The Government has confirmed that the exemption of housing disrepair claims from the current fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime (which applies to virtually every other money claim brought in the County Court) will be extended from October 2025 for three more years until October 2028. 

There has not been a direct public announcement that I can find yet but the head of immigration and housing legal aid policy at the Ministry of Justice has written to members of the Housing Law Practitioners Association (HLPA) to confirm that “The Government will extend the exemption of housing cases from the Fixed Recoverable Costs FRC regime until October 2028, when we will review the exemption. This is due to the ongoing developments underway in the housing sector, including changes resulting from the Renters’ Rights Bill and Awaab’s Law. We will continue to monitor these developments and share further updates as more information becomes available."

With thanks to Matthew Waring at costs lawyers MRN for confirming. 

What are FRC? 

The CPR (the County Court rules) limit the costs that can be recovered in almost every type of money claim. There are tables in the court rules that fix the amount payable by a losing party depending on the stage the case is settled and the amount of the claim. These came into force in October 2023 and housing disrepair claims were exempted initially until October 2025. For housing disrepair claims, therefore, solicitors acting for tenants, usually on conditional fee agreements, can seek to recover all of their costs without any fixed amounts applying. If the FRC regime had, from October 25, covered housing disrepair claims as well, it was highly likely to have significantly reduced the volume of claims being brought and even meant some law firms would have stopped funding this type of work. 

The high volume of disrepair claims, expected to increase further by Awaab's law breach of contract claims from October 2025 in any event, and the very many substantial disputes about costs are, as a result of this FRC exemption, likely to continue unabated for another three years yet. 

For more information

For more information on fixed recoverable costs, please contact me.