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Occupiers’ Liability - Coggle Diagram
Occupiers’ Liability
Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957)
governs the duty owed by occupiers to visitors.
this duty relates to the ‘state of premises’ rather than ‘an activity’ on
the premises
Loss: under this act, a visitor can claim for both personal injury and property damage.
Duty, breach, causation, remoteness and defences
Duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957
the importance is to establish the occupier and visitor - if these two are established, the duty is automatic.
Section 2(1) OLA 1957:
occupier
of
Premises
owes the common duty of care to all their
visitors
.
Occupier
Section 1(2): adopts the definition of common law.
An ‘occupier’ is someone who has a sufficient degree of control over the premises (Wheat v Lacon [1966]
four type of occupier:
(wheat)
(a)If the landlord does not live on the property, the tenant is the occupier;
(b) If the landlord retains some part of the premises, eg common areas like stairways, they are the occupier of those parts;
(c) If the landlord issues a licence, they remain an occupier (as in Wheat); and
(d) If the occupier employs an independent contractor, they generally remain responsible.
it is possible to have multiple occupiers, It is sufficient to have some degree of control which they may share with others.
Bailey v Armes (1999)
an occupier is a person who has the immediate supervision and control and the power of permitting or prohibiting the entry of other persons.
Ferguson v Welsh [1987]: The claimant may be a visitor to one occupier and a trespasser to another.
Facts; prohibition to give the work to sub-contractors.
premises
s 1(3)(a): any fixed or moveable structure, including any vessel, vehicle or aircraft.
Wheeler v Copas [1981]: premises included a ladder.
visitors (4 type > express - implied - lawful - contractual)
Section 1(2): same definition with common law also, visitors include those with lawful authority and contractual permission to be on the premises.
Lawful authority - s 2(6)
police officers with a warrant or persons with a statutory right, can enter the premises as lawful visitors with or without permission
Contractual authority - Under s 5(1)
if a person enters the premises under the terms of a contract with the occupier, there is, in the absence of express provision to the contrary, an implied term that the entrant is owed the common duty of care.
common law
visitors are persons who have express or implied permission to be on the occupier’s premises.
express or implied permissions can be restricted in three ways
3 more items...
example of implied visitors
2 more items...
Breach