Hi,
I was just wondering if someone has experience with lease agreements and could advise on the below?
The agreement is for a HMO property.
- LANDLORD’S INDEMNITY COVENANT
The Landlord shall keep the Tenant indemnified against all liabilities,
expenses, costs (including but not limited to any solicitors’ or other
professionals’ costs and expenses), claims, damages, losses or personal
injury suffered or incurred by the Tenant or any undertenant (occupying the
property under an AST or License Agreement) out of or in connection with:
(a) any of the works carried out to the property by the Landlord or their
respective workers, contractors or agents or any other person on the
Property with the actual or implied authority of any of them prior to or
during the term of this Lease.
(b) failure by the Landlord to carry out their repair obligations in this
Lease.
Below is the reply I received when I questioned this.
The above wording above is limited only to a situation cause by:
(a) any of the works carried out to the property by the Landlord or their respective workers, contractors or agents or any other person on the Property with the actual or implied authority of any of them prior to or during the term of this Lease.
(b) failure by the Landlord to carry out their repair obligations in this Lease.
In simple terms you are certifying that your property is safe and any repairs you complete are safe. You’re only responsible for the above if it wasn’t done correctly by anyone you instruct, which you’d have the same obligations you let any room out to any normal tenant under the Housing Act 1988 and Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 but you’ll be covered by your insurance for these events anyway.
I gave Tom an example of how this is limited: If I or a Young Person was to be in the house and I touched some electrical cabling that wasn’t installed correctly and wasn’t certified (which it should have been anyway) and electrocute myself. You would be responsible for this and you’d be insured for this anyway. However if decided to rip a hole in the wall and pull out some wires and touch them then that wouldn’t be your responsibility it would be the person who electrocuted themselves responsibility or XYZ Accommodation Ltd responsibility as you’d have the relevant certificate to say it was installed correctly or you have employed a competent certified person to carry out the works/installation.
Any help would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
Dal Gill
