Property Adaptations

• Published date: 14 June 2023
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Court Procedure, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Deka Chambers
• Author: Ms Ella Davis

After grappling with all the arguments that can arise out of how to compensate a claimant for the need for a new property (how to deal with short life expectancy, what credit to give for properties which would have been purchased in any event and so on), property adaptation claims do not always get the attention they deserve. However, they can involve very large sums (sometimes more than any Swift v Carpenter award) and also generate significant legal argument. It is crucial that practitioners acting for claimants or defendants marshal their evidence as thoroughly as possible to put them in the best position to make those arguments.

This article looks at some basic principles, what can be claimed, what evidence is needed, and considers the specific issue of claims for more than one set of adaptations.

Principles

When considering any claimed adaptation, practitioners should ask themselves the following questions:

• Is there a need for the adaptation? There is no standard set of disability adaptations and it is important to consider the particular needs of the claimant. See for example Robshaw v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust [2015] EWHC 923 (QB) at paragraph 234, where it was held that the nature of that claimant's disability meant it was reasonable for him to be able to access the whole property in his powered wheelchair, while noting that it is "possible to envisage some disabled claimants for whom this would not be a factor of any significance if at all."
• Is the need caused by the defendant's breach of duty? For example, the claimant may have had an unmet pre-existing need for an adaptation but the cost of meeting this need in any new/newly adapted property should not be borne by the defendant. The claimant may have had some need for adaptations as they aged in any event in which case credit for these should be given.
• Is the proposed adaptation reasonable? For example in Whiten v St George's Healthcare NHS Trust [2011] EWHC 2066 (QB), while landscaping costs were allowed in so far as they provided a safe and stimulating area for the child claimant to play in, the cost of a timber cube ('2,750 plus VAT) and of garden lighting ('3,525 plus VAT) were not.
• Is the claimed/proposed adaptation consistent with the claimant's duty to mitigate their loss? Is there a more reasonable means of meeting the claimant's reasonable need? For example, where a claimant has purchased or is proposing to purchase a property which will need extensive adaptation, an...