FDM Solicitors

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FDM Solicitors Specialist legal firm providing expert advice in the field of claims case management & litigation. EXPERT HOUSING DISREPAIR SOLICITORS IN MANCHESTER.

We are a team of highly experienced claims and litigation solicitors in Manchester offering honest and straightforward legal advice, dedicated to getting our clients the outcome they deserve.

The mattress you dragged out to the bins. The carpet you pulled up. The winter coat that never stopped smelling of damp....
21/10/2026

The mattress you dragged out to the bins. The carpet you pulled up. The winter coat that never stopped smelling of damp.

When mould or a leak ruins your things, the instinct is to get rid of it fast. That is completely understandable. You do not want it in the house.

But a lot of tenants have no idea that damage to your belongings can form part of a disrepair claim. And once the item has gone, so has the proof.

It is not only the obvious things either. Beds and mattresses. Carpets, rugs and curtains. Clothes and shoes sitting at the bottom of a wardrobe. Children's toys and books. Furniture pushed up against a cold external wall. Anything electrical caught by a leak. Photographs and paperwork.

So before it goes out to the bins, photograph it. A wide shot and a close one, with the date showing if your phone does that. Keep a simple note on your phone of what it was, roughly when you bought it, when it was ruined and what ruined it. Hold on to receipts or order confirmations if you still have them. If you do not, a bank or card statement will usually do the job.

You do not need to keep the item itself. You just need to be able to show it existed and what happened to it.

FDM Solicitors act for council and housing association tenants. We push for the repairs and pursue compensation for what you have been left living with. No Win, No Fee, free advice, no obligation.

https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/hdr/how-to-claim-compensation-from-your-landlord/

What have you had to throw out because of damp or a leak? Tell us in the comments.

You complained. Then you complained about the way they handled your complaint. And nobody has ever told you what happens...
14/10/2026

You complained. Then you complained about the way they handled your complaint. And nobody has ever told you what happens after that.

Here is the part that gets left out.

Your council or housing association landlord has to run a formal, two stage complaints process. At stage one they investigate and respond to you. If you are not satisfied, you can ask for it to go to stage two, where someone more senior reviews it. Both stages have deadlines they are meant to meet.

Once you have been through both stages, or if they have gone quiet and missed the deadlines, you can take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman yourself. You do not need an MP or a councillor to refer you. That requirement was removed years ago and a lot of tenants still have no idea.

The Ombudsman can find that a landlord got it wrong, order them to put it right, and order compensation.

That is one route. A housing disrepair claim is a different one, and it is the route that can force repairs through the courts and pursue damages for what you have been living with. Which of the two fits your situation depends on the detail of what has happened.

That is exactly what a free consultation is for. We will tell you honestly where you stand, including if the honest answer is that a different route suits you better.

https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/housing-disrepair-claims/

Has a complaint ever been closed on you without anything actually changing? Tell us below.

You hear it at night. And somewhere along the way you started feeling embarrassed about it.Don't. Mice and rats move ind...
07/10/2026

You hear it at night. And somewhere along the way you started feeling embarrassed about it.

Don't. Mice and rats move indoors every autumn, and in a building that is properly maintained they cannot get very far. When an infestation keeps coming back in the same property, year after year, it is almost always because there is a way in that nobody has closed up.

Gaps where pipes come through a wall. Holes in brickwork or around a boiler flue. A broken or missing airbrick. Damaged drains. A gap under an external door. A hole behind a kitchen unit that has been there since before you moved in.

None of that is a cleaning problem. It is a building problem, and your council or housing association landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior of your home.

Bait and traps deal with the animals already inside. They do nothing about the reason those animals got in. If pest control has been out more than once and it keeps coming back, ask what work has been done to find and seal the entry point, and ask for the answer in writing.

If you have reported it and nothing has changed, that is disrepair. FDM Solicitors can push for the work to be done properly and pursue compensation for what you have been left living with. No Win, No Fee, free advice, no obligation.

