Princes House Ltd v Distinctive Clubs

The claimant landlord claimed five instalments on account of service charges from their defendant tenant. The tenant counterclaimed, contending that the landlord had failed to carry out roof repairs at the relevant time. The service charges arose from remedial works to the roof. The landlord had covenanted to use all reasonable endeavours to repair and replace the roof and, in addition, the lease provided a cap on the tenant’s liability for service charges up to December 2003. The landlord had notified the tenant of the intention to do the remedial works, but had postponed them until after the capping period expired.

The High Court held that the landlord had not used all reasonable endeavours to repair the roof and that the works should have been completed by the end of December 2003, such that the tenant would have had the benefit of the capping clause. If the work had been done when required, then the tenant would not have had to pay the sums claimed.

Analysis
This is an interesting case with potentially wide implications. If a landlord has a discretion about when to undertake works, is he required to do so at a time most convenient (and cost-effective) for the tenant? Would this logic be equally applicable to right-to-buy leases and s.125 notices? Or, is it the case that this argument was only available because of the specific covenant to use “all reasonable endeavours”? Sadly, the case was argued and reasoned very much from first principles, rather than on the basis of previous decisions and established case law. It remains to be seen what, if anything, inventive claimants can do with this decision.