Breach of repair and maintenance obligations in commercial leases: Landlords' obligations defined

Where a lease obliges the landlord to maintain or repair a property, or it gives them the right to enter a property to carry out maintenance or repairs, the landlord may find itself liable in respect of injuries suffered by third parties under the 1972 Act.

The landlord's duty is to take "such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances" to ensure that the tenant, or anybody else who may be affected, is reasonably safe from personal injury or damage to property due to a "relevant defect" (Section 4(1), DPA 1972).

Recent cases have clarified the extent to which the landlord is liable to third parties. 

In Hannon v Hillingdon Homes [2012], the High Court found a landlord liable to an injured third party who fell due to the absence of a bannister which had been removed by the tenant. 

The court found that a bannister is part of the structure for the purposes of the 1972 Act. The removal of the bannister constituted an issue that needed repairing, as opposed to a need to make it safe.

Sternbaum v Dhesi [2016] found that the landlord cannot be liable for a part of the structure that could be considered unsafe if that particular hazard was in the same state when the tenancy was agreed. 

In this case, a steep staircase with no bannister or handrail was cited as the cause of the claimant's injury. The court ruled in favour of the landlord, despite the fact that there were indications a bannister may have been in place at some point, but not during that tenancy.

Which brings us to the Court of Appeal's decision in June of this year. In Dodd v Raebarn Estates Ltd and others [2017] the court ruled that a freeholder was not liable when a visitor to an undertenant's flat suffered fatal head injuries after falling down a flight of stairs. The Head Lessee had built the staircase in breach of building regulations – it was arguably unsafe but did not constitute disrepair. 

The landlord's right to enter can only exist if an obligation to repair is established. As this was not present, neither was his duty of care to the tenant's visitor, the third party.

Landlords must be aware that they have obligations to repair and maintain both in their lease and under statutes. 

These cases have shown that the definition of repair and the extent of that requirement differs under certain circumstances. 

Indeed, the best advice is to make sure your building and structure are safe and well maintained.

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