No General Duty on Landlord to Repair Structure
The plaintiff was a tenant of an apartment in a block. He appealed a ruling that there was no term implied into his lease imposing on the landlord a duty to maintain the structure of the building. The lease contained service charge provisions, and permission for the landlord to enter to carry out repairs to the structure, but no express duty to do so save from the proceeds of an insurance claim.
Held: The tenant’s appeal failed. In a long lease at a low rent, with provisions for maintenance, there was no implied duty upon the landlord to maintain the structures which had been let.
Judges:
Butler-Sloss LJ, Hutchison LJ, Vinelott LJ
Citations:
Times 22-Dec-1997, Gazette 21-Jan-1998, [1997] EWCA Civ 3018
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Westminster (Duke of) and others v Guild CA 30-Mar-1983
The landlord brought an action for non-payment of rent. The tenant sought to set off a failure by the landlord to repair the building of which his flat was part and which failure had caused him loss. The landlord said that it had no express duty to . .
Decided on Special Facts – Barrett v Lounova (1982) Ltd CA 1990
In a tenancy agreement for one year and thereafter from month to month, the tenant covenanted to do all the inside repairs and to leave the inside in good repair, order and condition at the expiry of the tenancy.
Held: The decision of the . .
Cited – Hafton Properties Ltd v Camp and Another 1994
A reciprocal obligation may arise and fall on a landlord to repair the structure of a building from the principle that a landlord who takes the benefit of a covenant, for example to pay a specified sum for the cleaning of the demised premises, is . .
Cited – Sleafer v Lambeth Borough Council CA 1959
The plaintiff held a weekly residential tenancy of the defendant local authority. The front door was defective and jammed. The tenancy agreement contained a covenant by the tenant to keep the flat in good and tenantable repair. When the tenant . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.77637