Damage to leased premises

A landlord recently resumed possession of premises which he had originally leased out for three years. After having obtained the keys, he went, together with the lessee, to inspect the house and was shocked to find out that it had been considerably damaged.

The landlord intends to hold the lessee responsible for the expenses he would have to incur to repair the building. What is his legal position?

According to law a lessee is bound to make use of the thing let to him as a bonus paterfamilias and he is also bound to hand it back to the landlord in the condition he received it. The lessee is liable for any deterioration or damage which occurs to the thing during the enjoyment of the lease (by any act or default from his part or the members of his family), unless the lessee may prove that such deterioration or damage has occurred without any fault on his part.

In determining the liability, one must consider the nature of the repairs which the landlord had to carry out, and what caused them. Much would depend on whether the damage to the leased premises was the result of fair wear and tear or the lessee's negligence.

The Maltese courts generally consider the nature of the repairs. In fact, repairs of an extraordinary nature should be carried out at the landlord's expense, while the lessee should pay for those of an ordinary nature.

It should be noted though that problems may arise when a repair which was of an ordinary nature in time ends up being an extraordinary repair which requires considerable expense to be fixed.

If one were to refer to the provisions of the law in connection with the nature of the repairs, it results that, during the period of the lease, the lessee is bound to carry out the repairs to panes and glass, shutters, window-frames, hinges, bolts and locks.

The landlord should consider all these issues before instituting any legal action against the lessee demanding reimbursement for the expenses he incurred.

It is advisable that, in future, when the landlord leases out the same premises, he carries out frequent inspections of the premises to detect, at an early stage, any damages that require repair or maintenance works. Thus he will avoid any further damages that may occur to the leased premises.