Bruton v London and Quadrant Housing Trust [1999] 3 WLR 150

Court: House of Lords

Basic Facts: The Housing Trust licensed properties from the LA for temporary accommodation. Occupiers, including C, were asked to sign agreements acknowledging the license. C claimed he was a tenant and sought an implied covenant for repairs.

Issue for the Court: Can a lease be granted without property rights, creating only a license?

Held: The House of Lords held that a person could have a lease with exclusive possession even if the landlord only had a license to occupy the land, giving tenants certain statutory protections.

Lord Hoffmann (allowing C's appeal)

• Lease as a Contract:

• A lease or tenancy is a contract granting exclusive possession, independent of the landlord's property rights.

• License vs. Lease:

• The argument that LQ only had a license was rejected, as the agreement created a lease based on exclusive possession, regardless of LQ's limited rights.

• Proprietary Interest:

• A lease creates a proprietary interest, but the existence of the lease does not depend on the landlord's ability to grant such an interest.