Sheriar Khan and Nicholas Zeolla’s essay “What Qualifies as a ‘Dwelling’ under the Defective Premises Act 1972?” published in the SCL Spring Journal

“What Qualifies as a ‘Dwelling’ under the Defective Premises Act 1972?“, jointly written by Sheriar Khan and Nicholas Zeolla, is included in the recently published Spring 2026 edition of the Society of Construction Law Journal.

In this paper, the authors explore what constitutes a dwelling under the Defective Premises Act including how the definition has been treated in significant cases, highlighting how the ambiguity in defining the term ‘dwelling’ may yield potential defences to claims under the Act, before concluding that more judicial guidance in this area is required.  

Sheriar and Nicholas’s essay was Highly Commended in the Hudson Prize 2026, the SCL’s annual essay-writing competition.

You can read the full essay on the SCL’s website here.