Abstract/Summary

The course of social changes can often be traced in the evolution of case law. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Edwards v Kumarasamy is a good example. Here landlord and tenant law has had to get to grips with how far a landlord should be under an obligation to repair, where the landlord is himself a leaseholder, and not primarily liable for repairs. This scenario has arisen due to the revival of the ‘buy-to-let’ property market, and because properties which are affordable – both to the buyer and the renter – will often be leasehold flats. In allowing the landlord’s appeal, the Supreme Court has clarified the extent of the immediate landlord’s repairing obligations towards the tenant, and rejected some rather unorthodox views expressed by the Court of Appeal.