Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Damages definition

What does Damages mean? In legal practice, damages are a money award ordered by a court to compensate a claimant (England & Wales, Northern Ireland) or pursuer (Scotland) for loss caused by breach of contract, tort/delict or a statutory wrong. The remedy is developed mainly by case law across the UK and Ireland, with some statutory modification. The aim is primarily compensatory: in tort/delict, to put the person in the position they would have been in but for the wrong; in contract, to protect the expectation interest (and sometimes the reliance interest). Heads of loss include general and special damages (common in personal injury),...

Repudiatory breach in property transactions: sale contracts, development agreements and leases; tests, key case law, notices to complete, deposits, damages and conditional landlord's consent

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Practice notes

Repudiation of a contract

Repudiation arises when one party signals to the other—by words or conduct—that they no longer intend to be bound, commonly by a serious breach of an important contractual duty. The innocent party may then choose to:

affirm the agreement and pursue enforcement of performance and/or seek Damages (see Practice Notes: Specific performance of property agreements and Contractual damages—General Principles); or
accept the repudiation and treat the contract as terminated (known as Rescission or discharge for breach).

Upon acceptance, both parties are released from any further performance, and the innocent party can claim damages resulting from the repudiation. Acceptance must be clear and unequivocal. Mere inactivity or acquiescence is generally not sufficient. For guidance on ending a contract by serving notice to complete, see Practice Note: Notice to complete.

Repudiatory breach

For a breach to be repudiatory, it must go to the root of the contract...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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