A 2007 case from the Queen’s Bench Division (Carmel Southend Ltd v Strachan & Henshaw Limited) highlighted once again how two people’s idea of repairs can differ. In this case, the landlord and the outgoing tenant of a commercial property were in negotiations over some roof repairs.
Both agreed that the roof required repair and that it was the tenant’s responsibility under the lease, but the landlord wanted the tenant to replace the roof and the tenant argued that patch repairs were sufficient. Part of the landlord’s justification was that his new tenant had demanded that the roof be replaced before they would sign up to a lease that would have made the repair of the property their responsibility.
The outgoing tenant refused to do more than patch up the roof and so the landlord went in and did the overcladding himself. He then sought to recover the full cost from the outgoing tenant.
The court accepted that the lease required the tenant to carry out maintenance and repairs to keep the property “in good and substantial repair and condition”, taking into account the age, character and location of the property and ensuring it was fit for occupation by a reasonably-minded tenant.
However, the court went on to say that the patch repairs proposed by the tenant would leave the property in the condition required by the lease. Therefore, the landlord could not use the new tenant’s demands to justify requesting the existing tenant to repair the roof.
If you have any queries about leases or covenants within a lease either as a tenant or landlord, or are worried about your own repairing obligations, please call Katherine Cereghino on 0116 212 1114 or David Heys on 0116 212 1027 now.
A free half hour consultation and legal advice is available from Lawson West LLP Commercial and Business Law through the Law Society’s Lawyers for your Business scheme.
