Here are our five top tips for landlords on disrepair claims:

1. Act quickly!

Time is money. Irrespective of liability, the sooner you ‘get the job done’, the less it will cost your organisation in the long run.

Aim to reply to the Letter of Claim within five working days, rather than the 20 working days allowed by the pre action protocol.

Set key performance indicators to push your organisation to act quickly. Ensure you have a disrepair process and / or procedure in place to enable your organisation to deal with new and existing claims as quickly as possible.

2. Schedule of work

If you want to ‘get the job done’, make sure you produce a schedule of works which corresponds with the items on the Letter of Claim and sets out clear details of the works proposed, together with proposed start and completion dates and the costs of the work.

You must be clear on exactly what your organisation is going to do.

3. Actually get the job done

Take the heat out of the claim and get the works done, as soon as your organisation can. The longer works are outstanding, the higher the litigation risk and the more you will pay in costs.

If works cannot start due to the tenant’s excessive belongings, pets, behaviour, and /or failure to provide access, take legal advice on an injunction. Be proactive.

4. Good customer service

Remember the saying, the customer is always right…

Good customer service will go a long way on a disrepair claim. If you can keep the tenant / customer happy, they are less likely to telephone their solicitor, thus keeping the legal costs to a minimum.

Plus, clear and consistent communication with the tenant will increase the chance that your organisation can ‘get the job done’.

It is good practice to send the tenant a letter with the details of works and when they are due to start.

5. Don’t forget to post-inspect

Don’t fall at the last hurdle and skip the post inspection – it is vital.  Attend the property once the works are done, take pictures and ask the tenant to sign a letter to say they agree works are done.

If the works aren’t done to a satisfactory standard, re-book and ‘get the job done’.