Can landlords be held liable for defects in a property created by tenant damage or alterations? Sian Evans analyses a recent High Court ruling.
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In the High Court case of Hannon v Hillingdon Homes, Patrick Hannon was employed by a contractor of Hillingdon Homes Limited to undertake maintenance work at Hillingdon’s properties.
Whilst attending a property to repair a boiler, he suffered a serious injury to his ankle when he fell from a staircase which was not secured by a banister. The tenant had removed the banister some 20 years earlier for aesthetic reasons.
Although representatives of Hillingdon had attended the property over the years, the banister remained absent. There had been various attendances at the property by workmen who had undertaken repairs or maintenance and there had been no other injuries due to the missing banister.
Hillingdon were found to be liable for the injury to Mr Hannon, even though it was the tenant of the property who had removed the banister. Further, Mr Hannon was not found to be contributory negligent in any way.
Consequences
It is evident from the above decision that landlords can and will be made liable for any defects in the property as a result of tenant damage or alterations.
The government’s tenant cash back scheme, allowing tenants to undertake minor works to their properties for a cash incentive, is being piloted at the moment. Although the intention is that tenants should only carry out minor works to their property and should not carry out any repairs which could affect the structure of the building, the onus appears to be on the landlord to ensure that properties are a safe working environment for persons attending.
What should landlords do?
Landlords should undertake checks of any work carried out by tenants and in any event, should conduct inspections as often as practicable to monitor the state of their properties.
Policies should detail procedures for contractors attending properties to undertake works and should outline in what circumstances a property is/is not considered to be a safe working environment. Contractors should be aware of when they should refuse to conduct works.
Sian Evans is a partner at Weightmans. She can be contacted by email.
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