The premises consisted of two flats in a single block, which had previously been separately let. They were on the same floor but not next to each other. The tenant had taken these two flats ‘as a home for himself and some relatives . . his father, mother and a married sister’. He had made no structural alterations The court was asked whether the two self-contained flats let together could constitute ‘a separate dwelling-house’.
Held: Two apartments in a building may constitute one dwelling-house if they are let as one and occupied as one.
Somervell LJ said: ‘In my opinion if the facts justify such a finding, two flats or, indeed, so far as I can see, two houses, could be let as a separate dwelling-house within the meaning of the definition. What happened here was that the tenant wished to accommodate in his home these relatives to whom I have referred, and he wanted more accommodation than could be found or conveniently found in one flat. He therefore took the two flats and made those two flats his home. [Counsel] suggested at one time that there might be some absurdity, if, say, a man took under a single lease (which does not seem very probable) two flats in widely separated districts; but that case can be dealt with when it arises.’
Somervell LJ
[1949] 1 KB 511, [1949] All ER 402
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Sharif v The London Borough of Camden SC 20-Feb-2013
The council appealed against a decision that having found Ms Sharif to be homeless, they had a duty also to house her sick father and sister as family members in one accomodation unit.
Held: The Council’s appeal succeeded (Lord Kerr . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing
Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.245802