If you live in a rented premises, either directly with a landlord or through an agent, there are certain responsibilities that the landlord or agent must take to make sure you are safe in the rented property. Usually the contract will specify what in the house is the responsibility of the landlord, and what is yours.
So if something goes wrong and you are injured, do you have a claim for compensation? Well the first question to ask is: is the landlord or agent legitimately at fault? Were you injured because of something the landlord or agent failed to do, or didn’t do properly? Whether you have a claim or not can come down to whether the landlord ought to have taken reasonable action.
For example, if you have just moved in to a new property and you slip because of a leak in the kitchen, or stumble and fall because of a loose stepping stone outside you may have a claim. The landlord has an important duty make sure a tenant moving in to a new premises is not at risk of injury. They should have inspected the premises to make sure any hazards were rectified before you move in, or at the very least inform you of them and confirm when reparations can be made.
If you inform your landlord that there is a leak that could cause a slipping hazard, or you inform them that a cupboard is coming loose away from a wall, you may have a claim if the landlord fails to act in time on the problem. If they fail to resolve the issue in, say, two months, and whilst waiting for them to come out and fix the problem you slip due to the leak or you are hit due to the cupboard falling away from the wall, you may have a claim. But if you report it and you are unfortunate enough to be injured the very next day, the landlord may try and defend the claim on the basis that they had only just been informed of the issue and was preparing to come out and resolve it.
If on the other hand the landlord is not made aware of a problem, they could defend the claim on the basis that they had no idea there was a problem. Most landlord or agents should really have a system of inspection and maintenance to try and spot these things, but still; if the landlord is not made aware, it is not always so easy to make a successful claim for compensation.
It’s probably in your contract to alert your landlord or agent to any issue as it arises. Ultimately a claim against a landlord comes down to reasonableness. Was there anymore your landlord or agent could have done? If so, there may be a claim to answer to.
