A COUNCIL today warned residents about "unscrupulous" door-to-door solicitors who claim they can easily win cash in court but end up tying people to a loan.

Hyndburn Council has had to defend 60 claims for repairs to homes in the last 18 months and won 40 of the cases.

Officers said solicitors were targeting tenants looking for outstanding repairs and promising to get them done on a no-win-no-fee basis.

Council leader Ian Ormerod said the situation was "extremely serious."

He said: "They are going round targeting our estates, knocking on doors asking if people have a repair that's outstanding, and saying they can get it done.

"We have tried to reassure residents that their best end to this is to go to the landlord and ask for the repair to be done. If it's a repair that we fight off then the tenant has to carry that bill."

Rhona Courtney, housing operations manager, said the council had had to defend more than 60 claims in the last 18 months, and a report to the council's cabinet identified a £6.4 million gap between resources for repairs over the next 10 years and potential needs.

She said: "We have been vigorously defending these claims.

"There are a number of unscrupulous solicitors working on a commission basis, no-win-no-fee. They offer to survey people's houses and find any items of disrepair they can, no matter how trivial.

"If they are successful the solicitor receives quite a hefty sum of money."

But residents should exercise caution before entering into an agreement with a solicitor or they could end up footing the bill for the action, she said.

Miss Courtney added: "The only snag is a number of these firms don't fully explain what they are doing. Customers are encouraged to take out a loan agreement. In effect the tenant signs to underwrite the cost and that's not made clear to tenants.

"In the past 18 months we have had more than 60, from having none, and this will grow over time.

"Some of the larger councils are spending millions every year just defending claims."

The council had had to pay out on less than a third of the claims defended so far, she said.

"We have put a lot of resources into trying to meet these claims. You have to carry out repairs in an unplanned way.

"Some authorities have found it's distorted their maintenance planning. It can cause a lot of disruption. If you have got an investment gap and you know about it there could be more scope for solicitors, however unscrupulous."