Surrey CC v Bredero Homes Ltd. [1993] 3 All ER 705 is an English legal case relating to damages, in which two English councils, Surrey County Council and Mole Valley District Council, owned adjoining parcels of land.[1] They sold the land in 1981 to developer Bredero Homes, subject to development covenants which stipulated conditions applicable to the development. The developer obtained planning permission subject to differing conditions, which allowed them to build more houses than the Councils' covenants would have permitted.[2]

If the Councils had sold the land with the potential for more housing to be developed, they would have been able to charge more for the land. However, the legal rule that damages at common law pertain to the loss incurred by the injured party when a defendant has breached a contract was upheld, and as the Councils had suffered no loss their damages were only nominal,[2] just £2.[3]

References

  1. ^ England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division), County Council of Surrey & Anor v Bredero Homes Ltd. EWCA Civ 21, published 7 April 1993, accessed 29 December 2021
  2. ^ a b Oxbridge Notes, Surrey County Council v Bredero Homes Ltd, accessed 29 December 2021
  3. ^ Swarbrick, D., Surrey County Council v Bredero Homes Ltd: CA 7 Apr 1993, updated 07 June 2022, accessed 2 December 2022


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