‘It is well known that practical completion is often easier to recognise than it is to define, which is why the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Mears Ltd v Costplan Services (South East) Ltd and others is an important read for construction practitioners.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 29th March 2019
‘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.’
Tanfield Chambers, 14th March 2019
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Councils may be left unable to claim some £10m in business rates after Rossendale Borough Council lost a test case in the Court of Appeal over empty properties.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th March 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has granted the European Medicines Agency (EMA) permission to appeal in a dispute over whether its 25-year lease at Canary Wharf will be frustrated by Brexit.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has ruled that the London Borough of Southwark can recover a service charge for work in a leaseholder’s flat after the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) said nothing was payable.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th March 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This article will look at just one of the (numerous) issues of which transactional solicitors need to be aware when dealing with residential conveyancing: protected residential tenancies. The following samples the chapter on Residential Leasehold Conveyancing in the Law Society’s latest publication: Risk & Negligence in Property Transactions edited by John de Waal QC.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 15th February 2019
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘The need for the reform of landlord and tenant law is now a hot topic. The practice of selling houses on leases or imposing escalating ground rents has fuelled outrage from all quarters and put the spotlight on other areas of residential leasehold law which are long overdue for reform. While the lobbyists are unlikely to achieve their ultimate goal of the abolition of leasehold altogether, it is looking increasingly likely that the law on leasehold enfranchisement will be significantly overhauled.’
Tanfield Chambers, 30th January 2019
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘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.’
Law Society's Gazette, 28th January 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Many a construction dispute turns on defects. A significant subset of those turn on whether the existence of defects prevents practical completion from taking place. It’s not surprising that these situations are contentious: contractors are keen that practical completion is certified so as to avoid or limit their liability for liquidated damages, trigger the return of retention monies and, often, to bring about an assessment of sums they consider due under the final account. Employers may be understandably reluctant to take possession of a property which they consider defective and by resisting practical completion an employer can put pressure on a contractor by withholding sums that would otherwise become due. Practical completion is therefore an important concept in construction contracts, although one that is often not precisely defined, which can cause uncertainty and hinder the operation of the contract.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 23rd January 2019
‘In Alam v Valuation Officer (2018) UKUT 266 (LC) Mr Alam is the proprietor of the restaurant. He took a lease of a Property. His agents submitted a proposal to reduce the rateable value of the Property. In their proposal they stated correctly that Mr Alam was the occupier of the Property but also stated that the Property was “owner/occupied”. The proposal was completed in that way because of a misunderstanding between Mr Alam and his agents. As a result, the agents did not include any information in response to the question “if not owner/occupied, is a rent or licence fee paid?” and, in particular, did not state the rent payable, the date it had first become payable and the date of the next rent review. All of this was information required by Regulation 6(3) of the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009 (“the 2009 Regulations”). The issue in Mr Alam’s appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) concerned the consequence of the mis-statement of the capacity in which Mr Alam occupied the Property and the omission of any information about the rent payable. The Valuation Tribunal for England (“VTE”) found that the proposal was invalid, explaining: “… in whatever circumstances to omit the rent from the proposal was a substantial failure to comply with the Regulations. The panel was therefore persuaded that the error was so fundamental that the proposal could not in any circumstances be treated as valid.” ‘
Local Government Law, 9th January 2019
Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com
‘Alexander Bastin discusses the Supreme Court’s decision in S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Ltd [2018] UKSC 62 on whether a landlord can oppose the grant of a new tenancy by relying on section 30 (1)(f) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, if the works which it says it intends to do have no purpose other than to get rid of the tenant.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 7th December 2018
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘In Duval v 11-13 Randolph Crescent Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2298 the Court of Appeal applied what might be called ‘the contingent obligation principle’ to solve a problem that had arisen between the landlord (11-13 Randolph Crescent Ltd) of two houses that had been converted into 18 flats and two of the lessees, Dr Julia Duval of flats 11G and 11H, and Mrs Winfield of Flat 13.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 29th November 2018
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘When a company is dissolved, all its property and rights (including leasehold property) are deemed to be bona vacantia and accordingly belong to the Crown. Pursuant to s.1013 of the Companies Act 2006, where property so vests in the Crown, the Crown’s title to it may be disclaimed by a notice signed by the Crown representative. By s.1017 of the Act, the court may make an order vesting disclaimed property in a person with an interest in it.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2018
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘Mears Limited v Costplan Services (South East) Limited & Others [2018] EWHC 3363 (TCC) concerned the development of student accommodation in Plymouth. Mears Limited (“Mears”) alleged that there were substantial and material deviations from the contractual drawings and sought declarations preventing the certification of practical completion, the practical effect of which was to allow Mears to terminate its agreement to take a lease of the accommodation.’
4 New Square, 10th December 2018
Source: www.4newsquare.com
‘This appeal considered the construction of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. It specifically considered whether a landlord which intends to carry out works if, and only if, those works are necessary to satisfy s 30(1)(f), and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of the undertaking given by the respondent in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f). It also considered whether a landlord whose sole or predominant commercial objective is to undertake works in order to fulfil ground (f) and thereby avoid the grant of a new lease to the tenant, and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of an undertaking given in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f).’
UKSC Blog, 5th December 2018
Source: ukscblog.com
‘The Law Commission is hoping to reinvigorate demand for an alternative form of property ownership that struggled to gain traction when it was introduced nearly two decades ago.’
Law Society's Gazette, 10th December 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘James Goudie QC explains how the Court of Appeal reached its conclusion, in a dispute over a lease extension, that the extension granted to the owners of a football club by a local authority was not state aid.’
11 KBW, 13th November 2018
Source: www.11kbw.com
‘The rarely used “commonhold” system of home ownership should be expanded as an alternative to landlord-controlled leaseholds which are increasingly resented, the Law Commission is recommending.’
The Guardian, 10th December 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Hyslop v 38/41 CHG Residents Company Ltd QBD 05/11/2018. CHG were the freeholder of a property with various leasehold flats. The FTT had determined that Ms Hyslop and other leaseholders owed CHG certain service charges. H applied to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal out of time and this was granted. However CHG then brought a claim in the county court against H for non payment of service charges over a five year period.’
Nearly Legal, 8th November 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
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