Well if property law is “your thing” there’s recently been a helpful decision on this. If you’re doing an essay question which demands that you consider tenants’ liability under their leases to pay for repairs then it’s going to be well worth knowing about City of London v Leaseholders of Great Arthur House.

In this case the freeholder proposed to carry out extensive remedial works to resolve problems, some of which went back to the original construction of the building, which now contains 120 flats on long leases. The cost of the proposed works per leasehold premises were £72,000. The leases contained a provision that tenants would pay for the cost of “specified repairs” but this did not include structural repairs. The tenants must have been hugely relieved when the Court of Appeal held that the “specified repairs” obligation did not extend to the works planned. The court helpfully distinguished repairs which are always needed over time, arising from the ordinary use of a building and structural defects arising from the design of the building.

The tenants were liable for repairs but not the work to remedy the structural defects and – here’s the very interesting point – where the structural remedial work would also carry out a repair the tenants were not obliged to contribute to the cost of that repair.

This is a neat and useful case – always good to find one!