Category: landlord & tenant

Come friendly bombs… – NearlyLegal

Posted June 16th, 2014 in insurance, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, terrorism, tribunals by sally

‘Terrorism insurance is an increasingly contentious issue in service charge cases; in short, many leaseholders think it is unnecessary and simply serves to increase the their service charges (and, potentially, acts as an additional source of commission for landlords, itself a very contentious issue). Well, in Qdime Ltd v Various Leaseholders at Bath Building (Swindon) and others [2014] UKUT 261 (LC), the Upper Tribunal has given an unqualified endorsement of terrorism insurance and, in the process, may well have greatly extended the number of properties which are now required to obtain such insurance.’

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NearlyLegal, 13th June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Former landlords and s.20B LTA 1985 – NearlyLegal

Posted June 16th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, water companies by sally

‘In Ground Rents (Regisport) Ltd v Dowlen [2014] UKUT 144 (LC), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) had to – once again – grapple with s.20B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The facts are quite straightforward. Imagine, if you will, that there is a modern development of three blocks of flats. It was developed by Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd, who were also the original landlords under all the long leases. Once the leases had been created, the freehold was transferred to the appellant.’

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NearlyLegal, 13th June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

On the naughty step: The unacceptable face of London landlords – NearlyLegal

Posted June 13th, 2014 in benefits, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, unfair contract terms by sally

‘Some of you, those in London at least, might have noticed Boris Johnson announce a new, and completely voluntary, no compulsion here, landlord accreditation scheme. The idea being that tenants, desperate to find somewhere in the middle of the worst accommodation shortage in London for many, many years, will choose to avoid a ‘non-Boris’ landlord. This is of dubious worth, but no matter, what concerns us here is what followed that announcement. Bear with me, because it is worth it in the end.’

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NearlyLegal, 12th June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Succession and Sharia – NearlyLegal

Posted June 3rd, 2014 in appeals, islamic law, landlord & tenant, married persons, news, succession by sally

‘From 1/8/1980 until his death on 19/11/2010, Mr Al-Faisal held a protected Rent Act tenancy of Flat 15, 1 Royal Avenue House, London, SW3. In 1987, Ms Al-Faisal married the Appellant, Ms Ouaha, in an Islamic marriage ceremony in London and the couple had two children in 1991 and 1994. Importantly for the purposes of this case, there was no civil ceremony.’

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NearlyLegal, 1st June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlords face prosecution over criminal tenants – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 3rd, 2014 in bills, confiscation, landlord & tenant, news, sentencing by sally

‘New offence to be announced in the Queen’s Speech will make it an offence to turn a blind eye to criminal behaviour on your property – with a punishment of up to five years in jail.’

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Permitted use restriction in retail lease breached Competition Act, London court rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 19th, 2014 in competition, landlord & tenant, leases, local government, news by sally

‘A ‘permitted use’ restriction in a commercial lease which limited the type of goods that a retail tenant could sell from the premises was in breach of the Competition Act, a county court in London has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th May 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Approximate grounds – NearlyLegal

Posted May 19th, 2014 in appeals, housing, interpretation, landlord & tenant, news, rent, repossession by sally

‘When a notice is served under Section 8 Housing Act 1988, how precise does the wording of the ground(s) under which possession will be sought have to be?’

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NearlyLegal, 18th May 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Court of Appeal’s reversal of break clause rent decision restores certainty to landlords, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 15th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, news, rent by tracey

‘Retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) must repay over £1 million to the landlord of its former head office after the Court of Appeal ruled that it was not entitled to reclaim rent and other charges covering the period after it exercised a break clause.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th May 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Letting agents ‘will have to publish their fees in full’ – BBC News

Posted May 14th, 2014 in bills, consumer protection, fees, landlord & tenant, news, regulations, rent by sally

‘The government has said letting agents in England face a new obligation to display full details of their fees both on their websites and in their offices.’

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BBC News, 14th May 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

L Batley Pet Products Limited (Appellant) v North Lanarkshire Council (Respondent) – Supreme Court

Posted May 12th, 2014 in appeals, dilapidations, documents, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases, local government, notification, repairs, Scotland, Supreme Court by sally

L Batley Pet Products Limited (Appellant) v North Lanarkshire Council (Respondent) [2014] UKSC 27 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 8th May 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

The Tenant (Super)Strikes Back – NearlyLegal

Posted May 9th, 2014 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘As we noted when writing up Superstrike Ltd v Rodrigues [2013] EWCA Civ 669 (see our note, here), the case left open an interesting – and important – question. If a fixed term has expired and a statutory periodic tenancy arisen, do the requirements in s.213, Housing Act 2004 (deal with the deposit in accordance with an authorised scheme; comply with any initial requirements of the scheme; provide the prescribed information in the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007) arise again? If they do, does non-compliance render s.21 notices invalid (s.215)and/or expose landlords to the statutory damages (s.214).’

