Landlord and Tenant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Landlord and Tenant - Essay Example It must be stated that statutory provisions appear to restrict the rights of tenants where carrying out repairs is concerned. Although the tenant has a common law right to deduct costs of repairs from rents payable to the landlord or arrears of rent, this may not provide adequate levels of protection against the landlord’s breach of contractual obligations. Statutory regulations specify all manner of restrictions in the carrying out of repairs and despite the good intentions of the tenant, the landlord can refuse to pay for the repairs if the wrong materials or the wrong contractor is used. The requirement of notice by the tenant before the landlord will be liable for repairs has also been spelt out under statutory provisions as well as the precedents established in case law. Another important distinction that must be noted is that licensees and tenants have a different set of rights where the question of forcing the landlord to carry out repairs is concerned. Licensees may have better provision under common law principals against licensors who are in default, because they can force them to carry out repairs on grounds of contractual breaches.