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View the related practice notes about Occupiers' liability

Occupiers’ liability claims—lawful visitors

BackgroundThe Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957) was enacted to provide for a ‘common duty of care’ owed by occupiers of premises. The duty was ‘common’ in that it was owed to various categories of lawful or authorised visitors such as invitees, licensees and those whose right to be on the premises arose from a contract.OLA 1957 was introduced to replace the rules of the common law to regulate the duty owed by an occupier of premises to their visitors.The common duty of care is not owed to trespassers who may have rights arising from the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 (OLA 1984). For further guidance on the duty owed by an occupier to unauthorised visitors, see Practice Note: Unauthorised visitors—the duty of care.The duty of careAn occupier of premises is under a duty to their lawful visitors to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe when using the premises for the purposes for which they...

Occupiers' liability—contractors, builders and landlords

Independent contractorsSometimes premises will be left in a dangerous state because of faulty construction, maintenance or repair work that has been (or is still being) carried out by independent contractors. Alternatively, independent contractors will be retained to remedy a dangerous situation but will fail to do so.The question is: will the occupier be held liable for resulting injury caused to a visitor? Generally, unless the contract under which the occupier has retained services provides otherwise, an occupier will not be liable, under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957), for any negligence on the part of independent contractors working on their premises.It should be noted that the relevant provision, OLA 1957, s 2(4)(b) applies only to works of construction, maintenance or repair.It will be for the occupier to establish that an independent contractor has been engaged. The occupier will not be liable if it shows that:•it acted reasonably in entrusting the work to an independent contractor•it had taken such steps (if any) as it reasonably ought to satisfy itself that:◦the...