The Issues

The appellant originally brought possession proceedings in 2013, and the respondent counterclaimed for disrepair under s11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for a failure to keep the property in a reasonable state of repair.

In the first instance, the Landlord did not attend and was not represented.  The possession claim was dismissed and a judgement was made on the counterclaim whereby the tenant was awarded 50% of rent for the period from 2007 to 2014.  The Judge also added the Simmons v Castle 10% uplift to the award for damages. 

The Landlord subsequently appealed this decision and the appeal was dismissed.  She then brought a second appeal in the Court of Appeal.

In deciding this matter, the Court of Appeal had to consider two issues:

1. Damages should not have been awarded for the period between 2007 and 2011 as the tenant had confirmed that they had not been the tenant during this time, but in fact was a lodger of the main tenant.

2. Should the Simmons v Castle uplift apply to disrepair general damages?