How much does a housing disrepair claim cost?
We act for tenants on a no win, no fee basis. In most cases you pay nothing upfront and nothing at all if your claim does not succeed. This page explains exactly how that works, what you would pay if your claim wins, and the insurance that protects you along the way.
No win, no fee means we take on the financial risk of your claim; we act under a Conditional Fee Agreement, so if your claim does not succeed you do not pay our legal costs. If it does succeed, most of your costs are recovered from your landlord, and any contribution you make is capped and explained to you in writing before you commit. For further guidance on how no win, no fee arrangements work, see the SRA’s consumer guide to no win, no fee.
The Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)
Your claim is funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement — the formal name for a no win, no fee arrangement. Under the CFA, our fees are only payable if your claim is successful. If you lose, you do not pay our charges for the work done on your case.
If you win, your legal costs are usually recovered from your landlord. Where they cannot all be recovered, a success fee may apply. The success fee is a percentage of our basic charges and is capped at a maximum of 25% of the damages you are awarded. We explain the exact figure to you in writing before you sign anything, so there are no surprises.
The After the Event (ATE) insurance policy
To protect you against the risk of having to pay the other side’s costs or certain expenses if your claim is unsuccessful, we arrange an After the Event (ATE) insurance policy on your behalf.
The policy is provided by Financial & Legal Insurance Company Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 202915). The policy covers:
- The opponent’s legal costs, if a court orders you to pay them
- Your own disbursements — expenses such as court fees and expert reports — if your claim does not succeed
The ATE premium
The ATE premium is staged in two stages, depending on how far your case progresses before it concludes. The premium is only payable if you win, and it is deducted from your damages. The staged premiums (each inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax at 12%) are:
- Stage 1 — if your case concludes before court proceedings are issued: £280 + IPT = £313.60
- Stage 2 — if court proceedings are issued: £350 + IPT = £392.00
There are no further stages; £392.00 is the maximum premium whatever point your case reaches.
What you pay if you win
If your claim succeeds, the position is normally as follows:
- The majority of your legal costs are paid by your landlord
- The ATE premium is deducted from damages
- Any success fee is deducted from your damages and is capped, as explained above
You keep the remainder of your compensation. We always set out the expected deductions in writing before your case concludes.
What you pay if you lose
If your claim does not succeed, and you have kept to the terms of the CFA, you do not pay our legal charges and the ATE policy covers the costs and disbursements it insures. This is the protection the no win, no fee arrangement is designed to give you.
How the funding is set up — step by step
We review your situation at no cost and tell you honestly whether you have a claim.
If we take your case on, we explain the CFA in plain English and you sign it. No upfront payment is required. You have a 14-day cooling-off period after signing, during which you can cancel the agreement.
We put the After the Event policy in place to protect you against adverse costs.
We carry out the work and keep you updated. You pay nothing as the case progresses.
If you win, costs are recovered and any capped deductions are explained. If you lose, you pay nothing for our charges.