Module 3 · Health, Law and Duty
3.4 Who Owes What
8 min read
A damp problem in a flat is frequently caused by an element nobody in the flat controls. The tenant reports it, the landlord is liable for it, the defect is in the building fabric, the freeholder owns that fabric, and a managing agent administers it. Everyone waits. A report that identifies the defect but not the party who can fix it leaves that stalemate exactly where it found it — and in a block, that stalemate is the normal state of affairs rather than the exception.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Map the common duty structures in rented, leasehold and mixed-tenure property.
- Identify which party controls a given building element.
- Recognise where duties overlap or leave a gap, and say so.
- Write findings that a duty-holder can act on without further interpretation.
Key terms
- Repairing covenant
- The contractual obligation in a lease or tenancy to keep specified parts in repair. Determines who owes what, and is specific to the document.
- Demised premises
- The part of a building let to a leaseholder. Where the boundary falls — internal plaster face, or structure — decides who repairs what.
- Common parts
- Structure, roof, external walls and shared areas retained by the freeholder or their agent. Frequently where the defect actually is.
- Section 11 obligations
- The statutory repairing obligations implied into most short residential tenancies, covering structure and exterior and certain installations, which cannot be contracted out of.
Read the rest of Health, Law and Duty
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