A fairer deal for leaseholders of houses and flats – Law Commission

‘The Law Commission has proposed a series of radical reforms designed to provide a better deal for leaseholders who want to purchase the freehold or to extend the lease of their home.’

Full press release

Law commission, 20th September 2018

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Radical proposal to make escaping ‘leasehold trap’ easier for homeowners raised by Law Commission – The Independent

Posted July 20th, 2018 in enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news, reports by tracey

‘A radical proposal to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to escape the so-called “leasehold trap” and buy the freehold of their houses has been put forward by the Law Commission.’

Full Story

The Independent, 19th July 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Leasehold law reform work will improve lives of millions – Hopkins – Law Commission

Posted April 30th, 2018 in enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, press releases by tracey

‘Professor Nick Hopkins has pledged that the Law Commission’s leasehold reform recommendations to government will provide a “better deal for leaseholders”. Announced as part of the 13th Programme of Law Reform, the Law Commission residential leasehold and commonhold project aims to improve consumer choice, provide greater fairness, and make the process of enfranchisement easier, quicker and more cost effective.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 27th April 2018

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk/

Appeal court: landlord withholding planning consent was unreasonable – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 19th, 2018 in appeals, consent, enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘A commercial landlord acted unreasonably by withholding from a tenant its consent to apply for planning permission to change the use of the middle two storeys of a building from commercial to residential, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th April 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Calls to Lower Voting Age Sidelined – But is There a Human Rights Argument? – Rightsinfo

Posted November 6th, 2017 in bills, elections, enfranchisement, human rights, news, treaties by tracey

‘MPs in Westminster today debated proposals to lower the voting age across the UK to 16 – but could there be a human rights argument for this?’

Full Story

Rightsinfo, 3rd November 2017

Source: rightsinfo.org

Prisoners Will Finally Be Given The Vote, Say Reports – Rights Info

‘A limited number of prisoners will be allowed to vote ending the UK’s total ban on prisoners voting, according to reports.’

Full Story

Rights Info, 29th October 2017

Source: rightsinfo.org

Government reportedly planning to allow some UK prisoners to vote – The Guardian

‘The UK government is reportedly to scrap its blanket ban on prisoners being allowed to vote, 12 years after the European court of human rights ruled that it was unlawful.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 29th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Duchy of Cornwall residents fight ‘unfair’ freehold ban – The Guardian

‘Prince Charles’s £1bn Duchy of Cornwall estate is facing a rebellion by residents who claim they are subject to an unfair ban on buying the freeholds to their homes.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Liora Lazarus: Do Human Rights Impede Effective Counterterrorism? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Theresa May and Keir Starmer disagree about whether human rights impede effective counterterrorism. Both bring experience at the coalface of this field, May as former Home Secretary, and Starmer as former DPP responsible for the prosecution of terrorist cases. Who is right? There is no point in pretending that human rights do not present legal constraints on counterterrorism powers. Nevertheless, the constraints that do exist are certainly not as restrictive as rights opponents would like us to believe. Moreover, it is crucial to distinguish between legal constraints, and the notion that these constraints constitute practical impediments on the effective prevention and punishment of terrorism. The debate is full of confusion between the two. This post will deal only with the first question of legal constraints, as the second is a matter of empirical proof. Before we can proceed with the normative project of changing human rights protections, a process that has far wider implications for human rights in general and our liberal democratic culture, any government has to provide persuasive evidence that human rights do in fact stand in the way of security. The present government, for as long as it lasts, would also need to dispose of the charge that a 13 % reduction in police numbers over the last six years is less significant in the fight against terror, than the human rights constraints that guide police action.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th June 2017

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

The new era of housebuilding needs new property laws – The Guardian

Posted December 5th, 2016 in enfranchisement, leases, news, rent by sally

‘Leasehold houses aren’t the only problem area – apartment buyers need help too.’

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Blackstone’s Statutes 2016-2017: key legislation – OUP Blog

Posted August 17th, 2016 in assault, EC law, enfranchisement, news, referendums, telecommunications by sally

‘In 2015, we asked some of our Blackstone’s Statutes series editors to select a piece of legislation from their subject area which had made a big impact; it resulted in an interesting selection so we decided to do the same thing this year. Discussed below are what our editors consider to be key pieces of legislation from their area of expertise. The main difference this time around has been that the UK has voted to leave the EU, which in turn has led to the future of some legislation being uncertain.’

Full story

OUP Blog, 17th August 2016

Source: www.blog.oup.com

A judge by any other name would smell… much the same – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Did you know that a judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) may be able to hear a county court case and vice versa? Under a scheme being piloted at present, such a thing is indeed possible.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 13th June 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Management Issues at Mixed-Use Developments – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 12th, 2016 in consultations, covenants, enfranchisement, housing, leases, news, service charges by sally

‘By their very nature, mixed-use developments involve multiple parties with competing interests. This often leads to disputes regarding the management of the estate and the cost of maintaining it and, ultimately, to leaseholders wanting to take control (either by exercising the right to collective enfranchisement or the right to manage).’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 10th June 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Stamp Duty Land Tax – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 12th, 2016 in enfranchisement, housing, leases, news, stamp duty, taxation by sally

‘Does the 3% second home surcharge apply to statutory lease extensions and enfranchisement under the 1993 and 1967 Acts?’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 6th June 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Deferment Rate Revisited – Tanfield Chambers

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in enfranchisement, housing, leases, news, tribunals, valuation by sally

‘The deferment rate is a key input in every enfranchisement claim whether it relates to the enfranchisement of a house, block of flats or the extension of a flat lease. The current deferment rate was set by the Lands Tribunal in Earl Cadogan v Sportelli [2007] 1 EGLR 153. This article explains what the deferment rate is and how the Tribunal arrived at the value which has been universally adopted since the decision in Sportelli. It then explores the status of the decision in Sportelli and asks whether it is time to re-set the deferment rate. The last part of the article looks at deferment rates for shorter leases.’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 31st May 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Expats lose Supreme Court bid for EU referendum vote – BBC News

‘Two Britons living abroad have lost their Supreme Court battle over the right to vote in June’s EU referendum.’

Full story

BBC News, 24th May 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EU referendum: Expats challenge 15-year voting restriction – BBC News

‘Two expats are challenging a decision to bar British citizens who have lived elsewhere in Europe for more than 15 years from voting in the EU referendum.’

Full story

BBC News, 15th March 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Collective Enfranchisement: Validity of Notices – Tanfield Chambers

Posted January 13th, 2016 in enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘Chapter I of Part I of the 1993 Act confers on certain tenants of flats held under long residential leases in certain premises the right to collective enfranchisement, that is to say the right to have the freehold of those premises acquired on their behalf by a person appointed by them for that purpose and at a price determined in accordance with Schedule 6 to the 1993 Act. Tenants entitled to participate in collective enfranchisement are called “qualifying tenants”. The premises must comprise two or more flats held by qualifying tenants. The total number of flats held by such tenants must be not less than two thirds of the total number of flats contained in the premises’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 7th January 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

A House Reasonably So Called – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 12th, 2016 in appeals, enfranchisement, housing, news by sally

‘Andy Creer looks at the decision in Jewelcraft Ltd v Pressland [2015] EWCA Civ 1111.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 8th January 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

A house reasonably so called – New Law Journal

Posted December 15th, 2015 in appeals, enfranchisement, housing, news by sally

‘Andy Creer looks at the decision in Jewelcraft.’

Full story

New Law Journal, 11th December 2015

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk