Structuring tool, not legal advice. Ratio helps you prepare — your notes stay private and a solicitor gives the advice.
Your landlord is withholding your deposit, ignoring repairs, or threatening eviction. We structure your correspondence, evidence, and the legal deadlines before you raise it with the deposit protection scheme, the council, or the court.
Or pick one:
Free and confidential. No legal knowledge needed.
The most common housing issues people bring to Ratio.
Composite cases drawn from common housing matters. Names changed; facts representative.
After an 18-month tenancy, her landlord withheld the full deposit citing ‘cleaning and wear’. No check-in inventory was ever provided.
OutcomeRatio structured her correspondence, photos, and the missing prescribed information into a matter file ready for a solicitor letter before action.
Persistent damp and a broken boiler reported repeatedly over winter; landlord insisted tenants were ‘overusing heating’.
OutcomeTimeline of reports, photos, and GP notes for the children’s chest infection compiled into a Housing Conditions protocol bundle.
Received a Section 21 notice three weeks after reporting a missing smoke alarm and formally complaining about mould.
OutcomeRatio flagged the retaliatory-eviction defence and organised her report timeline to send with a referral to Shelter.
1–2 hours at first appointment
15 minutes of preparation
The statutes, limitation periods, evidence, and pathway you need to know.
Deposit protection requirements
Landlord's repair obligations
Unlawful eviction and harassment
Retaliatory eviction protections
Send letter of complaint to landlord detailing issues
Formal letter stating intent to issue court proceedings
File claim form (N1) at County Court
Court sets timetable and allocates track
Case heard by District or Circuit Judge
Court issues judgment; enforcement if needed
Knowing the common defences lets you collect the right evidence early.
Landlords often claim the property was damaged to justify withholding the deposit
How to answerCheck-in/check-out inventory with dated photos showing property condition
Landlords may claim compliance with deposit protection rules
How to answerRequest deposit protection certificate and check dates against tenancy start
In eviction cases, landlords claim proper service of Section 21 or Section 8 notices
How to answerCheck notice format, prescribed information requirements, and service method
Talk to The Usher, or jump straight into structured intake.
Ratio asks plain-language questions in the right order. At the end you get a matter file with your facts, parties, timeline, evidence, and the legal framework — ready to take to a solicitor. It is not legal advice.
Or pick one:
Free and confidential. No legal knowledge needed.
Yes. Deposit-protection claims have a separate window under HA 2004 s.214 — up to six years for contract-based claims, and a tenant can bring a claim up to six years after the breach even where the tenancy has ended. Ratio maps your dates so you know which clocks are still running.
Both. The statutes differ slightly (Section 21 doesn’t apply the same way to social landlords), but Ratio identifies which framework applies based on your landlord type.
Yes. Ratio flags both as separate claims inside one matter file so a solicitor can see them in context. They often share evidence (photos, correspondence).
An oral tenancy is still a tenancy under common law. Ratio helps you document what was agreed, when rent was paid, and how the tenancy was created.
No — Ratio structures your information so you can make informed choices. Many users take the matter file to Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor for a first appointment.
Free to begin. No account required. Most clients complete their file in about 14 minutes.
Or pick one:
Free and confidential. No legal knowledge needed.
Safeguarding support is built in — if something urgent comes up we flag free help (Shelter, Samaritans, 999) before anything else.