Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

RRO: owner held to be landlord as undisclosed principal despite ‘holiday licence’ scheme; HMO licensing offence and agent authority confirmed (Cabo v Dezotti, Court of Appeal, England and Wales)

Published on: 08 November 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Property Disputes expert

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Article summary

Cabo v Dezotti [2024] EWCA Civ 1358

What are the practical implications of this case?

The ruling clearly illustrates that, just as the court may look beyond the wording of a licence to determine whether it is truly a tenancy, it will also scrutinise the surrounding circumstances to decide who is the landlord for the purposes of RRO liability in practice. In this matter, arcane submissions about the provisions of a management agreement between the appellant and a managing company did not ultimately succeed in relieving the appellant of responsibility.

What was the background?

The appellant had entered into a management agreement with Top Holdings Ltd (THL). Among other things, it enabled THL to arrange letting of the relevant property, but only by way of licence agreements for holiday use alone, and further required that THL may let the Property only to individuals who do not regard the premises as their main, sole, principal or primary residence, and must not at any time allow the premises to become licensable as an HMO. An occupation agreement was granted in favour of the respondent...

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