The claimant was a statutory tenant occupying a flat at a registered fair rent of andpound;8 per week. He withheld the rent and was sued for possession. He counterclaimed for damages for breach of the implied covenant on the part of the landlord to repair. The judge awarded damages under three heads including for inconvenience and distress calculated on the basis of andpound;30 per week for three and a half years. The tenant was also awarded andpound;4,657 special damages for damage to her furniture, clothing and decorations and andpound;1,500 damages for injury to her health. The landlord appealed contending that, as the rent was only andpound;8 per week, the award was too high.
Held: The appeal failed. A weekly sum, even in excess of the rent payable for the premises, is a permissible way to calculate the monetary compensation to be awarded for distress and inconvenience. Ralph Gibson LJ cited Atkin LJ in Hewitt for the proposition that ‘the fact that the tenant was a statutory tenant made no difference to the assessment of damages of the proper award to be made’.
Judges:
Ralph Gibson LJ
Citations:
[1988] 21 HLR 6
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regus (UK) Ltd v Epcot Solutions Ltd CA 15-Apr-2008
The appellant had contracted to provide office accomodation to the defendant. The air conditioning did not work and there were other defects. The appellant now challenged a finding of liability and that its contract terms which were said to totally . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing, Damages
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.245597