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QUESTION: Who is responsible for lost rent if tenants move out while the lift is being upgraded for approximately 10 weeks? – TC
ANSWER: This is very tricky, because on the one hand the lift repairs would have to be seen as an improvement to the property on the other there is temporary but serious reduction in amenities.
If tenants break a lease early without good reason, they are liable to pay the rent until such times as a suitable replacement tenant is found.
Are the lift repairs ‘good reason’? Did they require level access? Was the apartment on the tenth floor or the third?
The best way to handle this may be via a third party. In the first instance the landlord could encourage the tenant to run a case to have their lease revoked through Fair Trading. The landlord could then run his own case to have the OC compensate him.
But owners throughout the building will be suffering – the only difference is that the landlord can put a price on it.
However, if Fair Trading or the CTTT decide he is entitled to compensation, that would probably be claimable against the building’s insurance.
What do you think?
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