Disrepair Claims for Leaseholders and Shared Owners

Our solicitors represent leaseholders and shared owners across England and Wales with freeholders being Housing Associations, Councils and Privately Owned.

If you own your flat on a leasehold or shared ownership basis and your freeholder is refusing to fix the building, you have enforceable legal rights. You can compel repairs and claim financial compensation — on a no win no fee basis, with no upfront costs.

Housing Disrepair Helpline works with a panel of specialist solicitors who have represented hundreds of leaseholders and shared owners across England and Wales, securing both court-ordered repairs and significant compensation for delayed and neglected works. Our legal team represent leaseholders and shared owners with claims against housing associations, councils, and private freeholders across England and Wales.

What Is the Freeholder Responsible For?

As a leaseholder or shared owner, you own the interior of your flat. Your freeholder owns the building. That means your freeholder is legally responsible for maintaining:

• The roof and roof structure
• External walls, brickwork, and render
• Foundations and structural elements
• Communal areas — hallways, stairwells, lifts, car parks
• Shared services — communal boilers, water tanks, drainage
• Windows and external doors (in most leases)
• Balconies and walkways attached to the building
• Gutters and drainage systems

If your freeholder fails to maintain any of these elements and your flat or quality of life is affected, you have a legal claim.

Issues You Can Claim For

Roof Repairs

A failing roof is among the most common and most serious issues leaseholders face. Missing tiles, failed flat roof membranes, and damaged flashing allow water into the building, causing progressive damp, mould, ceiling damage, and eventually structural failure. Your freeholder is legally obligated to keep the roof watertight. Every week of delay is additional evidence of their failure.

Damp and Mould

Damp entering through the building’s structure or caused by communal plumbing failures is a freeholder liability, not a leaseholder problem. If the source of damp in your flat is the building fabric — failed pointing, a leaking roof, defective external render, rising damp from inadequate damp-proof courses — the responsibility lies entirely with the freeholder. Under Awaab’s Law, social housing freeholders must begin investigating within 14 days and commence repair works within 7 weeks.

Windows

Most long leases make the freeholder responsible for external windows. Failed double-glazed units, rotten frames, and poorly sealing windows affect both thermal performance and security. Draughty windows are classified as an excess cold hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and can form the basis of a disrepair claim.

Electrics

Communal electrical systems — shared lighting, lifts, electrical intake equipment, and the main consumer unit serving communal areas — are the freeholder’s responsibility. Failure to maintain electrical systems creates fire and electric shock hazards classified as Category 1 hazards under HHSRS.

Lifts

A broken communal lift is not merely an inconvenience — for elderly residents, disabled leaseholders, or families with pushchairs in a multi-storey block, a broken lift can make a property effectively unusable. Freeholders have a duty to keep lifts in safe working order. Prolonged lift failure is a well-established head of disrepair.

Balcony Issues

Balconies and external walkways attached to the building are structural elements and the freeholder’s responsibility. Cracked balcony slabs, failed waterproofing membranes, corroded fixings, and inadequate balustrades all create safety hazards. Post-Grenfell, the Building Safety Act 2022 has significantly strengthened leaseholder protections in relation to building safety defects.

Communal Repairs

Anything in shared areas of the building — communal heating systems, entrance doors, bin stores, car parks, lighting, drainage — falls under the freeholder’s maintenance obligation. Failure to maintain communal areas can affect all leaseholders in the block simultaneously, making group claims a viable and efficient option.

Shared Ownership: Your Rights Explained

Shared ownership is different from full leasehold but your rights in relation to building disrepair are the same. You part-own and part-rent your home from a housing association. The housing association, as your freeholder and landlord, is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building regardless of your ownership percentage.

You pay service charges to cover building maintenance — and if those service charges are being collected but repairs are not being carried out, you have a strong basis for both a disrepair claim and a service charge challenge.

Awaab’s Law applies directly to shared ownership properties where the landlord is a registered social housing provider. If you have reported damp, mould, or other hazards and the housing association has failed to respond within the statutory timescales, the law is on your side.

