The defendant held property under a three-year lease with a covenant to keep the premises in tenantable repair. He abandoned it without notice after nine months. He now defended an action for the subsequent rent, saying that the house had become uninhabitable having no adequate drainage.
Held: The jury was asked whether the sewage could reasonably have been pumped away by the defendant without need of a sewer. Bayley B directed them that: ‘In any case, the tenant is bound to pay rent during the time for which he has contracted, unless he satisfies the jury that, under the circumstances, he was justified in quitting. I think however that in point of law he will be freed from his obligation to reside on the premises, if he makes out, to the satisfaction of the jury, that the premises were noxious and unwholesome to reside in, and that this state arose from no default or neglect of his own, but from something over which he had no control, or none, except at an extravagant and unreasonable expense. Thus, he could not be bound to make a sewer; and if nothing else could keep the house wholesome, I think he was justified in quitting. The expense of making a sewer may be heavy; but if the Plaintiff would not make it, he cannot, I think, call upon his tenant to continue in a house which requires it.’ The issue of fact, on which
Judges:
Bayley B
Citations:
(1831) 1 M and Rob 112
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Hussain v Mehlman CC 5-Mar-1992
(County Court) The defendant landlord granted the plaintiff a three year assured shorthold tenancy. He now appealed a finding that he was in breach of an implied covenant to maintain the space heating, and otherwise. The tenant had returned the . .
Cited – Smith v Marrable, Knt ExP 14-Jan-1843
Premises were let furnished with the tenant paying a weekly rent of eight guineas. The tenant complained that the premises were unfit, being infested with bugs, and left. The landlord sued for his rent.
Held: As an exception to the general . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.258837