Cases - Barnes v City of London Real Property Co

Record details

Name

Barnes v City of London Real Property Co

Date

[1918]

Citation

2 Ch 18

Keywords

Dilapidations case law

Summary

The landlords had let various sets of rooms and by the tenancy agreement had imposed on the tenants the obligation to pay a stated additional rent specifically for the cleaning of rooms by a housekeeper to be provided for the purpose. The agreements placed no express obligation on the landlords to provide for the cleaning of the rooms, but the court was of the clear opinion that such an obligation should be implied.

The case has been distinguished in later cases (e.g. Duke of Westminster v Guild) because it was a much stronger case than the later cases concerned. One reason is because the obligation of the tenants to pay the rent for the particular service was an unqualified obligation to pay a definite periodic amount in respect of that service, the obligation to pay not being expressed so as to be conditional on the provision of the service or on the service of notice requesting payment.