Check where you stand: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/housing-disrepair/

Has pest control been out to your home more than once? Tell us in the comments.

Years of things left unrepaired in a council home. Then Omamuys got in touch with us.Here is what they wrote afterwards,...
29/09/2026

Years of things left unrepaired in a council home. Then Omamuys got in touch with us.

Here is what they wrote afterwards, in their own words:

"I lived in a council house for many years. A lot of things were not repaired. So I got in touch with this amazing team, who supported me all through. They informed me and included me in every step of the way. All my disrepair was done with the help of this team."

The line we keep coming back to is the one they wrote next:

"If your landlord does not repair your home and you are paying your rent, please get in touch with this team. They will help you get the job done."

That is the whole thing, really. You are paying your rent. Your home is supposed to be kept in a proper state of repair. If it is not, and reporting it has changed nothing, there is a legal route open to you and it does not cost you anything upfront.

FDM Solicitors act for council and housing association tenants on a No Win, No Fee basis. Free advice, no obligation, and someone who will actually stay in touch with you throughout.

Start here: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/housing-disrepair-claims-form/

Share this with someone who has stopped believing anything will change.

They came out. They painted over it. Six weeks later it was back.If your landlord has marked a repair as completed and t...
22/09/2026

They came out. They painted over it. Six weeks later it was back.

If your landlord has marked a repair as completed and the problem is still there, you are not being unreasonable for saying so.

Mould painted over instead of the damp being traced. A leak patched without anyone finding where the water is actually coming from. A contractor logged as attended when nobody knocked. A job closed on the system while you are still living with it.

A repair that does not fix the problem is not a repair. The legal obligation is to put the defect right, not to log a visit and close the file.

So if it has come back, report it again, in writing, as a new fault. Say plainly that the previous work did not resolve it. Ask for the job reference and for a copy of what the contractor recorded. Photograph it again with the date visible. A pattern of failed repairs on the same issue is often stronger evidence than one long wait, because it shows the landlord knew and still did not put it right.

FDM Solicitors act for council and housing association tenants. We can push for the work to be done properly and pursue compensation for what you have been left living with. No Win, No Fee, free advice, no obligation.

Check where you stand: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/hdr/landlord-wont-make-repairs-what-to-do-next/

Has a repair failed more than once in your home? Tell us in the comments.

"Open a window.""Dry your washing outside.""Wipe it off with bleach."If that is the answer you get every single time you...
15/09/2026

"Open a window."
"Dry your washing outside."
"Wipe it off with bleach."

If that is the answer you get every single time you report black mould, you are not imagining it. Blaming the tenant is the most common way a damp and mould report gets closed without anyone actually looking at the building.

Condensation is real, and how a home is lived in can play a part. But mould that comes back in the same corner, on the same wall, year after year, usually has a cause no tenant can fix. A failed damp proof course. Water getting in through a roof or a blocked gutter. Cold walls with no insulation behind them. An extractor fan that has never worked, or was never fitted.

Every one of those is the landlord's responsibility, not yours.

Since Awaab's Law came into force, social landlords in England have to investigate reports of damp and mould within set timeframes and act on what they find. Being told to open a window is not an investigation.

So ask for the outcome of the investigation in writing. Keep the reply. And if nothing changes, you have options.

FDM Solicitors force repairs through and pursue compensation for council and housing association tenants. No Win, No Fee, free advice, no obligation.

Your landlord's responsibilities, explained: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/hdr/is-damp-and-mould-damaging-your-home-and-health-understanding-your-landlords-responsibilities/

Have you been told the mould is your fault? Tell us in the comments.

Turn your heating on this week. Not in November.Every autumn we hear from tenants who found out their heating had failed...
08/09/2026

Turn your heating on this week. Not in November.

Every autumn we hear from tenants who found out their heating had failed on the first properly cold night of the year, and then spent weeks waiting for someone to come out and look at it.

