who is responsible for works completed by tenants?
A recent case has rung alarm
bells regarding tenants carrying out their own works to
properties. In Hannon v Hillingdon Homes the tenant
had, many years ago, removed the bannister and handrail to the
internal staircase. In 2008, a workman employed by one
of the council's contractors fell from the staircase and was
injured. The council was found liable under The Defective
Premises Act 1972, despite initially arguing that the stairs
were so obviously dangerous any reasonable workman would have
refused to work in the building. The council also
contended:
- the bannisters and handrail
were not part of the structure of the property;
- it had not been under any
duty to repair them because the tenant had removed them;
and
- it had no notice of the
defect.
The court disagreed. It said
the bannister was part of the structure and there was an obligation
to repair it. In addition, the court found there
had been sufficient visits to the property by the council so that
it knew, or ought to have known, about the defect.
what this means for social landlords
Are you sufficiently aware of the
condition of your properties? It is vital that
your staff who visit your properties are routinely
looking for repairs issues. Would your teams have spotted
there was no handrail on the stairs? If they had, what
would/should they have done about it? It is also interesting
to note the timescale of the case. The injury happened in
February 2008 and the claim was started in July 2010. Would
your record keeping have been up to scrutiny more than two years
after the event? The court's decision comes in July 2012
so the legal costs in this case are likely to have
been considerable.
