This article is currently being updated and some advice might be out of date. Contact advice@luu.leeds.ac.uk if you have any questions.
How do I claim compensation from my landlord?
You will need evidence if you are going to try and claim compensation from your landlord including:
- That the issue you are claiming on is the landlord’s responsibility and you have told your landlord previously about the problems.
- That the landlord has failed to respond in a reasonable time frame.
- Photographs or other independent evidence are useful to give proof of disrepair or damage to your belongings.
- That there has been a significant impact that warrants compensation.
It’s always best to talk about compensation first with your landlord or who you pay rent to (an agent). This will help them to understand the issues you have faced, they may not realise some of the problems if they have contracted work out.
If you have rent arrears (rent you haven’t paid) this could impact on your compensation claim, your landlord may think you are just making a claim because you can’t afford the rent. Where possible, try not to be in arrears when you talk to your landlord.
If you can’t reach an agreement with your landlord write a timeline of all the problems you have had, how you have tried to sort them and drop into LUU Advice with any other evidence you have e.g. photographs/contract. We can help you work out how much you may be able to claim and what the next steps could be.