Often you will see legislation using the term 'dwellinghouse' rather than the wider term 'premises'. The distinction is important: for example, frequently powers of entry into dwellinghouses are more restrictive than into other premises. But what is a 'dwellinghouse'?

The House of Lords in Uratemp Ventures Limited v Collins recently considered the meaning of a 'dwellinghouse', in particular, whether cooking facilities were an essential requirement of a dwellinghouse. The place in question was a single bedsit without any cooking facilities within a larger hotel. The ability to cancel the tenancy was harder if the bedsit was a dwellinghouse rather than another type of premises. The House of Lords decided cooking facilities were not an essential requirement of a dwellinghouse. A dwellinghouse is simply a place where a person lives, returns to, and forms the centre of their existence. In simple terms, a dwellinghouse simply means a person's home.

Although the case concerned a particular English statute, it still provides some guidance for New Zealand if the question of what is a dwellinghouse arises.

This is a general summary only and should not be taken as a substitute for specific advice.

For further information please contact Dean Knight, solicitor
dean.knight@phillipsfox.com

Web site: Phillips Fox