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Leaks Caused Significant Damage for Wandsworth Leaseholder

4 November 2025

Our Team Helped the Tenant Claim Over £14,000

Case Overview – London Council Failed to Act

When a London council failed to act on persistent leaks in our client’s leasehold flat, he turned to us for help. We took legal action, secured the necessary repairs, and recovered £14,200 in compensation, all on a no win, no fee basis.

About the Client

Our client, Mr X, is the long leaseholder of a ground-floor flat in a purpose-built block in Wandsworth, South London. He had been paying substantial service charges for maintenance, but for three years endured water ingress with no meaningful response from the freeholder, a London borough council.

The Issue: Leaks, Damage, and Distress

Multiple rooms in the flat were affected by leaks, including:

  • Kitchen, main bedroom, second bedroom, and hallway
  • Ceilings and walls were damaged, with visible stains and degraded plaster
  • Our client was embarrassed to have visitors and became uncomfortable living in his own home
  • He also had concerns about the potential health risks from long-term damp exposure

Despite repeated reports to the landlord, no repairs were undertaken — only an initial inspection by a plumber, with no follow-up.

Our Legal Involvement – How MJV Solicitors Helped

Once instructed, we acted promptly:

  • Reviewed the lease terms and repairing obligations of the freeholder
  • Collected strong supporting evidence: photographs, inspection reports, and correspondence
  • Sent a formal Letter Before Action under the Pre-Action Protocol
  • Entered into settlement negotiations and were ready to issue court proceedings
  • Ensured all agreed repairs were completed before concluding the matter

The Result – £14,200 Compensation Secured for Our Client and Repairs Completed

Following our intervention:

  • The landlord agreed to complete all repairs within 120 days
  • Our client received £14,200 in compensation for the inconvenience and distress caused
  • We acted under a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win, no fee), so our client paid nothing up front and only contributed to legal costs from his settlement

What Mr X Said

“I’d been ignored for years, and it was incredibly frustrating. MJV Law handled everything and got it sorted quickly. I finally feel like someone was on my side.”

Are You a Leaseholder Being Ignored?

Have you reported serious disrepair in your leasehold flat and the freeholder won’t act? You may be entitled to repairs and financial compensation. We can help, usually under a no win, no fee agreement.

Contact Our Leasehold Disrepair Solicitors for a Free Case Assessment

Conveyancing price guide

Introductory paragraph explaining price transparency and why the costs are displayed below.

Our Service

We will (depending on whether we are acting for the buyer or seller):

  1. Comply fully with the Law Society’s Protocol for Conveyancing transactions;
  2. Prepare or consider all initial documents including the contract, property information form, fixtures and fittings forms, legal title and any other such documents required by the individual circumstances of the transactions;
  3. Prepare or consider enquiries and prepare or consider the responses;
  4. Consider the search reports on a purchase;
  5. Prepare a report on purchase properties;
  6. Assist with the execution of the contract and transfer as well as any other documents that are required;
  7. Exchange and complete the transaction;
  8. Comply with all post completion requirements;
  9. Submit a Stamp Duty Land Tax return upon completion.

Purchasing

How much will it cost?

If you are purchasing a freehold property, our fees on a purchase are:

Purchase price

Our fee

VAT

Total

£0-£100,000

£600

£120

£720

£100,001 - £150,000

£650

£130

£780

£150,001 - £200,000

£700

£140

£840

£200,001 - £250,000

£750

£150

£900

£250,001 - £300,000

£800

£160

£960

£300,001 - £400,000

£850

£170

£1020

£400,001 - £500,000

£900

£180

£1080

£500,001 - £750,000

£1000

£200

£1200

Each transaction will also incur the additional charges set out below:

Additional charge and explanation

Our fee

VAT

Total

Bank transfer fee

£30.00

£6.00

£36.00

Independent ID verification (per person)

£5.00

£1.00

£6.00

Depending on the specific nature of your purchase, we may also charge you the following:

Charge

Our fee

VAT

Total

Purchase of a leasehold house

£100.00

£20.00

£120.00

Purchase of any other leasehold property

£150.00

£30.00

£180.00

Purchase of a shared ownership property

£250.00

£50.00

£300.00

Gifted deposit

£50.00

£10.00

£60.00

New build property

£250.00

£50.00

£300.00

The above costs are for our fees only and all are subject to the disbursements on your matter.

