The way forward to tort recovery of pure economic loss for defective premises in the UK

Abstract

The current tort law in the UK is averse to the recovery of pure economic loss for defective dwellings for reasons which are unconvincing and unsustainable, especially in relation to a subsequent purchaser of a house which has dangerous structural defects. Thus, a legitimate claimant is deprived of a remedy in tort without valid justifications. This paper aims to evaluate and analyse the relevant legislation namely the Defective Premises Act 1972 (the DPA) and the Latent Damage Act 1986 (the LDA) in the light of the decision of the House of Lords in Murphy v Brentwood DistrictCouncil [1999] 1 AC 398. As a solution, the paper will stress on the need to amend the DPA and the LDA as a positive way forward to change this arena of tort law which is unduly stringent and restrictive.