The plaintiff sought damages against the defendant after he was severely injured by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes whilst a tenant of the defendant. The defendant sought to strike out the claim, saying that the plaintiff had himself maintained the fire which caused the injury. Held: The strike out application was misconceived and failed. Judges: Simon … Continue reading Sykes v Harry: CA 14 Oct 1998
This appeal concerns whether approved inspectors owe a duty under s. 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 in the performance of their statutory function under Part II of the Building Act 1984, which involves inspection and certification in order to ensure compliance with building regulations. Judges: Lewison, Floyd , Hamblen LJJ Citations: [2019] EWCA … Continue reading Herons Court, The Lessees and Management Company of v Heronslea Ltd and Others: CA 14 Aug 2019
The appellant landlords appealed against the award of damages to their former tenants under the 1985 and 1972 Acts. The judge had proceeded to hear the case in their absence. Held: The court considered whether the appellants should instead have applied to have the judgments set aside. Judges: Moore-Bick, Gross LJJ Citations: [2011] EWCA Civ … Continue reading Williams and Another v Hinton and Another: CA 14 Oct 2011
Land-owner’s Possible Duty to Trespassers The plaintiff, a child had gone through a fence onto the railway line, and been badly injured. The Board knew of the broken fence, but argued that they owed no duty to a trespasser. Held: Whilst a land-owner owes no general duty of care to a trespasser, the creation by … Continue reading British Railways Board v Herrington: HL 16 Feb 1972
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The tenant had been injured when a glass panel in a door had broken when she pushed it and it had broken. Annealed glass of this sort was known since 1963. The Housing Association landlords appealed a finding that it was liable to repair premises under the 1972 Act. Held: The appeal succeeded. The Act … Continue reading Alker v Collingwood Housing Association: CA 7 Feb 2007
The Council appealed against a finding of liability to the plaintiff tenant who slipped and fell in the back garden of the tenanted house. Judges: Neill, Ralph Gibson LJJ Citations: [1991] EWCA Civ 2, [1992] QB 134, [1992] 1 All ER 749, (1991) 23 HLR 586, [1991] 45 EG 155, [1991] 3 WLR 968, [1991] … Continue reading McAuley v Bristol City Council: CA 25 Jun 1991
The tenant appealed dismissal of his claim for damages. He had suffered serious injury after inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from a defective gas fire. The fire had not been maintained and a fall of soot eventually prevented the escape of fumes. Held: The appeal succeeded, and the defendant was 80% liable for the injury. Where … Continue reading Sykes v Harry and Trustee of Estate of Harry, a Bankrupt: CA 1 Feb 2001
The claimants were tenants who sought damages from their local authority landlords, for failing to remedy defects such as mould, mildew, and condensation in the dwellings let to them. The defects were a result of the design of the building. They asked the court to revisit the law settled in the Quick case in the … Continue reading Lee v Leeds City Council; Ratcliffe and Others v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council: CA 21 Jan 2002
The claimant tenant appealed against rejection of her claim for damages under the 1972 Act. Jay J [2016] EWHC 320 (QB) Bailii Defective Premises Act 1972 4,
The tenant had sought an order against the council landlord for failure to repair her dwelling. The defendant appealed refusal of leave to amend the pleadings in anticipation of the trial, now due to start on the following day.
Held: Leave was . .
The county court judge had allowed damages to the claimant, who owned a property which suffered from persistent water penetration, general damages for breach of the 1972 Act, the sum of andpound;1,500 a year for the four years during which the problems lasted, making a total of andpound;6,000 in all. The judge made it clear … Continue reading Bayoumi v Protim Services Limited: CA 6 Nov 1996
Damages awarded against a surveyor for a negligent survey which had missed certain defects, were not to be reduced for repairs later carried out by the landlord at his own expense. The trial judge decided to award damages reflecting the difference between the value of the property without the defects and its value with them … Continue reading Gardner v Marsh and Parsons (a Firm), Dyson: CA 2 Dec 1996
The claimants appealed rejection of their claim as out of time under the Act. The property was constructed in 1994, but came to suffer from damp. They were advised of the defect and possible action in 1995, but failed to begin proceedings until 2001. The claimant said the limitation period began when remedial works failed. … Continue reading Alderson, Alderson v Beetham Organisation Limited: CA 2 Apr 2003
Judges: Pill, Dyson, Longmore LJJ Citations: [2009] EWCA Civ 1146 Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Appeal from – Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd and Another TCC 13-Mar-2009 . . Leave – Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd CA 15-Jun-2009 Renewed application for leave to appeal. . … Continue reading Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd: CA 20 Oct 2009
Renewed application for leave to appeal. Judges: Waller, Carnwath LJJ Citations: [2009] EWCA Civ 770 Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Appeal from – Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd and Another TCC 13-Mar-2009 . . Cited by: Leave – Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd CA 20-Oct-2009 … Continue reading Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd: CA 15 Jun 2009
