These claims are subject to the Civil Liability Act 2003 and Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002.
The owners of rental properties owe a duty to a tenant to take reasonable care for the safety of the tenant and other persons who foreseeably enter onto the property.
The owner is not liable for defects in the premises of which he or she is unaware and in respect of which it would have been unreasonable for them to have inspected so as to be aware.
If an owner is aware of a defect which could reasonably foreseeably result in an injury then the owner will be liable for an injury which results if the defect is not rectified within a reasonable time of becoming aware of it.
At the commencement of any residential tenancy, the owner and tenant are required to complete a report on the condition of the premises. This is a statutory obligation which arises under laws relating to residential tenancies. If any defect is notified in that report and that defect eventually causes an injury, the owner may be liable as a result. The same result would apply if a tenant has brought to the owner's attention a defect which subsequently causes an injury.
In both cases there must of course have been a reasonable time interval which has passed which would have allowed the owner to have completed the repairs.
It may be easier to establish that the landlord was, or ought to have been aware, of a defect existing prior to the commencement of the tenancy than one which arose later.
Where a landlord has engaged a competent contractor to carry out work on the premises and such work is defective, the owner is unlikely to be liable to the tenant for any loss resulting from that contractor's breach.