Your Legal Frameworks

• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires your landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair throughout the tenancy or lease. For shared owners, this applies to the landlord element of the relationship.
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires all residential properties, including leaseholds and shared ownership homes, to be fit for human habitation at the start of and throughout the lease. A property with a failing roof, persistent damp, or broken communal systems fails this standard.
• Awaab’s Law (Social Housing Regulation Act 2023) applies to registered social housing providers — housing associations and councils. Where your freeholder is a social housing provider, they must investigate hazards within 14 days, provide a written repair plan within 7 weeks, and begin emergency works within 24 hours for life-threatening hazards.
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) classifies a wide range of building defects as Category 1 hazards requiring urgent action. Excess cold, damp and mould, structural collapse risk, fire, and electrical hazards are all HHSRS Category 1 issues. Local authorities can serve enforcement notices on freeholders where Category 1 hazards are identified.
• Building Safety Act 2022 significantly strengthened protections for leaseholders in buildings with fire safety or structural defects. In qualifying buildings, freeholders and developers — not leaseholders — are responsible for the costs of remedying relevant defects. If your block has cladding issues, fire safety defects, or structural concerns identified post-Grenfell, specialist advice is essential.

Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims governs the pre-litigation process. Your solicitor serves a formal letter of claim on your freeholder, who has a fixed period to respond. Most claims settle at this stage — without court proceedings.

What Compensation Can You Claim?

Compensation is assessed against the actual impact of the disrepair on your life, health, and enjoyment of your property.

Compensation covers: distress and inconvenience, damage to personal belongings, costs incurred, loss of enjoyment of rooms, and personal injury where health has been affected by the disrepair.

How Housing Disrepair Helpline Works

1. Free consultation — call 0800 612 4690 and explain your situation
2. Home visit (where possible) — to assess the damage to your property
3. Case assessment — we identify the legal basis for your claim and the right specialist solicitor from our panel
4. Solicitor instruction — your case is passed to a solicitor who specialises in leaseholder and freeholder disputes
5. Pre-action letter — your solicitor serves formal notice on your freeholder
6. Repairs compelled — most freeholders respond and commit to works at this stage
7. Compensation negotiated — your solicitor negotiates a settlement or pursues proceedings

No Win No Fee

All leaseholder and shared ownership claims are handled on a no win no fee basis. You pay nothing upfront and nothing at any point during the claim. If the claim is unsuccessful, you pay nothing. If the claim succeeds, your solicitor recovers their legal costs from the freeholder. Where compensation is awarded, your solicitor takes up to 25% of your compensation damages.

Eviction Protection

As a leaseholder, you own a long-term interest in your property. Your freeholder cannot evict you for bringing a disrepair claim. Shared owners are additionally protected under the Deregulation Act 2015 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 against retaliatory action.

Freeholders We Claim Against

Our panel solicitors act against all types of freeholder, including:

Housing associations: Clarion, Peabody, L&Q, Hyde Housing, Sanctuary Housing, Places for People, Home Group, Riverside Housing, Notting Hill Genesis, Metropolitan Thames Valley

Local councils: All London boroughs and councils across England and Wales

Private freeholders: Estate management companies, private developers, residential management companies

FAQs

Can shared owners claim for disrepair?

Yes. Shared owners pay rent on part of the property, and many shared ownership leases make the housing association responsible for structure and external repairs. If it ignores a reported defect, you may be able to claim repairs and compensation. Your lease wording decides the route.

Who is responsible for repairs in a leasehold building?

Usually the freeholder repairs the structure, roof, external walls and communal areas and recovers the cost through service charges. You repair the inside of your flat. Your lease sets the exact split.

Is there a time limit for a leasehold disrepair claim?

Time limits depend on the legal basis of the claim. Simple contract claims generally have a six-year limit, while claims on a deed may have a twelve-year limit. Continuing disrepair and older losses need individual assessment. Take legal advice early.

Do I need to complain to the Housing Ombudsman first?

No. You do not need an Ombudsman decision before seeking legal advice or pursuing a claim. The Ombudsman normally expects the landlord’s complaints process to be completed before investigating, and court proceedings can affect which issues it can consider. Tell your solicitor about any existing complaint.

Our promise…

1. We will get your home repaired.
2. We will get you compensation.

*If your case is successful, then the legal fees will be paid for by the client’s freeholder. The solicitor will also take a share of any compensation received, up to 25% of damages, following a risk analysis of your claim. We do not charge you a fee for our service, and you do not pay us any fee at any point for our service. If your claim is successful, we will be paid a percentage of the legal costs received by the panel solicitors whom we referred your case to. Any cancellation of the agreement, may result in the client being charged for the solicitors fees.