The Council’s legal duty to repair your home
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, like every social landlord in England and Wales, is legally responsible for keeping its tenants’ homes in good repair. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the Council to maintain:
- The structure and exterior of your home — roof, walls, windows, doors, drains and gutters;
- The installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, and for sanitation;
- The installations for space heating and heating water.
On top of that, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires your home to be fit to live in throughout the tenancy — free from serious hazards such as damp and mould that put your household’s health at risk.
The clock starts when you report it. Once the Council knows about a defect it must act within a reasonable time — typically 21 days for routine repairs, and normally within 24 hours where there’s an urgent risk to your safety. Silence, endless inspections or repairs that don’t hold are not acceptable answers.
How we take on the Council for you
Free claim check
Tell us what’s wrong, when you reported it and what’s happened since. We’ll confirm whether you have a claim — free, with no obligation.
Evidence gathering
Photographs, repair history, correspondence and — if your health has been affected — supporting medical evidence.
Independent survey
A qualified surveyor inspects the property and produces a report documenting every defect.
Letter of claim
We put Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council formally on notice of your claim and what must be done to resolve it.
Negotiation
We press for full, lasting repairs and proper compensation — not a patch job and a token payment.
Resolution
The claim concludes only when the repairs are completed and your compensation is paid.
All of this is handled on a strict no win, no fee basis by SRA-regulated solicitors with 40+ years of experience protecting tenants. You pay nothing upfront — and nothing at all unless your claim succeeds.