A tenant removed the banisters to the staircase because he wanted a more open plan feel.

The landlord knew that he’d done so and despite regular inspections, no one had informed the tenant that this posed a serious health risk or attempted to replace the banister.

The matter came to a head when Mr. Hannon, a central heating engineer visited the property and fell because there was no banister to steady himself. The court ruled in the heating engineers favour under Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act