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NearlyLegal, 8th May 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Regina (O Twelve Baytree Ltd) v Rent Assessment Panel – WLR Daily

Posted May 8th, 2014 in jurisdiction, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases, tribunals by tracey

Regina (O Twelve Baytree Ltd) v Rent Assessment Panel: [2014] EWHC 1229 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 185

‘Notwithstanding that an applicant had given notice of its intention to withdraw an application under section 84(3) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 for determination of its right to manage premises, the Rent Assessment Panel retained jurisdiction and could either decide to dismiss the application or proceed to determine the application.’

WLR Daily, 16th April 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

You don’t just walk away – NearlyLegal

Posted April 22nd, 2014 in costs, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘R (Twelve Baytree Ltd) v Rent Assessment Committee [2014] EWHC 1129 (Admin) is that rare beast – a judicial review of the LVT (as it was; FTT(PC) as it is now). It concerns how you withdraw a Right to Manage claim. I confess, when I first heard about this case, I had thought it would be more interesting than it has turned out to be.’

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NearlyLegal, 20th April 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Gonna get myself arrested – NearlyLegal

Posted April 22nd, 2014 in civil procedure rules, landlord & tenant, news, tribunals by sally

‘Maunder Taylor v SHG-SH20 Ltd 3CL02066 is one of the more interesting (and potentially, important) county court cases I’ve come across recently (transcript not publicly available; I’ve got one and am trying to persuade the Landlord and Tenant Reports to publish it). For reasons that will become clear, it has wider significance for LVT/FTT cases and although only a county court judgment, it is by HHJ Walden-Smith who is herself a judge of the UT(LC); not binding authority, I accept, but persuasive and important.’

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NearlyLegal, 18th April 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Disrepair: La luta continua! – NearlyLegal

Posted April 14th, 2014 in children, costs, damages, fees, landlord & tenant, legal aid, news, rent, repairs by sally

‘2013 was a difficult year for claimant disrepair. Changes in legal aid funding have made it all but impossible to pursue a disrepair claim under legal aid alone, as funding is only available for an order to carry out repairs to where there is serious risk to health or well being of the tenant or other occupiers, and not for further repairs or the damages claim (although full funding remains for a counterclaim to a possession claim, which can be brought after the possession order).’

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NearlyLegal, 13th April 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Early Compliance – NearlyLegal

Posted April 14th, 2014 in appeals, deposits, judicial review, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘This is a slightly surprising case involving a judicial review of refusal of permission to appeal.’

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NearlyLegal, 11th April 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlords are wrong and tenants right? The two sides of the eviction story – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2014 in landlord & tenant, news, rent, repairs, repossession by sally

‘Tenant evictions are a thorny subject. On one side tenants say they are often evicted illegally, without reason, and far too often. On the other, landlords complain that ousting troublesome tenants is expensive and time-consuming. We’ve looked at two evictions – one from a landlord’s point of view and the other from the tenant’s, and offered a guide to your rights – whichever side you are on.’

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The Guardian, 5th April 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

London Fire Brigade secures first confiscation order against landlord – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 11th, 2014 in confiscation, fines, fire services, health & safety, landlord & tenant, news by tracey

‘The London Fire Brigade has obtained a confiscation order for the first time, against a landlord who was also fined for breaches of fire safety laws.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th March 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013: What will it do? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 10th, 2014 in fraud, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘This presentation considers the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act (―the Act‖), which came into force on 15 October 2013, from a practical perspective. A brief background to the Act will be set out below at paragraphs 3 to 7 along with the intended effects. There will then follow an examination of the provisions of the Act and an evaluation of its likely future impact and use, particularly on and by local authorities and housing associations.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th February 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Bathroom spy-cam landlord escapes jail term – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 3rd, 2014 in conditional discharge, landlord & tenant, news, video recordings, voyeurism by sally

‘A landlord who installed a hidden camera in his bathroom so he could spy on female students showering has avoided a jail sentence.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk