data has consistently identified Birmingham among the highest-volume areas for disrepair complaints.

The pattern in Birmingham is consistent: damp, broken heating, and structural defects reported repeatedly without action. Many tenants tell us they gave up reporting because nothing changed.

Awaab's Law applies here too

Since October 2025, Birmingham City Council, like every other social landlord, must:

• Investigate emergency hazards within 24 hours
• Investigate significant hazards within 10 working days
• Send a written summary of findings within 3 working days
• Complete the works within 5 working days of the investigation ending
• Address emergencies within 24 hours

Birmingham's social housing stock includes a high proportion of mid-rise blocks from the 1960s and 1970s where damp and mould remain endemic. Many properties are due for retrofit but have not yet received it. If your home falls into this category and your landlord has not acted on a report, you have a strong basis for a claim.

Birmingham tenants frequently contact us about

• Broken communal heating in winter
• Damp and mould (especially in flats above ground floor)
• Pest infestations in older blocks
• Roof leaks reported and unrepaired
• Adaptations refused for disabled or elderly tenants

What you can recover

What you can recover depends on how bad the disrepair was, how long it lasted, and any effect on your health. Compensation usually includes some of your rent back for the time the home was not fit to live in, money for the distress and inconvenience, and the cost of any belongings the problem damaged. Real cases show how seriously this is now taken: an independent statutory ruling ordered Birmingham City Council to pay £4,450 after it failed to fix a leak for four years.

You also recover:

• The repair actually getting done
• Damaged personal belongings (clothes, electronics)
• Increased energy costs from broken heating

You don't have to fight Birmingham City Council alone

Call free on 0800 030 4669. We'll tell you straight if you've got a case.

You can also follow Birmingham City Council's internal complaints procedure. You don't need to use Support for Tenants, but if you do, there's no upfront cost.

Source: council social-housing stock figures are published in the Local Authority Housing Statistics, GOV.UK.

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