When cracks spread across a wall, a ceiling starts to sag or window frames rot so badly they no longer shut, the problem is usually structural, and it’s usually your landlord’s job to put it right. Housing Disrepair Solicitors helps council and housing association tenants in London bring structural disrepair claims for proper repairs and compensation for the structural damage they’ve lived with. If we take your case on, it may be funded under a no win, no fee agreement, depending on our assessment and the agreement’s terms.
Ceiling sagging, a wall bulging or a crack suddenly getting wider? Keep everyone away from that area and report it to your landlord as an emergency.
A claim is usually possible when these three things are true.
Serious damage that has made your home unsafe, cold or insecure for months gives a much stronger claim than a minor fault that was fixed soon after you reported it.
Structural disrepair is damage to the parts of your home that give it its shape, stability and protection from the weather, from the walls and ceilings to the roof, windows and stairs.
Walls, ceilings and the plaster on them, floors and joists, staircases and banisters, the roof and chimneys, window frames and external doors are all generally treated as part of the structure your landlord must keep in repair.
Wallpaper, paintwork and other decoration, your own furniture and appliances, and internal fittings such as kitchen cupboards are not usually part of the structure. Some may still be your landlord’s responsibility under your tenancy agreement, so it’s worth checking.
A claim tackles the cause of the damage, not just the cracks you can see, and covers what living with it has cost you.
A claim can push for an independent survey to find the cause of the structural damage, such as movement, a failed lintel or water getting in, and for that cause to be repaired rather than filled and painted over.
You may be able to claim for the worry and disruption of living with damage that made rooms unsafe, let in cold and draughts, or left your home harder to secure.
Belongings damaged by falling plaster or water coming in, and extra heating costs from draughty windows, can be included where you have evidence. If anyone in your home was hurt, for example by a fall on broken stairs, that can be part of the claim too.
The more serious the damage and the longer your landlord left it, the more a claim is likely to be worth.
Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the structure and exterior of your home in repair, including the walls, roof, windows, external doors, floors and stairs.
Under sections 9A–9C, added by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your home must also be fit to live in throughout your tenancy.
The Defective Premises Act 1972 goes further. A landlord responsible for repairs owes a duty of care to anyone who could be injured by a defect, including your family and visitors.
For secure council tenants, the Right to Repair scheme sets these deadlines for qualifying repairs costing up to £250:
Bigger structural work falls outside these deadlines but must still be done within a reasonable time. Housing associations set their own timescales in their repairs policies.
From 30 November 2026, Awaab’s Law covers the risk of structural collapse and falls for council and housing association tenants in England. Where either is a significant hazard, your landlord must:
In Wales: the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 sets similar repair and fitness duties, and Awaab’s Law does not apply.
Check whether you have a claim.
Send us a few details about the damage, when you first reported it and whether it’s getting worse. We’ll review it, tell you whether it looks like a claim we can take on, and set out the costs in writing before anything goes ahead.
Housing Disrepair Solicitors is a trading name of SLS Solicitors Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 813100).
