Some 48 per cent of tenants are currently living with one or more housing disrepair issues, it’s being claimed.

The problems include mould, damp, leaks, electrical hazards, heating or hot water issues or blocked drains.

The claim comes from a property compensation firm Hodge, Jones & Allen.

Tenants aged 18-24 are the most likely to be living with an issue (67 per cent)followed by 35–44 year olds (52 per cent).

The city with the most housing disrepair issues was shown to be Nottingham, where six in 10 tenants claim they’re living with one or more issues.  

This was followed by Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and London – all over 50 per cent.

The company claims an estimated 14 per cent of rental properties don’t meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard while one in 10 are also estimated to have a Category one hazard present – which means tenant safety is judged to be at serious risk.  

Research undertaken on behalf of the firm shows that the most common disrepair issues are mould and damp, followed by defective entrance and leaks. 

The firm’s survey was relatively small – 1,000 current UK rental tenants in September. It also compared some stats from this survey with a similar survey undertaken in 2021. 

The most common disrepair issues in rental properties (2023):

    1    Mould (48% have it in at least one room in the house) 

    2    Damp (47%) 

    3    Entrance defects (29%) 

    4    Roof leak (26%) / water leak (26%) 

    5    Blocked pipes / drains (24%) 

    6    Electrical hazard (23%) / heating or hot water issues (23%) 

    7    Structural damage (21%) 

    8    The absence of a working smoke detector (20%)