Court of Appeal clears up leasehold confusion – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 1st, 2023 in enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, Law Commission, leases, news, rent by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has had the latest say on shared ownership leaseholders’ right to take over the management of their building – an area where the Law Commission has previously said the landscape is unclear.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 31st May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The leasehold reform consultation – Mills & Reeve

‘The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is seeking views on the reform of the residential leasehold and commonhold system in England and Wales.’

Full Story

Mills & Reeve, 14th February 2022

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Privilege waived in litigation between law firms – Legal Futures

Posted February 9th, 2021 in enfranchisement, law firms, legal profession, negligence, news, privilege by tracey

‘The High Court has ruled that legal professional privilege was waived by the liquidators of a company when they released a set of documents to a litigant to help her sue her law firm for negligence.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 9th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Commission unveils leasehold proposals – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 24th, 2020 in enfranchisement, housing, Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘The Law Commission has unveiled a blueprint for the future of home ownership – including a commonhold regime described as “fit for purpose” nearly two decades after the concept was introduced.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 21st July 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Should I claim or should I wait? – Falcon Chambers

Posted June 16th, 2020 in coronavirus, enfranchisement, leases, mortgages, news, sale of land by sally

‘Since the property market coronavirus restrictions were lifted on 13 May 2020, there has been a reported rush to buy and sell houses and flats. Where property is leasehold, the sale of the lease is often the trigger which leads to a claim being made for either a new lease or the freehold under the Leasehold Reform Acts. The purchaser will always be concerned to see exactly what term is being acquired. A lessee of a flat wishing to buy a new lease must have owned the lease for two years before serving a notice (s. 39(2)(a) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993). The same ownership period applies to a claim to acquire the freehold of a house (s. 1(1)(b) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967).’

Full Story

Falcon Chambers, June 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Leasehold enfranchisement – options to reduce the price – Tanfield Chambers

Posted June 4th, 2020 in enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news, reports, valuation by sally

‘In relation to the qualifying criteria and procedure, the Law Commission was asked to make recommendations and the report on those aspects is due in the Spring. On the question of valuation, the Law Commission’s remit was slightly different. It was required to come up with “options” to reduce the premiums payable by leaseholders, not “recommendations”. It will then be a matter for the politicians to decide which option should be adopted. The Law Commission Report (Leasehold home ownership: buying your freehold or extending your lease. Report on options to reduce the price payable (HMSO, 2020), Law Com. No. 387) on those options was published on 9 January 2020.’

Full Story

Tanfield Chambers, 26th May 2020

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

100 years on the Statute Book but only one contested case…until now…. – Tanfield Chambers

Posted June 4th, 2020 in charities, Christianity, enfranchisement, leases, news, trusts by sally

‘There was no dispute about the facts. The Claimant church is a charitable company limited by guarantee, which took a 30 year lease of a former industrial unit from the Defendants and converted it into a Church and community centre. That was the permitted use under the lease.’

Full Story

Tanfield Chambers, 22nd May 2020

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Enfranchisement Under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967: An overview and case law update – St Ives Chambers

Posted May 7th, 2020 in chambers articles, enfranchisement, leases, news by sally

‘This article is intended to provide a brief overview on the law of enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (‘LRA’), with an update on recent case law.’

Full Story

St Ives Chambers, 4th May 2020

Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk

Jonathan Upton successful in High Court appeal on the right to enfranchise under the 1967 Act – Each Other

‘In Freehold Properties 250 Ltd v Field and others [2020] EWHC 792 (Ch) (Marcus Smith J) the court considered: (i) whether a tenant has a right to enfranchise under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (“the 1967 Act”) where the structural parts (i.e. the roof, foundations and load-bearing walls) of the house are excluded from the demise; and (ii) whether the exclusion of the structural parts is void under s.23(1) of the 1967 Act.’

