Matania v National Provincial Bank Ltd: ChD 1935

The plaintiff, a professor of singing, took a lease of one second floor of a building to carrying on his profession on the demised premises. After taking possession he began giving singing lessons. The landlord then, knowing of his use of the premises, let the first floor of the building to a different tenant authorised that new tenant in the lease, to make structural alterations, the effect which was to make it impossible for the plaintiff to carry on his profession for a period of three months.
Held: In consenting to the works on the first floor the landlord had breached the covenant for quiet enjoyment under the lease of the second floor. Charles J said: ‘The alterations in the present case continued from March to July, and during that time . . the premises were rendered uninhabitable and the physical enjoyment of those premises was completely destroyed. I find that under these circumstances the landlords have been guilty of a breach of the covenant for quiet enjoyment.’

Charles J
[1935] All ER Rep 923
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal fromMatania v National Provincial Bank Ltd CA 1936
The plaintiff was a professor of singing who had taken a lease of the second floor of a building for the purpose of carrying on his profession on the demised premises. After he had gone into possession and begun to give singing lessons, the landlord . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Landlord and Tenant

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.517378