£7,500 Compensation After EPA Prosecution of a Housing Association

The problem

Our client, a 63-year-old woman living with stage 4 cancer, cares full time for her two disabled adult sons. For more than three years, the family endured a persistent mice infestation in their Lewisham home, rented from London & Quadrant Housing Trust. Despite the obvious risk to a household this vulnerable, the problem was not resolved.

The prosecution

A mice infestation of this kind can amount to a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which gives tenants the right to bring a criminal prosecution against their landlord. Our EPA team prepared the case meticulously, and our in-house counsel conducted the prosecution at Bromley Magistrates’ Court.

The case was strongly defended. A bad character application, resisted by the landlord, was successfully made, and a robust prosecution case was presented on our client’s behalf. On the second day of trial, the defence entered a guilty plea.

The outcome

The court made an abatement order requiring the landlord to complete remedial works, and awarded our client £7,500 in compensation. Notably, the order also required the landlord to carry out works and rodent treatment at the neighbouring properties in the terrace, all of which are adapted housing for tenants with disabilities. No resident in the terrace should now have to live with mice in their home.

This result reflects our expertise in complex Environmental Protection Act matters and our commitment to securing accountability for vulnerable tenants. If you are living with a vermin infestation your landlord has failed to deal with, you may have a claim.