Housing disrepair costs.

The track a claim would have been allocated to has a large effect on recoverable costs. Under the CPR, housing disrepair claims by residential tenants are only allocated to the small claims track where both the cost of repairs and the damages claimed are modest, which is why the value of each element must be assessed carefully.

Settlement before issue does not remove the question. Paying parties often argue that a pre-issue claim would have been a small claims matter, so evidence of the likely repair cost and damages at the time is important.

When the extended fixed recoverable costs regime was introduced in October 2023, housing disrepair claims were treated differently from most other fast track claims. Whether, and how, fixed costs apply now should be checked against the current CPR for each claim.

Where costs are assessed rather than fixed, proportionality still applies. Hourly rates, the grade of fee earner and the time spent on routine correspondence are regular areas of dispute in disrepair Bills.

The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims expects early disclosure, a single joint expert where possible and a genuine attempt to agree repairs. Failure by either side to engage can affect costs, both in the main claim and on assessment.

We review correspondence and the chronology to identify conduct arguments, such as delayed access, late disclosure or unnecessary expert evidence, and present them in a way the court can follow quickly.

Disrepair work is often handled at volume, and consistent, well-presented Bills help firms recover costs promptly. For landlords and insurers, consistent Points of Dispute across a portfolio of claims save time and support fair outcomes.

Where costs cannot be agreed, we can prepare papers for provisional or detailed assessment and attend hearings, keeping the cost of the assessment itself proportionate to the sums in dispute.

A paying party will often compare the costs claimed with the damages recovered. Proportionality is assessed against the sums in issue, the complexity of the claim and any wider factors, including the value of the repairs obtained and the importance of the matter to the tenant.

We present the full benefit achieved, not only the damages figure, and for landlords we test whether the work claimed was genuinely necessary given the progress of repairs and the issues left in dispute.