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The Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA 1972) imposes statutory duties on parties providing works and services in relation to dwellings (ie residential properties). Specifically, under DPA 1972, a person who takes on work:

1. •

   for, or in connection with, the provision of a dwelling (DPA 1972, s 1(1)), or

2. •

   in relation to a building containing one or more dwellings (DPA 1972, s 2A),

owes a duty to ensure that the work is done in a workmanlike or, as the case may be, professional manner, and with proper materials, so that on completion of the work the dwelling is ‘fit for habitation’.

The persons who owe these duties (ie, those taking on the works) include contractors, designers and property developers providing works and services in relations to dwellings. The parties to whom the duties are owed include those with legal or equitable interests in the affected dwellings, such as purchasers or tenants, and those for whom the works are done. The Court of