Landlords Liable For Injury Caused By Tenant Repairs

Landlords will have to carry out checks on their properties after a landmark court case ruled they are liable for injury caused by work carried out by tenants.  The ruling has cast further doubt on the viability of the government’s tenant cashback scheme, in which tenants carry out minor repairs in return for a cash reward. In the case, repairs and maintenance contractor T Brown Group sued Hillingdon Council after one of its contractors hurt his ankle after falling from a stairway where tenants had removed the banisters for aesthetic reasons.  The judge found that Hillingdon was responsible for the contract worker’s injuries, which left him unable to work, even though it neither sanctioned nor carried out the work. The council now faces a potential six-figure pay out, with the exact figure to be determined at a later date. Read more on Inside Housing.