Disrepair Claim Advice
What to do if you think you have disrepair in your home?
If you think that you have any disrepair in your home, please contact us so that we can arrange for our surveyor to visit and complete an inspection.
There are several ways you can get in touch, you can call us on 01782 252575, email us at mailbox@epichousing.co.uk or complete the contact form on this webpage.
At EPIC, we are committed to ensuring every tenant’s home is safe and well maintained. If we receive a claim for disrepair, we will contact the tenant and arrange to visit ourselves to assess any issues.
One of our surveyors will visit your home to do a survey that will check for disrepair and point out anything that needs to be done. Courts view our surveyors as expert witnesses; this means that they also have a duty to the court.
What happens if decide you claim for disrepair?
Claims can take up to two years to resolve and the solicitor acting on your behalf will advise you not to allow us to carry out any repairs on your home while the claim is ongoing. This would mean that any improvements scheduled, such as new front doors, kitchens or bathrooms, could be put on hold until the claim is resolved.
Once you have started a claim and signed the solicitor’s documentation, very rarely will the solicitor allow you to change your mind and stop the claim. They will advise you that if you want to stop the claim, you may be liable for:
- Charges for the survey they have arranged, often up to £1,000; and/or
- Credit agreement charges of over £500 for ‘no win, no fee’ to cover legal cost insurance.
How disrepair claims affect EPIC and our tenants
It costs a lot of money for us to defend disrepair cases in court. The more we spend to defend cases, the less we have for repairs, improvements and funding for other services for our tenants.
Want to find out more?
Remember if you are in any doubt, please contact us in the first instance. We are here to ensure that your home is well maintained and safe at all times.