Full Story

Each Other, 14th April 2020

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Managing Enfranchisement Claims during the Coronavirus Pandemic – Falcon Chambers

‘Leasehold enfranchisement and right to manage practitioners are used to dealing with unexpected developments, tight deadlines and strict rules. They ought therefore to be well placed to manage the difficulties presented by the Coronavirus crisis. Nonetheless, the present circumstances are undoubtedly challenging for those acting for landlords or tenants in enfranchisement, lease extension and right to manage matters.’

Full Story

Falcon Chambers, April 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Options for reforming valuation in leasehold enfranchisement published by Law Commission – Law Commission

Posted January 9th, 2020 in enfranchisement, leases, press releases, valuation by tracey

‘The Law Commission of England and Wales has today [09 January 2020] published a report setting out options to reduce the cost that leaseholders have to pay to buy the freehold or extend the lease of their homes (known as “enfranchisement”). The reforms have the potential to make the process easier and more affordable for millions of leaseholders across England and Wales.’

Full press release

Law commission, 9th January 2020

Source: www.lawcom.gov

A busy residential road lies ahead – Tanfield Chambers

Posted January 9th, 2020 in covenants, enfranchisement, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repossession by sally

‘2020 looks like it will be a busy year for residential property law. Now that the election is finally out of the way and the stasis in parliament has been resolved, we might actually see some changes in the law.’

Full Story

Tanfield Chambers, 6th January 2019

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

A new question: When is a flat not a flat? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2019 in enfranchisement, leases, news by sally

‘Having struggled with ‘what is a house?’, the Court of Appeal has turned its attention to ‘what is a flat?’’

Full Story

Tanfield Chambers, 2nd December 2019

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Outdated law led to voting problems in EU elections – watchdog – The Guardian

Posted October 9th, 2019 in EC law, elections, enfranchisement, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The government’s failure to reform outdated legislation caused some EU citizens in the UK and British citizens overseas to lose their vote in the European elections in May, the Electoral Commission has concluded.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sight impaired voters and the secret of the ballot box – UK Human Rights Blog

‘How can someone who suffers from severely limited sight avail herself of the process for making a mark on a paper ballot under the Representation of the People Act 1983?’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 12th May 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Leasehold Enfranchisement Claims – Why it is difficult to reach an amicable solution – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 20th, 2019 in enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘ALEP member Nicola Muir is a senior member of the Tanfield Chambers’ property team. She is a specialist in enfranchisement law and all aspects of landlord and tenant law. In this article she examines the complexity of legislation surrounding landlord and tenant disputes.’

Full Story

Tanfield Chambers, 14th March 2019

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Elizabeth Adams: Prisoners’ Voting Rights: Case Closed? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted January 30th, 2019 in elections, enfranchisement, human rights, news, prisons, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 6 December 2018, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe closed the supervision of the prisoners’ voting rights cases against the United Kingdom (UK) and adopted final resolution CM/ResDH(2018)467. Thirteen years after Hirst v United Kingdom (No.2) (2006) 42 EHRR 41 (Hirst) was made final, the protracted prisoner voting stalemate is over. Case closed. Or is it?’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 30th January 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Costs shake-up proposed for landlord-leaseholder disputes – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 29th, 2019 in costs, enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘Landlords would not be able to recover their legal costs from leaseholders unsuccessfully making ‘right-to-manage’ claims under proposals published by the Law Commission today. The aim is to simplify the process under which leaseholders take over day-to-day responsibility for properties – and to discourage landlords from retaining ‘expensive’ lawyers to fight such claims.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 28th January 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Resident crowd funds legal challenge to voter identification pilots – Local Government Lawyer

‘An Essex resident has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for a legal challenge to the next round of voter identification pilots.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law Commission publishes leasehold reform proposals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in consultations, enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘Detailed proposals to reform the leasehold enfranchisement process and make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders in England and Wales to purchase the freehold of their house or flat have been published by the Law Commission.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com