Judges: Toulmin QC HHJ Citations: [2009] EWHC 483 (TCC), 124 Con LR 1, [2009] CILL 2697 Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Appeal from – Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd CA 15-Jun-2009 Renewed application for leave to appeal. . .Appeal from – Bole and Another v … Continue reading Bole and Another v Huntsbuild Ltd and Another: TCC 13 Mar 2009
The authority had obtained a possession order from its secure tenant but then agreed to accept payments toward the arrears. The tenant applied for and was granted a declaration that she had on that agreement acquired a new tenancy. The authority appealed. Held: The agreement had created a new tenancy even after a final possession … Continue reading Burrows v Brent London Borough Council: HL 31 Oct 1996
Judges: His Honour Peter Coulson Q.C. Citations: [2005] EWHC 2807 (TCC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – McLoughlin v Jones; McLoughlin v Grovers (a Firm) CA 2002 In deciding whether a duty of care is established the court must go to the ‘battery of tests which the … Continue reading Bella Casa Ltd v Vinestone Ltd and others: TCC 9 Dec 2005
The defendants had been employed to manage a building project which it was said went wrong. The court had to consider several different factual claims. Citations: [2005] EWHC 2315 (TCC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – National Justice Compania Naviera S A v Prudential Assurance Company Ltd … Continue reading Catlin Estates Ltd and Another v Carter Jonas (A Firm): TCC 31 Oct 2005
The Defendant builders constructed a steel building to be used as, inter alia. a dairy. The original owners sold it to the appellants. A fire spread from the storage area to the rest of the dairy and caused much damage. The Builders, had they followed good building practice and the requirements of the Building Regulations, … Continue reading Bellefield Computer Services Limited, Unigate Properties Limited; Unigate Dairies Limited; Unigate (Uk) Limited; Unigate Dairies (Western) Limited v E Turner and Sons Limited: Admn 28 Jan 2000
Appeal: i) Whether a landlord can be liable under section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 by reason of a defect which would have been discovered if the landlord had implemented a system of regular inspection. HHJ Owen held that a landlord had no duty to inspect; ii) If there was a duty to … Continue reading Rogerson v Bolsover District Council: CA 26 Feb 2019
The plaintiff owned a 199 year lease of premises and sought compensation under the Act damp from the cellar. The defence said the development had not included work done on the cellar and therefore section 1 did not apply. Held: The defence failed. If the owner of a plot of land instructs a builder to … Continue reading Andrews v Schooling: CA 1991
The court considered which of several layers of landlord was ultimately responsible in law for damages to an occupant under the 1972 Act. Judges: McFalane, Lewison, McCombe LJJ Citations: [2017] EWCA Civ 439 Links: Bailii Statutes: Defective Premises Act 1972 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Personal Injury, Landlord and Tenant Updated: 27 March 2022; Ref: scu.588321
Decomposed Snail in Ginger Beer Bottle – Liability The appellant drank from a bottle of ginger beer manufactured by the defendant. She suffered injury when she found a half decomposed snail in the liquid. The glass was opaque and the snail could not be seen. The drink had been bought for her by a friend, … Continue reading Donoghue (or M’Alister) v Stevenson: HL 26 May 1932
Anns v Merton Overruled The claimant appellant was a house owner. He had bought the house from its builders. Those builders had employed civil engineers to design the foundations. That design was negligent. They had submitted the plans to the defendant Council for approval under the building bye-laws. The Council approved them. The Council was … Continue reading Murphy v Brentwood District Council: HL 26 Jul 1990
Damages on Construction not as Agreed The appellant had contracted to build a swimming pool for the respondent, but, after agreeing to alter the specification to construct it to a certain depth, in fact built it to the original lesser depth, Damages had been awarded to the house owner against a builder at the cost … Continue reading Ruxley Electronics and Construction Ltd v Forsyth: HL 29 Jun 1995
The claimants sought damages after the loss of business when the defendants’ premises were the source of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The organism had escaped from their premises via a broken drain. Held: Much of the damage claimed was for economic loss. The number of people who would be brought within the … Continue reading D Pride and Partners (A Firm) and Others v Institute for Animal Health and Others: QBD 31 Mar 2009
The pursuer sought damages after her husband’s death from lung cancer. She said that the defenders were negligent in having continued to sell him cigarettes knowing that they would cause this. Held: The action failed. The plaintiff had not proved that the smoking of cigarettes was the cause of the lung cancer, and it was … Continue reading McTear v Imperial Tobacco Ltd: OHCS 31 May 2005
The defendants’ workmen damaged an electric cable belonging to the electricity board, cutting off several factories, including the plaintiff’s. The defendant sought to have the claim struck out. Held: The part of the claim arising from physical damage was not struck out, but that for economic loss was. Economic loss ought not to be put … Continue reading SCM (United Kingdom) Ltd v W J Whittall and Son Ltd: CA 1970
A boy aged 9 was injured on a railway line. He had been warned not to go onto the land and had found his way through a defective fence. He claimed in negligence. The fence had been breached by children with some frequency for many years before the accident. When defects were observed by the … Continue reading Edwards v Railway Executive: HL 1952
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