Roberts v Juniper

In *Roberts v Juniper*, the Supreme Court of Victoria was asked to determine whether a landlord, Juniper, had breached its duty of care to a tenant, Roberts, by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent a foreseeable risk of harm arising from the condition of the leased premises. The dispute concerned injuries sustained by Roberts when a ceiling collapsed in the leased property.

The central legal issue before the Court was the scope of a landlord's duty of care in relation to the condition of leased premises, particularly where the landlord had no actual knowledge of the defect but where the defect was discoverable through reasonable inspection. The Court had to consider whether the landlord's duty extended to taking positive steps to inspect the premises for latent defects that could pose a foreseeable risk of harm to the tenant.

Justice Burnett found that a landlord owes a duty of care to a tenant to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm arising from defects in the premises. This duty requires the landlord to take reasonable steps to discover defects that are discoverable by reasonable inspection, even if the landlord has no actual knowledge of the defect. In this instance, the Court held that the landlord had breached its duty of care by failing to conduct a reasonable inspection of the ceiling, which would have revealed the defect and allowed for its repair, thereby preventing the collapse and the tenant's injuries. The Court applied principles of negligence, focusing on the foreseeability of the risk and the reasonableness of the landlord's actions or omissions.

The Court ordered that judgment be entered for the plaintiff, Roberts, and that the defendant, Juniper, pay damages to be assessed.