Grand –v- Gill
[2011] EWCA Civ 554
s.11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 provides:
11. Repairing obligations in short leases
(1) In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor –
(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes)
Prior to the case of Grand v Gill there was contradictory case law as to whether the plaster in a property represented "the structure and exterior" for the purposes of section 11.
In a busy year for disrepair cases, Mr Recorder Thayne Forbes QC, in the case of Irvine –v- Moran (1992) 24 HLR 1, stated:
"... I have come to the view that the structure of the dwellinghouse consists of those elements of the overall dwellinghouse which give its essential appearance, stability and shape. The expression does not extend to the many and various ways in which the dwellinghouse will be fitted out, equipped, decorated and generally made to be habitable.
... It seems to me that internal wall plaster is more in the nature of a decorative finish and is not part of the essential material elements which go to make up the structure of the dwellinghouse."
The opposite opinion was expressed by the then Recorder Sedley (now Sedley LJ(ret'd)) in Hussein –v- Mehlman (1992) 2 EGLR 87 when he held that plaster was indeed part of the structure and exterior of the property.
Interestingly, Hussein was not referred to in Grand, which states that Irvine is the only decision on the point.
However, not to worry, as 19 years later, this vexed issue has now been determined by the Court of Appeal in Grand –v- Gill (supra) in which Rimer LJ said this:
“For myself, whilst I would accept and adopt Mr Recorder Thayne Forbes's observations as to the meaning of the 'the structure ... of the dwellinghouse’ as providing for present purposes, as Neuberger LJ put it, a good working definition, I am respectfully unconvinced by his holding that the plaster finish to an internal wall or ceiling is to be regarded as in the nature of a decorative finish rather than as forming part of the 'structure'. In the days when lath plaster ceiling and internal partition walls were more common than now, the plaster was, I should have thought, an essential part of the creation and shaping of the ceiling or partition wall, which serve to give a dwellinghouse its essential appearance and shape. I would also regard plaster work generally, including that applied to external walls, as being ordinarily in the nature of a smooth constructional finish to walls and ceilings, to which the decoration can then be applied, rather than a decorative finish in itself. I would therefore hold that it is part of the ‘structure’.”
Lloyd LJ and Thomas LJ agreed with Rimer LJ, and it was thus the unanimous decision of the court that “plaster is structure”.
This decision will no doubt be welcomed by those representing tenants, as landlords will now definitely be obliged to remedy damage caused to plaster by damp and associated mould.
© Nicola Phillipson
If you have any questions or queries on disrepair or any other housing relating matters, please do not hesitate to contact Nicola Phillipson, or any other member of Zenith Chambers’ Housing Team.
