The plaintiff held a weekly residential tenancy of the defendant local authority. The front door was defective and jammed. The tenancy agreement contained a covenant by the tenant to keep the flat in good and tenantable repair. When the tenant pulled at the door it came off causing him injury as he fell. He claimed damages for personal injuries.
Held: The claim failed. There is no implied duty to repair a property on landlord, and no such implication could be based on the obligations on the part of the Lessee under a clause permitting the Lessor to view the property and to effect work necessary for upholding the building. Wilmer LJ observed: ‘I think there is much to be said for the view that Clause II of the Agreement, which requires a tenant to reside in the dwelling house, does by implication require the landlords to do such repairs as may make it possible for the tenant to carry out that obligation. At least it seems to me that that is a possible view.’
Judges:
Wilmer LJ
Citations:
[1959] 3 All ER 378, [1960] 1 QB 43
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Followed – Tennant Radiant Heat Ltd v Warrington Development Corporation 1988
A property comprised a large building let on fully repairing leases of 22 units. The many rain outlets were allowed to become blocked, and water accumulated above one unit before that part of the roof collapsed. The landlord appealed a finding that . .
Cited – Barrett v Lounova (1982) Ltd CA 1990
In a tenancy agreement for one year and thereafter from month to month, the tenant covenanted to do all the inside repairs and to leave the inside in good repair, order and condition at the expiry of the tenancy.
Held: The decision of the . .
Cited – Adami v Lincoln Grange Management Limited CA 17-Dec-1997
No General Duty on Landlord to Repair Structure
The plaintiff was a tenant of an apartment in a block. He appealed a ruling that there was no term implied into his lease imposing on the landlord a duty to maintain the structure of the building. The lease contained service charge provisions, and . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant, Personal Injury
Updated: 10 June 2022; Ref: scu.194603