Occupiers' Liability Act 1964

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AT 2 of 1964

OCCUPIERS’ LIABILITY ACT 1964

Occupiers' Liability Act 1964 Index


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OCCUPIERS’ LIABILITY ACT 1964

Index Section Page

Liability in tort 5

1 Preliminary ...................................................................................................................... 5
2 Extent of occupier’s ordinary duty ............................................................................... 6
3 Effect of contract on occupier’s liability to third party .............................................. 7
4 Landlord’s liability in virtue of obligation to repair .................................................. 8
Liability in contract 9

5 Implied term in contracts............................................................................................... 9
General 9

6 Short title and commencement ..................................................................................... 9
ENDNOTES 11

TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 11
TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 11
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 11

Occupiers' Liability Act 1964 Section 1


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OCCUPIERS’ LIABILITY ACT 1964

Received Royal Assent: 27 July 1964
Passed: 20 October 1964
Commenced: 20 October 1964
AN ACT
to amend the law as to the liability of occupiers and others for injury
or damage resulting to persons or goods lawfully on any land or other property
from dangers due to the state of the property or to things done or omitted to be
done there, and for purposes connected therewith.
Liability in tort
1 Preliminary

[1957/1]
(1) The rules enacted by the two next following sections shall have effect, in
place of the rules of the common law, to regulate the duty which an
occupier of premises owes to his visitors in respect of dangers due to the
state of the premises or to things done or omitted to be done on them.
(2) The rules so enacted shall regulate the nature of the duty imposed by law
in consequence of a person’s occupation or control of premises and of
any invitation or permission he gives (or is to be treated as giving) to
another to enter or use the premises, but they shall not alter the rules of
the common law as to the persons on whom a duty is so imposed or to
whom it is owed; and accordingly for the purpose of the rules so enacted
the persons who are to be treated as an occupier and as his visitors are
the same (subject to subsection (4) of this section) as the persons who
would at common law be treated as an occupier and as his invitees or
licensees.
(3) The rules so enacted in relation to an occupier of premises and his
visitors shall also apply, in like manner and to the like extent as the
principles applicable at common law to an occupier of premises and his
invitees or licensees would apply, to regulate —
Section 2 Occupiers' Liability Act 1964


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(a) the obligations of a person occupying or having control over any
fixed or moveable structure, including any vessel, vehicle or
aircraft; and
(b) the obligations of a person occupying or having control over any
premises or structure in respect of damage to property, including
the property of persons who are not themselves his visitors.
2 Extent of occupier’s ordinary duty

[1957/2]
(1) An occupier of premises owes the same duty, the ‘common duty of care’,
to all his visitors, except in so far as he is free to and does extend, restrict,
modify or exclude his duty to any visitor or visitors by agreement or
otherwise.
(2) The common duty of care is a duty to take such care as in all the
circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be
reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is
invited or permitted by the occupier to be there.
(3) The circumstances relevant for the present purpose include the degree of
care, and of want of care, which would ordinarily be looked for in such a
visitor, so that (for example) in proper cases —
(a) an occupier must be prepared for children to be less careful than
adults; and
(b) an occupier may expect that a person, in the exercise of his calling,
will appreciate and guard against any special risks ordinarily
incident to it, so far as the occupier leaves him free to do so.
(4) In determining whether the occupier of premises has discharged the
common duty of care to a visitor, regard is to be had to all the
circumstances, so that (for example) —
(a) where damage is caused to a visitor by a danger of which he had
been warned by the occupier, the warning is not to be treated
without more as absolving the occupier from liability, unless in all
the circumstances it was enough to enable the visitor to be
reasonably safe; and
(b) where damage is caused to a visitor by a danger due to the faulty
execution of any work of construction, maintenance or repair by
an independent contractor employed by the occupier, the
occupier is not to be treated without more as answerable for the
danger if in all the circumstances he had acted reasonably in
entrusting the work to an independent contractor and had taken
such steps (if any) as he reasonably ought in order to satisfy
himself that the contractor was competent and that the work had
been properly done.
Occupiers' Liability Act 1964 Section 3


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(5) The common duty of care does not impose on an occupier any obligation
to a visitor in respect of risks willingly accepted as his by the visitor (the
question whether a risk was so accepted to be decided on the same
principles as in other cases in which one person owes a duty of care to
another).
(6) For the purposes of this section, persons who enter premises for any
purpose in the exercise of a right conferred by law are to be treated as
permitted by the occupier to be there for that purpose, whether they in
fact have his permission or not.
3 Effect of contract on occupier’s liability to third party

