Landlord Responsibilities under the Law of Negligence

Landlord Responsibilities under the Law of Negligence

Everyone has a legal duty to ensure that their acts or omissions do not cause injury or damage to third parties to whom they owe a duty of care. You owe a duty of care to anyone whom it is reasonably foreseeable could be injured by your actions or by your failure to act. Landlords therefor owe a duty of care to their tenants, anyone who enters onto their property with their explicit or implicit permission, such as tenants or guests of tenants, and even to trespassers. The obligation also extends to tradesmen on the premises.

Where the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires you to do all that is "reasonably practicable", the common law of negligence applies a slighly different test. It requires you to do what is "reasonable" to keep people safe from the consequences of your acts of omissions.

The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 translates the common law of negligence as it applies to premises into statutory obligations. The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 sets out the duty of care to those on your premises with permission (express or implied) and the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 extends the obligation - to a slighly lesser extent - to trespassers.

An occupier of premises has the duty to do all that is reasonable to ensure that all visitors to the premises will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purpose for which they are invited or permitted to be there. The duty applies to tenants, their guests, tradesmen, visitors and all those legitimately on the premises. The obligation is to make the visitor safe, not the premises, the difference being a fine but important distinction.

The Acts define "Occupier" by reference to control and it is possible that more than one person is the Occupier - for example, in different parts of the premises or for different purposes. A landlord with a tenant can still be an occupier for this purpose.

A failure to comply with the Acts is not a criminal offence but it can lead to a cause of action by any individual who is injured or who suffers financial damage.