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Housing Disrepair And Mould Compensation Claims Guide
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 14th August 2024. Welcome to our guide on how to make housing disrepair mould compensation claims.
Have you experienced mould or illness in your home due to negligence on the part of your landlord, council, or housing association? If you have respiratory problems, respiratory disease, a fungal infection or had your asthma worsened due to mould in your rented flat or house, you could be entitled to make a mould compensation claim for your illness. Mould-related claims can be worth tens of thousands of pounds or even more, so if you think you are owed compensation for an illness caused by mould, call Legal Expert today to enquire about making a claim.
Trust Legal Expert to handle your mould compensation claim. We are a trusted personal injury solicitor’s firm, with an excellent track record of winning personal injury claims and mould-related claims for our clients. If you or a member of your family has experienced a mould-related illness caused by negligence on the part of the person or organisation who manages your home, you could make a social housing compensation claim or claim against your landlord for the injuries caused.
Our social housing solicitors would love to represent your claim, so call us today for your free legal consultation to see if you have a legitimate claim to be made. If you are entitled to compensation for an illness caused by mould or damp we will estimate how much you can claim and provide you with an excellent damp claim lawyer who will proceed with your case right away. Call 0800 073 8804 to see if you can make a mold compensation claim today.
Select A Section
- What Is Mould In Your Home?
- What Are The Health Risks Of Mould?
- Can I Claim Compensation For Mould?
- Who Is Responsible For Treating Damp And Mould In A Rented Flat Or House?
- What Duty Does Your Landlord Have To Maintain Your Home?
- What Can I Claim Against My Landlord?
- How Much Is Compensation For Damp And Mould That Made Me Ill?
- No Win No Fee Mould Compensation Claims
- Useful Links
What Is Mould In Your Home?
Before we look at housing disrepair mould compensation claims, let’s look at what mould is.
Mould is a form of fungus which grows in the form of multi cellular filaments called hyphae. Mould can be found on rotten food, plants and in buildings. Mould in a rented flat or house can be caused by excessive moisture.
If mould in the home goes untreated it can cause damage to the home, such as the walls and ceilings. It can also ruin possessions such as soft furnishings and clothing. What is more worrying are the health risks associated with mould, as it has been known to cause respiratory problems, respiratory diseases and fungal infections. Skin irritations can also happen. If you already suffer from allergies, or respiratory problems such as asthma, then it is likely to worsen your medical condition. Babies and young children, elderly people, people with a weakened immune system or people suffering from existing conditions such as eczema are more likely to be affected by mould.
Understandably if you live in a home affected by mould and you or anyone in your household fits these descriptions this is particularly worrying. For information on how you could be able to make housing disrepair mould compensation claims for your suffering, please read on.
What Are The Health Risks Of Mould?
At this point in our housing disrepair mould compensation claims guide, let’s look at the health risks that mould carries.
Why is mould a health risk to humans? Allergens (allergic reaction causing substances), irritants and in some cases toxic substances. If you touch or inhale the mould, this can cause a number of symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, skin rashes and sore eyes. Unfortunately, there are more serious health risks of mould to be concerned about such as fungal infections, respiratory problems, respiratory disease and skin irritations.
If you already suffer from asthma mould exposure can trigger asthma attacks and if you suffer from skin conditions such as eczema, the skin irritations caused by mould can aggravate or worsen it. That being said then, if you or anyone in your household already suffers from skin conditions such as eczema or respiratory conditions such as asthma, they are particularly vulnerable to the health risks of mould and should avoid exposure to it at all costs. Similarly if children, the elderly or anyone with a health condition that has weakened their immune system is in your household, this is of a particular cause of concern as these groups are also more vulnerable to the health risks of mould.
For more information about the health risks of mould and the relationship between mould and respiratory problems, you can consult this NHS guide. If you think you may have grounds to claim compensation for illness caused by mould call Legal Expert today to see how much compensation you could potentially claim.
Can I Claim Compensation For Mould?
Disrepair compensation cases could occur due to untreated mould and damp. However, as we explore below, you will need to prove that a breach in your landlord’s duty of care caused the mould.
If you report the problem to the landlord, local authority or housing association and they fail to carry out repairs, you could have a valid claim. However, there are circumstances where the tenant’s lifestyle causes damp and mould. Even if this causes health problems, if the mould and damp were caused by your behaviour, you may not be able to claim.
Landlords may try to blame tenant lifestyle for mould or damp when the problem was caused by disrepair. Mould solicitors could support housing disrepair claims. For example, they could help prove disrepair compensation cases by gathering evidence.
Call our advisors to learn what housing disrepair claims could be eligible for compensation.
Who Is Responsible For Treating Damp And Mould In A Rented Flat Or House?
There are different types of damp and mould that can appear in a property and there are different causes of damp and mould. Because there is not one clear type of problem concerning damp and mould, disagreements can occur between landlord and tenant about who is responsible for treating mould in rented flat or house.
For example if the tenant’s behaviour is creating excessive condensation, which is the cause of damp and mould the tenant is responsible. However, whilst the tenant may be responsible for changing their behaviour in order to help take care of the property, a responsible landlord will also provide ventilation and look into ways to better insulate the property, to avoid any long term damage to the property. If the mould is caused by disrepair in the property (examples of which have been stated earlier) then the landlord will be responsible for treating the damp and mould in the rented flat or house.
What Duty Does Your Landlord Have To Maintain Your Home?
In this section of our housing disrepair mould compensation claims guide, let’s look at what duty of care your landlord owes you as a tenant.
