Landlord and tenant

Local authority landlord - failure to prevent damp and mould in flat - breach of covenant to 'maintain the dwelling in good condition'Welsh v Greenwich London Borough Council: CA (Robert Walker and Latham LJJ and Bell J): 27 June 2000

A flat in a block built in the 1920s was of solid brick with no thermal insulation.

Condensation caused severe interior mould growth.

The tenancy agreement - in short form suitable for a local authority or social landlord - required the landlord to 'maintain the dwelling in good condition and repair.'The tenant covenanted to keep the dwelling 'clean, in good condition and to prevent damage.' A judge in the county court upheld a claim by the tenant that her local authority landlord had failed to honour its obligations under the tenancy agreement and awarded her damages of 9,000.

The landlord appealed.Simon Berry QC and Bradley Say (instructed by Borough Secretary and Solicitor, Greenwich London Borough Council).

Stephen Knafler (instructed by Powell & Co) for the tenant.Held, dismissing the appeal, that the language of repairing covenants was very variable and questions on their construction was often a matter of impression, and decisions by courts on other similarly-worded covenants unhelpful; that the reference to the landlords' obligation to keep in 'good condition' was intended as an addition to its obligation to repair and its effect was separate and different from the tenant's obligation to keep clean and in good condition; that the uninsulated character of the flat and the consequences resulting there from were elements constituting its condition and the failure by the landlord to provide any remedy was a breach of its obligation to maintain the flat in good condition.