Rosalind Burgin wins 100% rent in damages for disrepair counterclaim

1 May 2026

The client was awarded more than £10,000 in damages for rent by the Judge at Leeds County Court. Credit: Philip Openshaw / Shutterstock.

Garden Court North’s Rosalind Burgin has successfully secured damages amounting to 100% of her client’s rent, as compensation for living in a property in disrepair. The award was made in a hearing yesterday (30 April 2026) at Leeds County Court.

The proceedings began as possession proceedings brought against Rosalind’s client (‘Ms G’) by her private landlord.

Ms G, a mother-of-four, counterclaimed for disrepair in the property and was awarded 100% of the rent in damages from January 2025 to date, amounting to £10,264.29 to be paid within 14 days. The landlord was also ordered to pay Ms G’s legal costs.

On 20 April 2026, the Judge noted the finding that the property was “unfit for human habitation” throughout that period, within the meaning of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

The Court considered the evidence of a surveyor instructed in the case, who said that “there are a number of hazards which have been identified, many of which could lead to very serious injury or death”.

In separate, previous proceedings, the same landlord had been ordered to pay £29,900, amounting to 100% of the rent for a 46-month period where the property was unfit for human habitation. The Court held that “no value can be derived from a property that is unfit for human habitation”.

County Courts awarding full rent damages for extreme disrepair

Ms G’s case is one of several recent County Court judgments in which tenants have been awarded most or all of their rent for periods of time when disrepair has rendered their properties unfit for human habitation. The grounds for these cases were established when the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act came into force in 2020.

A prominent example was the case of Dezitter v Hammersmith and Fulham Homes at the Central London County Court on 7 November 2023, in which the property had been found to be unfit for human habitation, and damages of 100% of rent were also awarded. The Court considered that this was in effect a binary decision; either the property was fit for human habitation, or it was not. In the event it was not, then it could not be said that the tenant had derived any value from the tenancy during this period.

On 17 April 2024, in the case of E v The London Borough of Lambeth at Wandsworth County Court, the judge was pointed to the County Court judgments in Dezitter v Hammersmith & Fulham Homes and Mason v Olivera and Santana (2023), when 100% of the rent was awarded for the period that those properties were unfit for human habitation.

The Judge noted that these decisions were not binding and simply indicated that the court may award damages equivalent to 100% of the rent where a property is unfit, not that it must. However, he did consider that those judgments suggested that where the property was unfit, the court should award a considerable proportion of the rent, and as such, the Judge awarded damages equivalent to 90% of the rent for that period.

Rosalind is part of Garden Court North’s housing and homelessness team. She was instructed to represent Ms G by Kane Walker of Gallagher & Co Solicitors.

Additional media

Nearly Legal – Tales from the County Courts – housing conditions quantum, proof of notice of defects, and section 21 and gas safety certificates again

Nearly Legal – Unfitness for human habitation quantum – 100% again

For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk