Legal Clinic · Clinic matter
The Damp Flat
A tenant, a baby, black mould and a landlord who does not answer: a housing matter from first meeting to closing letter.
It is Monday, 10:00, at the housing clinic of a university law school. You are a clinic adviser, working under the supervision of Ms Odile Fraser, who reviews your advice before it goes out. A walk-in client, Ana Kovac, has come with her eight-month-old son. She rents a one-bedroom flat. For six months there has been black mould on the bedroom walls and ceiling. She has asked the landlord, Mr Dunmore, to repair it three times by text message. He has not replied properly. The baby has had a cough that the doctor says may be linked to the damp. Ana has not paid rent for the last two months because, she says, 'he does not deserve it'. She is frightened of being evicted. You have a tidy interview room, a file and an hour.
Who is on the call
- Ana Kovac, Tenant, your client
- Mr Dunmore, Landlord
- Ms Odile Fraser, Clinic supervisor
- A council housing officer, Public inspector
The Marland Housing Act (invented): what applies in this exercise
You do not need any outside knowledge. This is the rule you must apply, and it is printed beside every step.
- A landlord must keep a home fit to live in. Serious damp and mould that affect health make a home unfit.
- After being told of a defect, a landlord must repair within a reasonable time; for a serious hazard, fourteen days is treated as reasonable.
- A tenant may claim an order that the landlord repair, and compensation for the loss and distress caused.
- The council may inspect on a tenant's request and may order repairs. A council inspection is free.
- A landlord may not give notice to leave in retaliation within six months after a tenant's good-faith complaint to the landlord or the council. Such a notice is invalid.
- A tenant must keep paying rent unless a court orders otherwise. A tenant who withholds rent risks a claim for arrears and, in some cases, losing the home.
- A settlement should be in writing, with dates and a way to enforce it.
What can be lost
- Your client's position: Whether Ana and her son are safe, housed and have a real route to repairs and compensation.
- The strength of the case: How well the evidence and the steps taken support Ana's rights.
- Your clinic's standing: Whether your advice is careful, honest and within what a clinic can do.