c.
35 1
ELIZABETH II
Defective Premises Act 1972
1972 CHAPTER 35
An Act to impose duties in connection with the provision
of dwellings and otherwise to amend the law of England
and Wales as to liability for injury or damage caused
to persons through defects in the state of premises.
[29th June 1972]
IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and
BE
with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
1.-U) A person taking on work for or in connection with the Duty to build
provision of a dwelling (whether the dwelling is provided by dwellings
the erection or by the conversion or enlargement of a building) properly.
owes a duty-
(a) if the dwelling is provided to the order of any person, to
that person ; and
(b) without prejudice to paragraph (a) above, to every
person who acquires an interest (whether legal or
equitable) in the dwelling ;
to see that the work which he takes on is done in a workman-
like or, as the case may be, professional manner, with proper
materials and so that as regards that work the dwelling will be
fit for habitation when completed.
(2) A person who takes on any such work for another on terms
that he is to do it in accordance with instructions given by or
on behalf of that other shall, to the extent to which he does it
properly in accordance with those instructions. be treated for
2 c. 35 Defective Premises Act 1972
the purposes of this section as discharging the duty imposed on
him by subsection (1) above except where he owes a duty to
that other to warn him of any defects in the instructions and
fails Co discharge that duty.
(3) A person shall not be treated for the purposes of sub-
section (2) above as having given instructions for the doing of
work merely because he has agreed to the work being done
in a specified manner, with specified materials or to a specified
design.
(4) A person who-
(a) in the course of a business which consists of or includes
providing or arranging for the provision of dwellings
or installations in dwellings ; or
(b) in the exercise of a power of making such provision or
arrangements conferred by or by virtue of any enact
anent ;
arranges for another to take on work for or in connection with
the provision of a dwelling shall be treated for the purposes of
this section as included among the persons who have taken on
the work.
(5) Any cause of action in respect of a breach of the duty
imposed by this section shall be deemed, for the purposes of
1939 c. 21. the Limitation Act 1939, the Law Reform (Limitation of
1954 c. 36. Actions, &c.) Act 1954 and the Limitation Act 1963, to have
1963 c. 47. accrued at the time when the dwelling was completed, but if
after that time a person who has done work for or in connection
with the provision of the dwelling does further work to rectify
the work he has already done, any such cause of action in
respect of that further work shall be deemed for those purposes
to,have accrued at the time when the further work was finished.
Cases 2.-(1) Where---
excluded (a) in connection with the provision of a dwelling or its
from the
remedy first sale or letting for habitation any rights in respect
under of defects in the state of the dwelling are conferred by
section 1. an approved scheme to which this section applies on
a person having or acquiring an interest in the dwelling ;
and
(b) it
is stated in a document of a type approved for the
purposes of this section that the requirements as to
design or construction imposed by or under the
scheme have, or appear to have, been substantially
complied with in relation to the dwelling ;
no action shall be brought by any person having or acquiring
an interest in the dwelling for breach of the duty imposed by
section 1 above in relation to the dwelling.
Defective Premises Act 1972 c. 35 3
(2) A scheme to which this section applies-
(a) may consist ofany number of documents and any
number of agreements or other transactions between
any number of persons ; but
(b) must confer, by virtue of agreements entered into with
persons having or acquiring an interest in the dwellings
to which the scheme applies, rights on such persons
in respect of defects in the state of the dwellings.
(3) In this section " approved " means approved by the
Secretary of State, and the power of the Secretary of State
to approve a scheme or document for the purposes of this
section shall be exercisable by order, except that any require-
ments as to construction or design imposed under a scheme to
which this section applies may be approved by him without
making any order or, if he thinks fit, by order.
(4) The Secretary of State-
(a) may approve a scheme or document for the purposes
of this section with or without limiting the duration
of his approval ; and
(b) may by order revoke or vary a previous order under
this section or, without such an order, revoke or vary
a previous approval under this section given otherwise
than by order.
(5) The production of a document purporting to be a copy
of an approval given by the Secretary of State otherwise than
by order and certified by an officer of the Secretary of State
to be a true copy of the approval shall be conclusive evidence
of the approval, and without proof of the handwriting or official
position of the person purporting to sign the certificate.
(6) The power to make an order under this section shall be
exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution by either House of
Parliament.
(7) Where an interest in a dwelling is compulsorily
acquired-
(a) no action shall be brought by the acquiring authority for
breach of the duty imposed by section 1 above in respect
of the dwelling ; and
(b) if any work for or in connection with the provision of
the dwelling was done otherwise than in the course of a
business by the person in occupation of the dwelling at
the time of the compulsory acquisition, the acquiring
authority and not that person shall be treated as the
person who took on the work and accordingly as owing
that duty.
