Taqeer Shah & Anor v Linda McLaughlin & Ors
[2024] UKUT 69 (LC)
Margaret Florence Cabo v Karen Tamie Dezotti
6 November 2024
[2024] EWCA Civ 1358
Court of Appeal
A woman's company let a room in her house but didn't have the right licenses. The court decided she was secretly the landlord all along, even though her company seemed to be in charge. She had to pay back the tenant because of this.
Key Facts
- •Ms. Cabo owned a six-bedroom property.
- •She entered a management agreement with Top Holdings (her husband's company) to manage the property, with Top Holdings retaining all income.
- •Top Holdings let a room to Ms. Dezotti under a 'Licence to occupy' agreement, purporting to be a holiday let.
- •Ms. Dezotti paid rent, initially to Ms. Cabo's brother and later directly to Mr. Grasso.
- •The property was deemed a mandatory HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) without a license.
- •Ms. Dezotti sought a rent repayment order against Ms. Cabo under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
Legal Principles
A rent repayment order cannot be made against a superior landlord (a landlord higher up the chain of tenancies than the immediate landlord).
Jepsen v Rakusen [2023] UKSC 9
Definition of 'person having control' and 'person managing' an HMO under section 263 of the Housing Act 2004.
Housing Act 2004, sections 263
An undisclosed principal may sue and be sued on a contract made by an agent on their behalf, within the scope of the agent's actual authority; the agent must intend to act on the principal's behalf; the contract's terms may exclude the principal's right to sue or liability to be sued.
Siu Yin Kwan v Eastern Insurance Co Ltd [1994] 2 AC 199
A company with no proprietary interest in land can grant a tenancy and be a landlord.
Bruton v London & Quadrant Housing Trust [2000] 1 AC 406
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Court of Appeal found that Ms. Cabo was an undisclosed principal, meaning Top Holdings acted as her agent when letting the room to Ms. Dezotti. Therefore, Ms. Cabo was the landlord for the purposes of the 2016 Act and liable for the rent repayment order.