Limitation Periods

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Type of claim	Time limit	Notes	Links	Statutory ref	Last updated	Author
Breach of contract (simple contract)	6 years from breach	if there has been fraud, concealment or mistake time will not start to run until it is (or should reasonably have been) discovered (Limitation Act 1980 s.32)	Out-Law.com (Pinsent Masons) on Limitation periods under English Law	Limitation Act 1980 s.5	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Breach of contract (deed)	12 years from breach	"specialty" is another word for a deed, viz a document which is signed, sealed and delivered	The law dictionary	Limitation Act 1980 s.8	27th Sept 2018	HJS
general claims in tort	6 years from date of damage	eg a claim for professional negligence, nuisance or trespass. Can be extended if no knowledge of damage (Limitation Act 1980 s.14a)	Notes on professional negligence claims by Wright Hassall, solicitors	Limitation Act 1980 s.2	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Personal injury or death	3 years	Can be extended by the Court (Limitation Act s.33)	Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 s.1	Limitation Act 1980 ss.11 and 12	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Latent injury caused by negligence (excluding personal injury)	3 years from date when claimant knew or should have known of the damage	Subject to 6 years limit from date of damage, with absolute limit of 15 years from date on which the negligence happened	Thomson Reuters/Practical Law notes on The Latent Damage Act 1986	Limitation Act 1980 ss.14A(4) and 14B	1st Oct 2018	HJS
Contribution claims	2 years	applies where someone who has been successfully sued is entitled to recover contribution from some other person.	Aer Lingus v Gildacroft Ltd and Sentinel Lifts Ltd, [2006] EWCA Civ 4 (17th Jan 2006)	Limitation Act 1980 s.10	1st Oct 2018	HJS
Libel or slander	1 year	Can be extended by the Court (Limitation Act s.32A)	Defamation Act 1996 s.5	Limitation Act 1980 s.4A	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Arrears of rent	6 years	This 6 year period applies even if the liability arises under a deed (when limitation period is usually 12 years - see above).	New time limit rules for landlord notices apply from 1st October 2015 (see Deregulation Act 2015)	Limitation Act 1980 s.19	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Action to recover land	12 years			Limitation Act 1980 s.15	27th Sept 2018	HJS
Claims in Equity	no specified period	no specified limitation period	Wikipedia notes on laches and acquiescence which may prevent a delayed claim.		27th Sept 2018	HJS
HMRC tax claims	no time limit under Limitation Act 1980 but other provisions set time limits	The Limitation Act 1980 does NOT apply to recovery of tax. However a variety of time limits are set out in the Taxes Management Act 1970	HMRC Compliance Handbook	Limitation Act 1980 s.37	4th Sept 2018	HJS
Employment and Discrimination Law claims		See notes at Employment Law and/or at Employment Tribunals
Judicial Review	Generally 3 months			Civil Procedure Rules, CPR 54(5)
Human Rights Act claims against Public Authorities	1 year	The 1 year period can be extended if "the court or tribunal considers [this would be] equitable having regard to all the circumstances"		Human Rights Act 1998 s.7(5)
Defective Premises Act claims	6 years	Time runs from completion of the building (or in respect of further work from completion of that work)		Limitation Act 1980 s.9 and Defective Premises Act 1972 s.1(5)

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For notes on limitation periods for Maritime claims go to Admiralty (time limits).
Limitation periods do not run while a claimant is younger than 18. Limitation periods do not run while/if the claimant is under a disability (Limitation Act 1980 s.28).
if there has been fraud, concealment or mistake time will not start to run until it is (or should reasonably have been) discovered (Limitation Act 1980 s.32)
There are current proposals for reducing the deadline for paying SDLT (and filing SDLT returns) from 30 to 14 days (see Gov’t notes of 6th July 2018 on proposed changes to SDLT time limits and generally see notes on Stamp Duty Land Tax)