Plumbing and Drainage Compensation Claims
A toilet that won't flush, drains that keep backing up, the smell that greets you at the front door. Sanitation isn't optional. If your landlord has left plumbing problems unfixed after you reported them, we'll claim compensation and get them sorted.
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When do plumbing problems become a legal claim?
Plumbing and drainage disrepair covers the installations that keep your home sanitary: toilets, sinks, baths, showers, water supply pipes and drains. Blockages that keep coming back, waste water backing up, persistent leaks under sinks and toilets that won't flush all fall within your landlord's repairing duty.
These faults do more than inconvenience you. Overflowing waste is a genuine health hazard, and a slow leak left for months quietly causes damp, rot and mould behind the scenes. If you've reported the problem and it still isn't fixed, you're likely to have a claim.
Evidence that strengthens your claim
No photos? Nothing in writing? We can still help. But anything you can dig out now makes your claim stronger:
- Photos and videos of the problem, however rough
- Anything you've sent your landlord: emails, letters, texts
- GP or hospital records, if your health suffered
- Receipts or photos of ruined belongings
Your landlord's legal responsibility
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 specifically requires your landlord to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for sanitation and the supply of water: basins, sinks, baths and toilets, together with the pipes and drains that serve them.
A home without a working toilet or safe drainage is also unlikely to be fit for human habitation under the 2018 Act. Once reported, the most urgent problems, like the only toilet in the property failing, should be dealt with within about 24 hours, and everything else within a reasonable time.
What a successful claim gets you
Compensation
A payment for what you've had to live with, usually worked out as a percentage of your rent, plus money back for ruined belongings: clothes, furniture, carpets and more.
The repairs, completed
A binding commitment that forces your landlord to fix the problem properly. No more promises, no more missed appointments.
Plumbing and Drainage Compensation Claims: FAQs
My landlord says I caused the blockage. Can I still claim?
It comes down to the real cause. A blockage from flushing wet wipes is usually the tenant's responsibility, but recurring blockages caused by damaged or collapsed pipes, tree roots or poor drainage design are your landlord's to fix. Independent evidence gathered during your claim establishes which it is, rather than taking anyone's word for it.
How long should my landlord take to fix a broken toilet?
If it's the only toilet in the property, it's an emergency. It should be repaired within about 24 hours, because a home without basic sanitation isn't fit to live in. Less urgent plumbing faults should still be fixed within days, not months.
Is low water pressure a disrepair issue?
It can be. If the low pressure is caused by faulty pipework inside the property and it seriously affects your ability to wash or use the facilities, that's your landlord's responsibility. Problems with the mains supply outside the boundary usually sit with the water company instead.
A leaking pipe has caused mould as well. Is that one claim or two?
One claim. Where your landlord's failure to fix the original fault has caused further problems, such as mould, rotten flooring and ruined belongings, everything flowing from that failure is dealt with together, and the compensation reflects the combined impact.
How much compensation could I get?
Compensation is usually a percentage of your rent for the period affected, typically 25% to 50%, rising towards 100% where the home was effectively unusable. You can also claim for belongings damaged by leaks or overflows, and for any plumbers you've had to pay yourself. Our free calculator gives you an instant estimate.
See how much you could claim
Answer a few quick questions about your rent, the problems and how long you've lived with them, and you'll get an instant estimate. Confidential, no obligation, no pressure.