Defective Premises Act 1972

1 Introduction
2 The Defective Premises Act 1972
3 Changes resulting from the Building Safety Act 2022
4 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Introduction

The Defective Premises Act 1972 is 'An Act to impose duties in connection with the provision of dwellings and otherwise to amend the law of England and Wales as to liability for injury or damage caused to persons through defects in the state of premises.'

The original Act was modified (by reference - not altering text) in 1991, 2003 and 2004. In particular the Act came under scrutiiny after the tragic Grenfell tower fire which occurred on 14 June 2017 and into the public eye since the Building Safety Bill was passed in 2022, with the 2022 modifications to the Defective Premises Act 1972 which broadened how the Act would be applied in the future.

[edit] The Defective Premises Act 1972

Whilst the original 1972 Act with all modifications up until 2004, do not specifically define what a dwelling might be the act has not been applied to repairs and refurbishment of existing dwellings, it has only referenced the provision of new dwellings, or 'in connection with the provision of a dwelling (whether the dwelling is provided by the erection or by the conversion or enlargement of a building)'.

The Act talks of the duty holder as being 'A person taking on work for or in connection with...' the above but extends this to those instructed in a 'specified manner' to do the work, those involved in 'providing or arranging for the provision of' or 'the exercise of a power of making such provision or arrangements' for 'another to take on work' ... 'shall be treated for the purposes of this section as included among the persons who have taken on the work.'

Aiming to effectlvely protect against substandard work, the Act states that a dwelling must be 'fit for habitation', thus safe, and functioning as a shelter without major defects. The Act makes reference the Limitation Act 1980 and under the original Defective Premises Act a claim for defective work could be made within six years fof completion, and the 6 years for the repaired work would commence again once the repair work is complete. This in particular changed following the introduction of the Building Safety Act, 2022 and subsequent 2022 modifications to the Defective Premises Act.

[edit] Changes resulting from the Building Safety Act 2022

There are essentially two main changes, brought about by the Building Safety Act 2022, that broaden the scope of the Defective Premises Act significantly.

Firstly where the original act did not include refurbishment works to existing dwellings, the 2022 modification, (introduced as a direct result of the Grenfell Tower fire which was a refurbishment or retrofit project) includes refurbishment work to existing dwellings, carried out in the course of a business. This significantly broadens the number of projects that are likely to fall under the remit of the Defective Premises Act.

Secondly, the limitation period, or the period of time by which a claimant must make their claim, has been significantly increased from the original 6 years. This means effectively that a significantly higher number of residential buildings will have significantly longer limitation periods or period during which a claim can be made.

Claims that accrued on or after 28 June 2022 for new dwellings, and refurbishment work to existing dwellings, extends to a period of 15 years. Whilst for projects prior to the 28 June, the issues can stem back to the 1990s, as a 30 year limitation period has been introduced for dwellings (but not, in this case refurbishment projects). The significance of these chnages cannot be understated, and many projects that had previously time-barred from claims may now be open to claimants.