By Jonathan Gray, Investment Analyst at Legal Futures Associate AxiaFunder [1]
Social housing provides an essential safety net for households across the United Kingdom. However, it frequently fails to satisfy statutory habitability standards.
Speaking to BBC News on 29 May 2025, following a surge in tenant grievances, Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway identified a structural “imbalance of power” in tenant-landlord relations, warning that unaddressed housing conditions risk escalating “simmering anger” into broader social disquiet.
In part consequence, third-party litigation funding—facilitated by specialist UK law firms and rigorous claims management—has become a critical source of tenant redress.
Understanding the scope of the problem
The physiological impact of housing disrepair can be severe. The 2020 death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, caused by prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his family’s social home, highlighted the fatal consequences of these regulatory failures. This tragedy precipitated the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (commonly known as ‘Awaab’s Law’), which establishes mandatory timelines for landlords to remediate structural hazards. Yet, legislation requires enforcement. Because disenfranchised tenants may lack the capital to litigate, a persistent justice gap can remain, with tenants’ concerns therefore going unaddressed.
How litigation funding can have a positive impact
Portfolio litigation funding can help rectify this legal asymmetry. By financing disbursements and providing working capital, law firms supported by third party funders can enable tenants to have their homes fixed more quickly and receive compensation.
A better approach to litigation funding
AxiaFunder is a UK-based, FCA-regulated platform providing bespoke portfolio financing. We have deployed over £30 million across diverse litigation classes. Specifically, our portfolio financing has allocated over £28 million to support over 11,000 claims, with results that include helping 4,000+ tenants to date achieve access to justice through trusted law firm partners.
Funding law firms that engage on HDR claims is not without risk. Claims can fail due to lost contact with clients or disappointing surveyor reports. Funded law firms can have cash flow difficulties and become insolvent. Thankfully, law firms’ revenue from HDR claims enables them to accept funding from AxiaFunder on terms consistent with targeted annualised returns for investors of approximately 20%. This return is high enough to attract the capital needed to support these claims and to enable access to justice for some of the most vulnerable members of society.
AxiaFunder is available to connect with any claimants, law firms or investors interested to discuss HDR claims.
Website: https://www.axiafunder.com/ [2] Email: info@axiafunder.com Telephone: +44 20 4653 9971