Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies terms into tenancies with a fixed term of less than seven years that the landlord will keep in repair and maintain the structure, certain utility supplies, hot water and heating of the building. See the section titled "Landlords' Responsibilities for Repair and Maintenance" earlier for more detail.

Defective Premises Act 1972

Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 places a duty of care on the landlord in relation to any person who might be affected by a defect, 'to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that they are reasonably safe from personal injury or from damage to their property caused by a relevant defect'.

Section 4 is civil redress. A defect is relevant if the landlord knew about it or should have known about it - the fact that a defect has not been reported or there has been a failure to inspect (e.g. rotten floorboards or joists) does not remove liability. For this reason, landlords (or their agents) must carry out regular checks on the property and are suitably insured.

In this case, the premises include the whole of the letting - i.e. including gardens, patios, walls, etc. - and can be applied to the communal areas of estates or multi-occupancy buildings, including lifts, rubbish chutes, stairs and corridors. Section 4 provides tenants or other affected persons with the right to seek compensation for personal injury or damage to property.

Occupiers' Duty of Care

Section 2 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 provides that the occupier of a property has a duty of care to all visitors who come onto their premises. The Act applies to landlords where they are the legal occupier of some parts of their rented stock, e.g. shared-use areas such as lifts, staircases and entrance lobbies – in some cases, even grounds and car parks.

The duty means taking such care as would be reasonable in all circumstances to see that the visitor is reasonably safe in using the premises for its purpose. The landlord is liable for injury caused to a visitor due to defects in the part of the building occupied by the landlord.

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