Landlord Liable For Repair?

kinger101

I think you need to determine whether the rest of the fence is safe. Is there a chance that panels could fall injuring children? Is there a possibility that the fence panels could lift off in a heavy wind causing damage to property. If so, some sort of a discussion needs to take place with the landlord and/or neighbour to get this sorted out.

If the landlord installed the fence, it's his responsibility to make repairs. If he's reasonable, he'd probably want to know if there was a problem with the fence that needed to be remedied.

jjlandlord

Note that the occupier has a duty of care towards all visitors.
So for example if the tenant sees that the fence is unsafe, does nothing, and someone gets injured then the one on the line to get sued should be the tenant.

If for example the fence becomes unsafe during the tenancy I am far from convinced that the landlord is liable to do anything since (unless explicitely by contract) he has no obligation to keep that fence in repair.

kinger101

jjlandlord wrote: »

Note that the occupier has a duty of care towards all visitors.
So for example if the tenant sees that the fence is unsafe, does nothing, and someone gets injured then the one on the line to get sued should be the tenant.

If for example the fence becomes unsafe during the tenancy I am far from convinced that the landlord is liable to do anything since (unless explicitely by contract) he has no obligation to keep that fence in repair.

The fact that a contract is silent on the matter does not automatically assign the responsibility to the tenant.

jjlandlord

kinger101 wrote: »

The fact that a contract is silent on the matter does not automatically assign the responsibility to the tenant.

Responsibility for what?

For repairs, indeed in this case the tenant would not be responsible either and the fence could be left to rot away.

But the duty of care is statutory by law, and the occupier must prevent injuries to visitors.

kinger101

jjlandlord wrote: »

Responsibility for what?

For repairs, indeed in this case the tenant would not be responsible either and the fence could be left to rot away.

But the duty of care is statutory by law, and the occupier must prevent injuries to visitors.

What about the landlord preventing injuries to the occupier? The tenant could argue they were complying with their duty of care by notifying the landlord that the fence was dangerous.

jjlandlord

How would that make visitors safe?
"Oh yes sorry you died touching those exposed live wires but I told the landlord a week ago so it's not my fault" yeah sure.

In any case, since landlord has no duty to keep the fence in repair, I repeat that I doubt that he has a duty to make it safe if it becomes unsafe during the tenancy.
But should he had such duty it would then be shared with the occupier, ie. the tenant.

kinger101

jjlandlord wrote: »

How would that make visitors safe?
"Oh yes sorry you died touching those exposed live wires but I told the landlord a week ago so it's not my fault" yeah sure.
.

Any reasonable landlord would ensure property and grounds are safe for their occupier. The occupier's duty of care includes notifying the landlord if they think property or grounds are in a dangerous condition. Obviously, no sensible occupier would invite people round with live wires exposed, so this is a straw man. In these cases, the occupier would be responsible for taking temporary measures to make the property safe (e.g. remove fuse from circuit board).

I really hope you're not a real landlord.

Annie1960

kinger101 wrote: »

Any reasonable landlord would ensure property and grounds are safe for their occupier. The occupier's duty of care includes notifying the landlord if they think property or grounds are in a dangerous condition. Obviously, no sensible occupier would invite people round with live wires exposed, so this is a straw man. In these cases, the occupier would be responsible for taking temporary measures to make the property safe (e.g. remove fuse from circuit board).

I really hope you're not a real landlord.

I agree.

It just doesn't make any sense that a tenant should have to maintain a fence that belongs to a LL.

System

Annie1960 wrote: »

It just doesn't make any sense that a tenant should have to maintain a fence that belongs to a LL.

Has it been confirmed that the LL is actually responsible for this fence and not the neighbour?

Annie1960

dimbo61 wrote: »

A letter arriving from a No win No fee solicitor to your Landlord will get a quick response.
A S21 by return of post.
]

I did not suggest this as a first option, clearly this is a bottom line position.

Better to work in a logical order and speak to LL first, find out who owns the fence, if LL see if they are prepared to fix it properly.