Jillians v Red Kite Community Housing (2024)

Jillians v Red Kite Community Housing Oxford County Court, 24 September 2024

Ms Jillians was an assured tenant under a social housing tenancy granted by Red Kite. The property was a 1970s three bedroom semi-detached house. There were eight children living at the property at the start of the tenancy in 2001, in 2018 there were seven children living there and at the time Ms Jillians sent her letter of claim there were six children living at the property.

Ms Jillians claimed there had been longstanding issues with mould in the rooms at the front of the house, the kitchen and the bathroom, she had repeatedly notified Red Kite of the issue of damp and mould at the property and other defects at the property including a faulty electric shower, faulty electrical socket, defective rear door and leaning/damaged fencing. Ms Jillians made a claim for disrepair and unfitness for human habitation under sections 9A and 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

Red Kite denied that the property was unfit for human habitation and claimed that the tenant had failed to occupy the property in a ‘tenant like manner’ by failing to permit Red Kite or its contractors access to the property and failing to address the condensation caused by the tenant’s use and overcrowding of the property. Red Kite counterclaimed, seeking damages of £3,216.84 for the tenant’s alleged breach of the tenancy.