Occupiers and Premises

Occupiers' Liability

In this course, Dr David Pearce (University of Leeds) explores occupiers’ liability. In the first module, we introduce some key concepts for understanding occupiers’ liability, including occupiers, premises, liability, standard of care and control. In the second module, we examine the scope of liability under the Occupiers’ Liability Acts 1957, 1984. In the third module, we examine how a duty of care is established for occupiers’ liability, before turning DOC as it relates to non-visitors in the fourth module. In the fifth module, we look at how a breach of duty can be determined. Finally, in the sixth module, we consider causation and defences, and provide a general overview of what we have learned throughout the modules.

Occupiers and Premises

In this module, we introduce the concepts of premises and occupiers in tort law, focusing in particular on (i) locating occupiers’ liability in relation to negligence and the Occupiers’ Liability Acts 1957, and 1984 (ii) the meaning of occupiers’ liability (iii) the meaning of premises (iv) the relationship between the occupier and elements of control (v) the issue of multiple occupiers and different standards of care for different occupiers.