Material variation, material breach and practical completion

In Mears Ltd v Costplan Services (South East) Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 502 the Court of Appeal held that the words “materially affect the size” of a room in student accommodation were not sufficient of themselves to turn a breach of the clause into a material breach. Rather, the effect of the clause was to turn a reduction in the size of the room which materially affected the size of the room into a breach of contract. The question whether that breach was sufficient to entitle the other party to terminate the contract between the parties was one to be decided by reference to all the facts and circumstances of the case. In relation to practical completion, the Court of Appeal held that it is something that it is easier to recognise than it is to define and that this is not a topic that is governed by hard and fast rules. On the facts it was held that the fact that the defects might have been incapable of economic repair was irrelevant to the question of whether practical completion had been achieved.