Appeal by Simon Pelosi and others against Lanarkshire Housing Association Limited
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Court | Court of Session |
| Judge | Lord Doherty,Lady Wise,Lord Ericht |
| Judgment Date | 30 April 2026 |
| Neutral Citation | [2026] CSIH 21 |
| Date | 30 April 2026 |
| Published date | 30 April 2026 |
| Docket Number | A65/13 |
EXTRA DIVISION, INNER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION
[2026] CSIH 21
A65/13
Lord Doherty
Lady Wise
Lord Ericht
OPINION OF THE COURT
delivered by LORD ERICHT
in the Appeal
by
SIMON PELOSI AND OTHERS
Pursuers and Reclaimers
against
LANARKSHIRE HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED
Defender and Respondent
Pursuers and Reclaimers: R D Sutherland; Allan McDougall
Defender and Respondent: Johnson KC, McKinley; Brodies LLP
30 April 2026
Introduction
[1] Watling Street housing development was built on a former industrial site. Tenants in
the development brought separate actions against the landlord. They sought damages for
personal injury caused by contaminants present in the land at the development, claiming
that there had been breach of the landlord’s statutory obligation, initially under section 113
of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, read with Schedule 10, paragraph 2, and then under
section 27 and Schedule 4 paragraph 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, to ensure that
2
their houses were reasonably t for human habitation. A proof on 11 of the actions was
heard together, with the outcome also being binding on the remaining actions. The
Lord Ordinary held that the tenants’ cases failed on both breach of duty and causation and
assoilzied the landlord ([2024] CSOH 56). The tenants now reclaim (appeal) in the principal
case of Pelosi and 34 other actions.
Statutory provisions
[2] Section 113 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, read with Schedule 10, paragraph 2,
provides that:
“In any contract to which this paragraph applies there shall, notwithstanding any
stipulation to the contrary, be implied a condition that the house is at the
commencement of the tenancy, and an undertaking that the house will be kept by the
landlord during the tenancy, in all respects reasonably t for human habitation…”
Section 27 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, read with Schedule 4, paragraph 1, provides
that:
“The landlord in a Scoish secure tenancy must—
(a) ensure that the house is, at the commencement of the tenancy, wind and
watertight and in all other respects reasonably t for human habitation, and
(b) keep the house in such condition throughout the tenancy.”
Background
[3] The development site was industrial from 1900 to the 1970s, occupied originally by
the Motherwell Iron and Steel Works and then by other industrial manufacturers.
Thereafter it was redeveloped for housing and the rst tenants moved in in 1999.
[4] The redevelopment was constructed, in part, on “made ground”, ie ground formed
by man-made materials placed atop the pre-existing surface. The made ground contained
remnants of the materials present during its time as an industrial site, including potential
3
contaminants such as asbestos, ash, clinker, various metals and their derivatives, solvents,
semi-volatile organic compounds (“SVOCs”), volatile-organic compounds (“VOCs”),
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (“PAHs”) and polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”).
[5] As the Lord Ordinary explained at para [7], these chemicals persist in the
environment. They are potentially hazardous to human health. In addition, some have the
potential to evaporate over time, depending upon environmental conditions. Others will
break down over time, and form new chemicals, which are also potentially hazardous.
Much depends upon the particular conditions of the site where the contaminant is
deposited. For the tenants, however, there exists the potential for them to come into contact
with the contaminants either through inhaling fumes or directly touching them, eg in the
soil or subsoil of their gardens.
The proof
[6] The issues at proof were (1) whether the landlord had breached its statutory duties
and (2) if so, whether that had caused loss to the tenants.
[7] Thirteen tenants gave evidence about their experiences of living at the development,
which included complaints of smells in their homes, of rashes, and other health issues.
[8] Expert evidence was led on contamination and on toxicology.
[9] On contamination, the tenants led evidence from Kevin Brian (environmental
engineer), Michael Quint (expert on contaminated land risk assessment) and
Peter Witherington (geotechnical and environmental land related issues). The landlord led
evidence from Simon Firth (contaminated land practitioner specialising in human health and
environmental risk assessment of subsurface contamination).
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting