Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Occupiers' liability definition

What does Occupiers' liability mean? Responsibility of those who control premises for harm from dangers due to the state of the premises or activities on them, covering the duty of care owed to lawful visitors and, more narrowly, to trespassers. In England and Wales, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 imposes a 'common duty of care' to keep visitors reasonably safe for permitted purposes; the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 creates a limited duty to persons other than visitors (including trespassers) where the occupier knows of the danger and their likely presence. Northern Ireland has analogous provisions in the Occupiers’ Liability Act (Northern Ireland) 1957 and the 1987...

Occupiers’ Liability (England and Wales): contractors, builders and landlords—duties, defences, control, insurance checks, multiple occupiers, and interplay with DPA 1972 and LTA 1985

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

Independent contractors

At times, premises may remain hazardous owing to defective construction, Maintenance, or repair undertaken (or still in progress) by independent contractors. In other cases, such contractors are brought in to fix a risk yet do not succeed. The issue then arises: is the occupier responsible for injury suffered by a visitor as a result? As a general rule, unless the agreement under which the occupier has engaged the services states otherwise, the occupier will not be liable, under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957), for Negligence committed by independent contractors operating on the premises. Note that the pertinent rule, OLA 1957, s 2(4)(b), is confined to construction, maintenance, or repair works. The occupier bears the burden of showing that an independent contractor was in fact instructed. In other words, the occupier must demonstrate that the contractor was retained to act...

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Andrew Wilson

Andrew has more than 25 years’ experience of working in the fields of personal injury and occupational disease litigation, acting for both claimants and defendants. He trained at L Bingham & Co, gaining early experience in a number of important high profile claims involving the MIB. During the 1990s Andrew worked at Hextalls and then Kennedys, predominantly for defendants across a range of motor, employers’ liability and public liability matters many of which involved serious injuries or death. More recently, he has dealt with cases for claimants who have suffered serious injuries or occupational disease. He was a partner in a large specialist practice. He has provided seminars to solicitors and other legal professionals both for an external conference company and in house on the workings of the Civil Procedure Rules in the context of personal injury claims, amongst other...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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