The Housing Health And Safety Ratings System (HHSRS), which landlords must abide by, states that landlords are responsible for ensuring that a tenant’s physical or mental health is not harmed due to mold. Therefore it is within a landlord’s interest to treat the mold as soon as possible so the tenant does not make a claim against the landlord for compensation for an illness caused by mould. Claims for mould compensation are a frequent housing compensation claim that we deal with here at Legal Expert.
If you reported the mould problem to the landlord and your landlord failed to effectively treat the mould, causing you or a member of your household to become ill, you could make a mould compensation claim.
Clients often ask us if it is possible to make housing disrepair mould compensation claims against their landlord for mould. Yes, housing disrepair compensation is compensation for tenants of private landlords, councils or local authorities who were caused an illness or injury due to disrepair in the home that the landlord failed to act on.
Mould compensation claims are a common compensation for disrepair example as there are many health risks associated with mould. Your mould compensation could also include a mould compensation claim for any damage to your property that occurred due to the mould infestation and landlord compensation for inconvenience, if the mould problem caused you great inconvenience, for example losing sleep due to illness or losing privacy during the mould treatment process, you may be able to claim housing disrepair compensation for this.
How To Claim Compensation From Your Landlord
If your landlord has been neglectful and breached their duty of care by failing to adequately deal with damp or mould in your rented property, you could be able to claim compensation against them. To help you claim compensation from your landlord, you can collect evidence of their negligence, and of the impact it has had on you.
Supporting evidence could come in the form of:
- Proof of the requests you had made to your landlord to deal with the damp. Ideally the requests should be dated and in writing.
- Pictures, or similar dated recordings of the mould present within the property.
- A medical report of an illness that can be connected to the mould or damp present in your property
You can present this evidence to a solicitor to help you begin your claim or begin the claim yourself. For more advice about taking action against a landlord for a damp law violation, please reach out to one of our advisers.
How Much Is Compensation For Damp And Mould That Made Me Ill?
If you make a successful housing disrepair and mould compensation claim for an illness caused by the issue, then you may have questions about how much your case may be worth. Such claims are valued on a case-by-case basis.
Compensation for damp and mould that has harmed you can include general damages and special damages. General damages compensate for the pain and suffering you’ve endured due to an illness caused by exposure to damp and mould.
Those who value housing disrepair mould compensation claims for general damages may consult a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It includes compensation brackets for many different illnesses and injuries. Some examples of entries from the JCG that may be relevant to housing disrepair and mould claims include the following:
- If you’re a young person claiming for a lung disease that has caused serious disability and there is a probability of progressive worsening leading to premature death, then the compensation bracket that applies ranges from £122,850 to £165,860 (a).
- When claiming for lung cancer (typically in an older person) which causes severe pain, the compensation bracket is £85,460 to £118,790 (b).
- If you’re claiming for a lung disease, such as emphysema, which causes significant and worsening lung function plus impairment of breathing, then the compensation bracket ranges from £66,890 to £85,460 (c).
- When claiming for a lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and frequent use of an inhaler is required, the compensation amount may be £38,210 to £66,920 (d).
- If you’re claiming for asthma that is severely and permanently disabling, then the compensation bracket is £52,550 to £80,240 (a).
- When claiming for asthma that is less severe than cases mentioned above but causes breathing difficulties and requires the use of an inhaler, the compensation bracket is £32,090 to £52,490 (b).
Your compensation payout may also include special damages, which cover financial losses or expenses related to the illness caused by mould or damp in a property. Examples of what may be covered by special damages include:
- Certain medical costs, such as prescriptions and private healthcare fees.
- Loss of earnings if you’ve needed to take unpaid time off work due to your illness.
- Travel expenses, such as train tickets or bus fares, that you’ve paid so you can attend medical appointments.
You will need certain documents as evidence, such as bank statements or wage slips, to claim special damages as part of your compensation.
For more advice on how much compensation for damp and mould in a property you could claim, contact our advisors for free today.
No Win No Fee Mould Compensation Claims
If you have experienced an illness caused by mould, which was enabled by negligence on the part of your landlord, housing association or local council, you could be entitled to make housing disrepair mould compensation claims.
At Legal Expert, we will give you the option to make a No Win No Fee claim for compensation from your landlord. A No Win No Fee claim means that you won’t pay an upfront or ongoing fee to your solicitor. Instead there’s nothing to pay unless you win your mold compensation claim, so for many it’s the more affordable, less risky way to make a mould compensation claim.
To enquire about being represented by a damp claims lawyer that offers a No Win No Fee service, call Legal Expert today to speak to one of our friendly advisors.
When making a claim for damp leading to mould, our solicitors are experts and have experience dealing with housing disrepair cases. They can help you no matter where you are based in the UK and may be able to help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
They could help you make a disrepair claim in various ways, including:
- Gathering evidence
- Arranging a medical appointment
- Negotiating a settlement with the faulting party
To find out more, you can contact our team via the following ways:
- Call at any time on 0800 073 8804
- Pop up using our free online live support service
- Email us directly at info@legalexpert.co.uk
Useful Links
NHS guide to mould related illnesses
Follow this guide to mould related illnesses from the UK’s NHS.
How Much Compensation Can You Get For A Housing Disrepair?
How compensation can you claim for housing disrepair instances from a landlord.
How Much Compensation Could I Claim From My Landlord?
How much compensation can you claim from your landlord?
Thanks for reading our housing disrepair mould compensation claims guide.
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