Disbursements on a purchase

Please note that, subject to the relevant rules in operation at the time of your purchase and the value and nature of your purchase (i.e. whether you are a first time buyer or if you are purchasing a buy to let property), you may be required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on your purchase. This is not classified as a disbursement and we will advise you on your tax liability, if any, upon receipt of your instructions or specific enquiry.

Please note that our search and service providers often increase charges at little notice and so the disbursements quoted below are subject to change. We update this website as soon as possible following any such change.

Typically, the following searches are required for a purchase (all charges are inclusive of any VAT or insurance premium tax):

Local Authority’s current search fee (if Blackpool, Wyre or Fylde)

£122.70 inc VAT

Drainage and Water search fee

£79.50 inc VAT

Environmental search

£71.40 inc VAT

Land Registry priority title search

£3.00 no VAT

Bankruptcy search - £2 per seller named on the Register of Title

£2.00 no VAT

Land charges search - £2 per seller named on the Register of Title

£2.00 no VAT

It may transpire through the course of your purchase that further searches are required, but this is not typically so and most of our purchase matters complete having undertaken only the searches listed above.

You will have to pay a fee to register your property.

Purchase price

Land Registry registration fee (no VAT)

£0 - £80,000

£20.00 no VAT

£80,001 - £100,000

£40.00 no VAT

£100,001 - £200,000

£100.00 no VAT

£200,001 - £500,000

£150.00 no VAT

£500,001 - £1,000,000

£295.00 no VAT

£1,000,000 and above

£500.00 no VAT

Selling

How much will it cost? – Sale

If you are purchasing a freehold property, our fees on a purchase are:

Purchase price

Our fee

VAT

Total

£0-£100,000

£600.00

£120.00

£720.00

£100,001 - £150,000

£650.00

£130.00

£780.00

£150,001 - £200,000

£700.00

£140.00

£840.00

£200,001 - £250,000

£750.00

£150.00

£900.00

£250,001 - £300,000

£800.00

£160.00

£960.00

£300,001 - £400,000

£850.00

£170.00

£1020.00

£400,001 - £500,000

£900.00

£180.00

£1080.00

£500,001 - £750,000

£1000.00

£200.00

£1200.00

Over £750,000

To be negotiated

To be applied

To be agreed

Each transaction will also incur the additional charges set out below:

Additional charge and explanation

Our fee

VAT

Total

Bank transfer fee

£30.00

£6.00

£36.00

Independent ID verification (per person)

£5.75

£1.15

£6.90

We are currently on the panels of Lloyds Banking Group (Halifax, Birmingham Midshires and Lloyds) and Barclays. If you are purchasing a property with any of these lenders, we would be delighted to assist you, but cannot act where the mortgage is provided by any other lender.

Depending on the specific nature of your purchase, we may also charge you the following:

Charge

Our fee

VAT

Total

Sale of a leasehold house

£100.00

£20.00

£120.00

Sale of any other leasehold property

£150.00

£30.00

£180.00

Sale of a shared ownership property

£250.00

£50.00

£300.00

The above costs are for our fees only and all are subject to the disbursements on your matter.

Re-mortgages

We charge £500 plus VAT for acting on a re-mortgage.

Our disbursements are limited to the Land Registry searches of £3 per document (there is no VAT on Land Registry charges) and typically the total cost of these is between £6-£15 depending on how many documents are registered and whether the property being re-mortgaged is freehold or leasehold. Most lenders normally permit the purchase of no search insurance rather than undertaking new searches and this costs, inclusive of insurance premium tax.

Call us today: 01253 858 231