Give yourself a head start. Run the heating for half an hour now. Check every radiator gets warm all the way across, not just at the top. Check you have hot water at the tap. If a radiator stays cold, if the boiler keeps locking out, if the pressure drops every few days, report it in writing today, while it is still September and repair teams are not stretched.

Your council or housing association landlord is legally responsible for keeping the heating and hot water system in working order. That is not a favour they are doing you. It is written into your tenancy and into the law.

And if you have already reported it and nothing has happened, or if you spent last winter in a cold home waiting on a repair that never came, that is disrepair. You may be entitled to have the work forced through and to claim compensation for what you have been left living with.

FDM Solicitors act for council and housing association tenants on a No Win, No Fee basis. Nothing to pay upfront and no obligation to go ahead.

Check where you stand: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/housing-disrepair-claims-form/

Share this with someone who was cold all last winter.

When Said came to FDM, he'd been living with a property in disrepair and serious problems with his hot water - and a hou...
26/08/2026

When Said came to FDM, he'd been living with a property in disrepair and serious problems with his hot water - and a housing authority that wouldn't put it right.

After we took on his case, here's what he told us:

"I am writing to express my sincere appreciation for the exceptional work and dedication you showed in handling my housing case. Your efforts in addressing the ongoing issues with the management of my property, particularly concerning the lack of proper repairs and the serious problems with hot water and boiling, did not go unnoticed. Situations like this can be extremely stressful, but your guidance and determination gave me confidence and reassurance at every stage. Your ability to challenge the housing authorities and advocate strongly on my behalf has made a real difference."

Said's words, not ours. This is why we do what we do - not just to win claims, but to give people who've been ignored someone who'll actually fight their corner.

If your landlord is leaving you without proper repairs or hot water, you don't have to accept it. No Win, No Fee. Free, no-obligation advice.

Start here: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/housing-disrepair-claims-form/

Six years of asking. One court judgment to end it.A tenant had been reporting disrepair to their landlord for six years....
18/08/2026

Six years of asking. One court judgment to end it.

A tenant had been reporting disrepair to their landlord for six years. Six years of requests, and no proper resolution. When they came to FDM Solicitors, we took the case through the proper legal channels - and when the landlord failed to respond as the court required, we secured a default judgment in the tenant's favour.

The outcome: the landlord was ordered to carry out the repairs, pay the tenant's legal costs, and pay £5,200 in damages for the conditions they'd been left to live in.

We're sharing this because a lot of tenants assume that once a landlord has ignored them for years, nothing will ever change. This case shows the opposite. The law doesn't run out. A landlord that's stalled for years can still be held to account.

This is what we do - we take the cases others have given up on, and we see them through. No Win, No Fee.

Read the full case here: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/hdr/default-judgment-and-costs-awarded-in-longstanding-housing-disrepair-claim-a-victory-for-tenants/

Been waiting years for repairs? Comment or share this with someone who has.

There's a phrase in the law that every social tenant should know: "fit for human habitation".Since the Homes (Fitness fo...
11/08/2026

There's a phrase in the law that every social tenant should know: "fit for human habitation".

Since the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your home isn't just supposed to be roughly liveable - it has to be safe, healthy and free from serious hazards for the whole time you live there. That's a legal standard, not a nice-to-have.

So what can make a home "unfit"? Things like serious damp and mould, a lack of hot or cold water, unsafe electrics, inadequate ventilation, problems with drainage or sanitation, or any hazard that puts your health or safety at risk.

If your council or housing association landlord has left your home in that state after being told, the Act gives you the right to take them to court to force the repairs and claim compensation - without waiting for the council's environmental health team to get involved first.

Most tenants have never been told this law exists. Now you have.

FDM Solicitors can tell you for free whether you have a claim. No Win, No Fee, no obligation.

Learn more: https://fdmsolicitors.co.uk/hdr/what-is-housing-disrepair/

Share this with someone who needs to know their home should be fit to live in.

Address

5th Floor, National House, 36 St Ann Street
Manchester
M27LE

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 6:30pm
Thursday 8am - 6:30pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+443333601724

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