Repair and insurance Flashcards
In a lease of the whole who is responsible for repairs?
The tenant is responsible for the interior, exterior and structural repair.
In a lease of part, who is responsible for repairs?
The tenant is only responsible for interior repair.
In a lease of part, the tenant is responsible for repairing the demise, which will be defined in detail.
Who will bear responsibility of the common parts?
The landlord, however, they will recover the cost of doing so collectively from the tenant by way of service charge payments. An FRI lease, typically contains extensive clauses setting out the services and how they are charged.
What might a covenant containing a full repairing obligation say?
This is required for an FRI lease and might say:
“to keep the Premises in good repair”.
This means the tenant must put the premises in good repair.
A full repairing obligation is typically expressed as an obligation to keep the premises in repair, but extends to putting the premises into repair if they are not.
What is a covenant containing a qualified repairing covenant?
A qualified repairing obligation limits the tenant’s repairing obligation to keeping the premises in the same state of repair as at the beginning of the lease term.
It might contain a schedule of condition.
What are the limits of the repairing obligation?
Unless the lease states otherwise, the tenant may generally choose whether to repair or replace an item of disrepair.
- If the lease does not state that damaged items must be replaced, then the tenant will want this obligation only to apply if the item is beyond economic repair.
- Note: if the premises are damaged beyond repair; for example, if subsidence has caused the premises to be so damaged that they need to be rebuilt, this is renewal, not repair and the tenant is not responsible for doing this under a simple repairing obligation. The tenant maybe asked to covenant to renew the premises, but this is onerous and should be avoided.
- If the lease refers to keeping the premises in good repair and condition, this is more onerous to the tenant (for example, condensation comes within condition, but not repair).
What is the position in relation to inherent and structural defects?
A tenant taking a lease of a newly constructed property should ensure that inherent and structural defects are excluded from the tenant’s repairing obligation and service charge contributions.
In a lease of whole, who is responsible for insuring the premises?
The landlord insures the building, and recovers the whole cost from the tenant.
In a lease of part who is responsible for insurance?
The landlord insures the building and maintains the common areas and recovers a proportionate part of the cost from each tenant.
Is the tenant responsible for damage by insured risks?
The tenant is not responsible for damage by insured risks, except in limited circumstances. For example, if the tenant’s negligence means that insurance is not paid out.
