Disrepair

Landlord’s repairing obligations

In the absence of any express contractual obligation or the intervention of statute, a landlord's obligations in relation to the fabric of premises demised are limited. At common law, the general rule is that in the absence of express stipulation or of a statutory duty, the landlord is under no liability to put the premises into repair at the commencement of the tenancy, nor normally will they be under any such liability during the continuance of the tenancy, whether the letting is from year to year or for a term of years. There are however a number of exceptions to this general principle which arise by statutory intervention or by reason of the circumstances of a particular case by virtue of the common law, see further Practice Note: Landlord and tenant implied repairing obligations and the doctrine of waste — Landlord's repairing obligations and Commentaries: Hill and Redman's Law of Landlord and Tenant: 2 Landlords' covenants implied at common law in particular circumstances [3444] and Hill and Redman's Law of Landlord and Tenant: 3 Landlords' covenants implied by statute [3461].

Those most relevant statutory obligations on