It is the consumer name for a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA): a contract with the panel solicitor that says if your case wins, the solicitor is paid; if it loses, they are not. It is the standard way tenants pursue disrepair claims without finding money up front.
Why it works: when disrepair is proven, the court usually orders the landlord to pay the solicitor's basic costs. That covers most of the case. The fee, paid out of the compensation awarded to you, covers the rest.
If your case wins
1
The landlord pays your damages
How much depends on the severity, how long it went on, and any effect on your health.
2
The landlord pays the solicitor's basic costs
Separate from your damages: the solicitor's time, the surveyor's fees, and the court fees.
3
The fee comes out of your compensation
Only from the part for stress and discomfort, and it is capped by law. Money for damaged belongings, rent you should not have paid, or medical costs is yours in full.
If your case loses
You owe nothing to us or to the panel solicitor, provided you met the conditions in the CFA:
Cooperate with the case
Attend the surveyor visit, respond to requests, sign the paperwork when asked.
Be truthful about the facts
Misrepresenting the disrepair, your reporting history, or your circumstances breaches the agreement.
Do not withdraw against legal advice
Walking away mid-case against the solicitor's advice can mean costs apply.
Meet those conditions and lose anyway? The After-The-Event (ATE) insurance covers any costs the landlord would otherwise be entitled to recover.
The insurance that protects you
After-The-Event (ATE) insurance, taken out at the start of your case.
Covers case costs
The surveyor's report and the court fees.
Covers the landlord's legal costs
Where a court orders you to pay them. Rare in disrepair cases, but the protection is in place.
You only pay for this policy if your case wins, and even then it is taken from the landlord, not from you. If your case loses, you pay nothing for it and it still covers the costs. The exact terms depend on the solicitor and will be put in writing for you.
Cancelling your agreement
You can cancel at any time. The solicitor may charge for work already carried out. In practice that usually means:
A surveyor has visited and produced a report.
Court papers have been drafted or filed.
Surveyor reports have been commissioned.
The CFA sets out the specific charges. Ask the panel solicitor for an estimate of accrued costs before confirming cancellation.
How the money flows, in plain English
The cost side
Once your case is accepted, the panel solicitor funds the surveyor visit, the surveyor's report, the After-the-Event insurance premium, and any court fees. You pay nothing up front for any of this.
If you win
Your landlord pays the bulk of the legal costs and the insurance premium on top of your compensation. The solicitor takes a fee from your compensation, capped by law and set out before you sign. You take the rest, and the repairs are ordered or agreed as part of the settlement.
If you lose
The After-the-Event insurance covers the case costs and any costs the court orders you to pay. You owe the solicitor nothing and you owe the insurer nothing.
We do not quote figures because every case is different. Your solicitor will give you their honest assessment in writing before you sign anything.
A worked example
This is an illustration to show how the fee works, not a quote or a promise. Your solicitor sets out the real figures in writing before you sign anything.
Illustrative no win, no fee breakdown
Compensation you are awarded
£6,000
For the discomfort and loss of amenity
£4,000
For ruined belongings and out-of-pocket costs
£2,000
Success fee (capped by law at 25% of the discomfort part)
up to £1,000
You keep
at least £5,000
The money for ruined belongings and costs is yours in full; the fee only ever comes from the part for discomfort, and it is capped by law. 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.
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.
We set the fee out in plain English before you sign, so there are no surprises. If you are ever unsure what another firm is charging you, ask them to put it in writing, and feel free to call us free on 0800 030 4669 to talk it through.
Honest alternatives, you do not need us
You can pursue your case without a Claims Management Company.
Complain to your landlord first
Use their written complaints process. Most landlords have one, and Awaab's Law now gives them legal deadlines to put things right.
Take the landlord to court yourself
For compensation up to £10,000. You pay the court fees but no solicitor's fee.
Get free help if you qualify
Law Centres and Citizens Advice have housing solicitors and can take cases for free if you qualify for legal aid.
We exist because most tenants do not have the time, knowledge, or stamina to do this well, and because a regulated solicitor with a panel behind them usually gets a better outcome than going it alone. But the free alternatives are real, and if your case fits one of them better than ours, we will say so on the first call.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, as long as you have followed the process. The insurance policy taken out at the start covers the landlord's legal costs and any case costs if your claim does not win. You owe nothing to us or to the solicitor as long as you helped with your case, told the truth, and did not drop out against the solicitor's advice.
Most of it. The fee only ever comes out of the part of your compensation that is for the stress and discomfort you went through, and it is capped by law so it can never run away with your money. Any money for damaged belongings or for rent you should not have paid is yours in full, with no fee taken from it. The solicitor tells you the fee in plain English before you sign anything.
You can cancel at any time, but the solicitor may charge for work already done. Your agreement explains this. In real life, charges only come up when a lot of work has happened, for example after a surveyor visit or after court papers have been sent. We will explain any possible cost before you sign.
The solicitor's funding covers the surveyor, the court fees, and other case costs, usually backed by the insurance policy. If your case wins, those costs are paid by the landlord. If your case loses and you have followed the process, the insurance covers them. Either way, they do not come out of your pocket.
Yes. The solicitor sets out the fee in plain English in your agreement before you sign, so there are no surprises. The fee is capped by law and only ever comes out of your compensation if you win, never out of your own pocket. If anything is not clear, call us free on 0800 030 4669 and we will talk it through.
Owing rent on its own does not stop a disrepair claim. The solicitors we refer to take cases where arrears are under a working limit (usually £8,000), with a payment plan in place above that. If the landlord is already trying to evict you through the court, that is different, and the case may need to wait until that is sorted. See our help-centre article on disrepair and eviction for more.
Ready to talk?
Free 25-minute call. We will tell you honestly whether your case fits no-win-no-fee.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 15 June 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only and not guaranteed; every case is different.
