Bournemouth Solicitors

OCCUPIERS’ LIABILITY – WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 govern the liability to visitors.

The 1957 Act imposes duty on occupiers towards their lawful visitors.

•             The occupier is someone who has control over the fixed structures such as property, land or shop as well as movable structures such as vessels, aircrafts or vehicles.  The ‘occupier’ can be a business, local council or individual.

•             A visitor can be anyone, the guest invited to dinner, painter and decorator or a fireman. They are people with an express permission to enter your premises.

•             An occupier owes a common duty of care to all visitors under the 1957 Act.

•             Under s 2(2), the duty is ‘to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that the visitor is reasonably safe in using the premises for the purpose for which he is permitted to be there’

•             According to the Act, the occupier has a higher degree of care towards children as they are  “less careful that adults”  [S2 (3)a].

•             The occupier should place specific warning signs if there is any danger around or at the premises.

If a visitor exceeds his express or implied permission he becomes a trespasser under the 1984 Act.

S1 (3) of the 1984 Act states that the duty of care is owed to people other than visitors if the occupier:

a)     is aware of the danger.

b)     knows/has reasonable ground to believe that the individual is in the surrounding area of the danger.

c)     is reasonably expected to offer the person some protection.

If these elements are satisfied, the occupier owes such care as is reasonable. The occupier is only liable if he has fallen below the standard of the reasonable occupier.

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