[1957/3]
(1) Where an occupier of premises is bound by contract to permit persons
who are strangers to the contract to enter or use the premises, the duty of
care which he owes to them as his visitors cannot be restricted or
excluded by that contract, but (subject to any provision of the contract to
the contrary) shall include the duty to perform his obligations under the
contract, whether undertaken for their protection or not, in so far as
those obligations go beyond the obligations otherwise involved in that
duty.
(2) A contract shall not by virtue of this section have the effect, unless it
expressly so provides, of making an occupier who has taken all
reasonable care answerable to strangers to the contract for dangers due
to the faulty execution of any work of construction, maintenance or
repair or other like operation by persons other than himself, his servants
and persons acting under his direction and control.
(3) In this section “stranger to the contract” means a person not for the time
being entitled to the benefit of the contract as a party to it or as the
successor by assignment or otherwise of a party to it, and accordingly
includes a party to the contract who has ceased to be so entitled.
(4) Where by the terms or conditions governing any tenancy (including a
statutory tenancy which does not in law amount to a tenancy) either the
landlord or the tenant is bound, though not by contract, to permit
persons to enter or use premises of which he is the occupier, this section
shall apply as if the tenancy were a contract between the landlord and
the tenant.
(5) This section, in so far as it prevents the common duty of care from being
restricted or excluded, applies to contracts entered into and tenancies
created before the commencement of this Act, as well as to those entered
into or created after its commencement; but, in so far as it enlarges the
duty owed by an occupier beyond the common duty of care, it shall have
effect only in relation to obligations which are undertaken after that
commencement or which are renewed by agreement (whether express or
implied) after that commencement.
Section 4 Occupiers' Liability Act 1964


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4 Landlord’s liability in virtue of obligation to repair

[1957/4]
(1) Where premises are occupied by any person under a tenancy which puts
on the landlord an obligation to that person for the maintenance or repair
of the premises, the landlord shall owe to all persons who or whose
goods may from time to time be lawfully on the premises the same duty,
in respect of dangers arising from any default by him in carrying out that
obligation, as if he were an occupier of the premises and those persons or
their goods were there by his invitation or permission (but without any
contract).
(2) Where premises are occupied under a sub-tenancy, the foregoing
subsection shall apply to any landlord of the premises (whether the
immediate or a superior landlord) on whom an obligation to the occupier
for the maintenance or repair of the premises is put by the sub-tenancy,
and for that purpose any obligation to the occupier which the sub-
tenancy puts on a mesne landlord of the premises, or is treated by virtue
of this provision as putting on a mesne landlord, shall be treated as put
by it also on any landlord on whom the mesne landlord’s tenancy puts
the like obligation towards the mesne landlord.
(3) For the purposes of this section, where premises comprised in a tenancy
(whether occupied under that tenancy or under a sub-tenancy) are put to
a use not permitted by the tenancy, and the landlord of whom they are
held under the tenancy is not debarred by his acquiescence or otherwise
from objecting or from enforcing his objection, then no persons or goods
whose presence on the premises is due solely to that use of the premises
shall be deemed to be lawfully on the premises as regards that landlord
or any superior landlord of the premises, whether or not they are
lawfully there as regards an inferior landlord.
(4) For the purposes of this section, a landlord shall not be deemed to have
made default in carrying out any obligation to the occupier of the
premises unless his default is such as to be actionable at the suit of the
occupier or, in the case of a superior landlord whose actual obligation is
to an inferior landlord, his default in carrying out that obligation is
actionable at the suit of the inferior landlord.
(5) Nothing in this section shall relieve a landlord of any duty which he is
under apart from this section.
(6) For the purposes of this section, obligations imposed by any enactment
in virtue of a tenancy shall be treated as imposed by the tenancy, and
“tenancy” includes a statutory tenancy which does not in law amount to
a tenancy, and includes also any contract conferring a right of
occupation, and “landlord” shall be construed accordingly.
(7) This section applies to tenancies created before the commencement of
this Act, as well as to those created after its commencement.
Occupiers' Liability Act 1964 Section 5


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Liability in contract
5 Implied term in contracts

[1957/5]
(1) Where persons enter or use, or bring or send goods to, any premises in
exercise of a right conferred by contract with a person occupying or
having control of the premises, the duty he owes them in respect of
dangers due to the state of the premises or to things done or omitted to
be done on them, in so far as the duty depends on a term to be implied in
the contract by reason of its conferring that right, shall be the common
duty of care.
(2) The foregoing subsection shall apply to fixed and moveable structures as
it applies to premises.
(3) This section does not affect the obligations imposed on a person by or by
virtue of any contract for the hire of, or for the carriage for reward of
persons or goods in, any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other means of
transport, or by virtue of any contract of bailment.
(4) This section does not apply to contracts entered into before the
commencement of this Act.
General
6 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Occupiers’ Liability Act, 1964.
(2) This Act shall come into operation when the Royal Assent thereto has
been by the Governor announced to Tynwald and a certificate thereof
has been signed by the Governor and the Speaker of the House of Keys.
Occupiers' Liability Act 1964 Endnotes


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ENDNOTES

Table of Legislation History

Legislation Year and No Commencement






Table of Renumbered Provisions

Original Current






Table of Endnote References