A female tenant endured six years of misery caused by cockroaches, described as a quite appalling infestation for which she was in no way responsible.
Held: The court was not satisfied that the dismissal of the tenant’s claim was the right result which the law ought to reach and that the tenant ought to have some compensation for the misery she had suffered because of the cockroaches. Nevertheless neither the tenant nor her family had any civil remedy for the injuries to their health or to their property which they have had to endure through living in unfit conditions: ‘It may be that the Public Health Act, or its successor, provides some means for securing that these matters are put right promptly, but it does not seem to have worked in this case. We are told that the Law Commission has been considering such a problem. It is to be hoped that they will recommend a solution. What is more, it is to be hoped that if they do, Parliament will carry it out. Judges and lawyers are sometimes reproached when the law does not produce the right result. There are occasions when the reproach should be directed elsewhere.’
Judges:
Staughton LJ
Citations:
[1995] 27 HLR 299
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Issa (Suing By her Next Friend and Father Issa) and Issa (Suing By her Next Friend and Father Issa) v Mayor and Burgesses of London Borough of Hackney CA 19-Nov-1996
A Local Authority found guilty of a statutory nuisance is not thereby liable for a civil damages suit. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing
Updated: 12 December 2022; Ref: scu.221533