4 c. 35 Defective Premises Act 1972
Duty of care 3.-(1) Where work of construction, repair, maintenance or
with respect demolition or any other work is done on or in relation to
to work done premises, any duty of care owed, because of the doing of
on premises
not abated the work, to persons who might reasonably be expected to be
by disposal affected by defects in the state of the premises created by the
of premises. doing of the work shall not be abated by the subsequent disposal
of the premises by the person who owed the duty.
(2) This section does not apply-
(a) in thecase of premises which are let, where the relevant
tenancy of the premises commenced, or the relevant
tenancy agreement of the premises was entered into,
before the commencement of this Act ;
(b) in the case of premises disposed of in any other way,
when the disposal of the premises was completed, or a
contract for their disposal was entered into, before
the commencement of this Act ; or
(c) in either case, where the relevant transaction disposing
of the premises is entered into in pursuance of an
enforceable option by which the consideration for the
disposal was fixed before the commencement of this
Act.
Landlord's 4.-(l) Where premises are let under a tenancy which puts
duty of care on the landlord an obligation to the tenant for the maintenance
in virtue of or repair of the premises, the landlord owes to all persons who
obligation
or right might reasonably be expected to be affected by defects in the
to repair state of the premises a duty to take such care as is reasonable
premises in all the circumstances to see that they are reasonably safe
demised. from personal injury or from damage to their property caused
by a relevant defect.
(2) The said duty is owed if the landlord knows (whether as
the result of being notified by the tenant or otherwise) or if
he ought in all the circumstances to have known of the relevant
defect.
(3) In this section " relevant defect " means a defect in the
state of the premises existing at or after the material time and
arising from, or continuing because of, an act or omission by
the landlord which constitutes or would if he had had notice
of the defect, have constituted a failure by him to carry out
his obligation to the tenant for the maintenance or repair of
the premises ; and for the purposes of the foregoing provision
" the material time " means-
(a) where the tenancy commenced before this Act, the
commencement of this Act ; and
Defective Premises Act 1972 c. 35 5
(b) in all other cases, the earliest of the following times,
that is to say-
(i) the time when the tenancy commences ;
(ii) the time when the tenancy agreement is entered
into ;
(iii) the time when possession is taken of the
premises in contemplation of the letting.
(4) Where premises are let under a tenancy which expressly
or impliedly gives the landlord the right to enter the premises
to carry out any description of maintenance or repair of the
premises, then, as from the time when he first is, or by notice
or otherwise can put himself, in a position to exercise the right
and so long as he is or can put himself in that position, he shall
be treated for the purposes of subsections (1) to (3) above (but for
no other purpose) as if he were under an obligation to the
tenant for that description of maintenance or repair of the
premises ; but the landlord shall not owe .the tenant any duty by
virtue of this subsection in respect of any defect in the state of
the premises arising from, or continuing because of, a failure
to carry out an obligation expressly imposed on the tenant by
the tenancy.
(5) For the purposes of this section obligations imposed or
rights given by any enactment in virtue of a tenancy shall be
treated as imposed or given by the tenancy.
(6) This section applies to a right of occupation given by
contract or any enactment and not amounting to a tenancy as if
the right were a tenancy, and " tenancy " and cognate expres-
sions shall be construed accordingly.
5. This Act shall bind the Crown, but as regards the Crown's Application
liability in tort shall not bind the Crown further than the Crown to Crown.
is made liable in tort by the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. 1947 c. 44.
6.-(1) In this Act- Supplemental.
" disposal ", in relation to premises, includes a letting, and
an assignment or surrender of a tenancy, of the premises
and the creation by contract of any other right to
occupy the premises, and " dispose " shall be construed
accordingly ;
" personal injury " includes any disease and any impair-
ment of a person's physical or mental condition ;
" tenancy " means-
(a) a tenancy created either immediately or
derivatively out of the freehold, whether by a lease
or underlease, by an agreement for a lease or under-
6 c. 35 Defective Premises Act 1972
lease or by a tenancy agreement, but not, including
a mortgage term or any interest arising in favour
of a mortgagor by his attorning tenant to his
mortgagee ; or
(b) a tenancy at will or a tenancy on sufferance ;
or
(c) a tenancy, whether or not constituting a tenancy
at common law, created by or in pursuance of any
enactment ;
and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.
(2) Any duty imposed by or enforceable by virtue of any
provision of this Act is in addition to any duty a person may
owe apart from that provision.
(3) Any term of an agreement which purports to exclude or
restrict, or has the effect of excluding or restricting, the operation
of any of the provisions of this Act, or any liability arising by
virtue of any such provision, shall be void.
1957 c. 31. (4) Section 4 of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 (repairing
landlords' duty to visitors to premises) is hereby repealed.
Short title, 7.-(1) This Act may be cited as the Defective Premises Act
commence- 1972.
ment and
extent. (2) This Act shall come into force on 1st January 1974.
(3) This Act does not extend to Scotland or Northern
Ireland.
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY C. H. BAYLIS, C.B.
Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament
c. 35 Defective Premises Act 1972
LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE
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