A subsidiary of David Pearl’s Structadene has won a dispute over repairs to an upmarket retail boutique in Knightsbridge, west London.
Tiree Ltd has fended off a damages claim by lingerie designer Janet Reger International over damp in the basement of a store at 2 Beauchamp Place, London SW3.
The High Court ruled that Tiree was not liable for any repair works to remedy the damp, and has ordered Janet Reger to pay £78,000 in withheld rent.
Janet Reger vacated the shop basement in January 2005, alleging that managing agent Pearl & Coutts had not resolved the problem despite complaints having been made as early as July 2003.
It claimed that it was no longer able to store delicate silk products in the basement, and that it had been forced to use scented candles to mask the smell of damp.
However, Deputy Judge Terence Mowschenson QC said that the damp – caused by a defective damp-proof membrane in the walls and aggravated by a burst main outside no 3 – did not fall within the landlord’s obligation to repair defects in the structure.
“The purpose of the works is not to put right damage to the structure; it is to protect the plasterwork and floor tiles from being damaged by damp,” he said.
“The work is, then, necessary to put and to keep the demised premises in good and substantial condition. It is work falling within the tenant’s covenant, not the landlord’s covenant.”
Janet Reger International Ltd v Tiree Ltd Chancery Division (Mr Terence Mowschenson QC, sitting as a deputy judge of the division) 17 July 2006.
Steven Thompson (instructed by Suttons) appeared for the claimant; Stephen Jourdan (instructed by Dewar Hogan) appeared for the defendant.
References: EGi Legal News 31/07/06
