McGuigan v Southwark LBC [1996] CLY 3721
A block of flats was suffering from an infestation of cockroaches, and these soon began to infiltrate the complainant tenant’s flat. The landlord took no action to remedy this, and by 1990 an extremely severe problem developed; cockroaches lived in the oven, fridge, freezer, television and telephone, and crawled all over the floors and furniture. To try to discourage them, the tenant did not use any heating for a while. She could not keep any food in the property, so always ate out. Bedding had to be checked everyday, and in 1991 the tenant stopped sleeping in the property. The tenant became extremely depressed and then suicidal, and she was referred for psychiatric assistance. In December 1991 the tenant was offered alternative accommodation, but her new landlord and her environmental health officer advised her not to take her possessions with her for risk of infecting her new flat. The new landlord informed her that she would be liable for any such infestation, so she discarded all of her possessions and could not afford to furnish her new flat properly. The tenant also had a separate complaint that the council had failed to maintain the common parts of the block of flats, as drug needles had not been removed. The court heldSubscription Required
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