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Gillian Palmer

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Gillian Palmer is the professional support lawyer in the London office of Mayer Brown’s Real Estate practice.  She focuses on providing innovative solutions to lawyers within the practice in respect of training and innovation.

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In the recent case of Bijlani v Medical Express (London) Ltd [2024] EWHC 2246 (KB), the High Court illustrated again that a landlord’s right to forfeit a lease is only a form of security for the tenant’s continuing performance of its obligations under its lease.  If the landlord is not prejudiced by breach of a covenant and the breach is unlikely to recur, then relief from forfeiture may be granted.  Forfeiture should not be used as a way of penalising a tenant for perceived bad behaviour. Continue Reading Lease and Desist: The Case of Dr. Bijlani’s Botox Blunder

Readers may remember our rather gloomy blog on Mr. Gove’s Renters’ Reform Bill.  Our view then was that landlords didn’t need to panic – yet.  Unfortunately, with the Renters’ Rights Bill, it may be time for landlords to start feeling distinctly anxious.  The headline change in the Renters’ Reform Bill was to abolish so-called “no-fault eviction”.  In the end, Mr. Gove’s reforms foundered on the Conservative bank benches –  there would be no abolition of no fault evictions until the county court system sorted itself out and waiting times for hearings cut. Continue Reading The Renters’ Rights Bill: Bad News for Landlords

The King’s Speech 2024, delivered on 17 July 2024, outlined the new UK Government’s legislative agenda for the next session of Parliament.  The new MPs will be busy, with close to 40 separate bills slated for debate. 

With regard to real estate, especially with the private rented sector, there is a distinct feeling of déjà vu. The Renters (Reform) Bill, sponsored by Michael Gove, is re-fashioned as the Renters Rights Bill, and is likely to contain all of the measures set out in its predecessor, before the Conservative back benches forced a dilution of the pro-tenant measures. Continue Reading The King’s Speech: implications for residential property

The major political parties have all now launched their manifestos, with few surprises.  In the table below, we compare and contrast the policies set out in the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Party manifestos insofar as they might impact on the real estate sector. Continue Reading 2024 election manifestos – real estate policies of the UK major political parties

Background

This case involved a dispute between McDonald’s Restaurants Limited (“McDonald’s”), the former tenant of part of the old County Hall building in London (the “Premises”), and Shirayama Shokusan Company Limited (“Shirayama”), the landlord of the Premises. McDonald’s had a protected lease of the Premises (i.e. benefitting from security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the “Act”)) for a period of 20 years from December 1997. Continue Reading Landlord penalised for its evidence despite a successful application under section 30(1)(g) of Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 – McDonald’s v Shirayama [2024] EWHC 1133 (Ch)

As the rain streamed down, Rishi Sunak stood outside Downing Street and announced that Parliament will be dissolved on 30 May 2024 ahead of the General Election on 4 July.  However, no parliamentary business can be carried out after 24 May when Parliament is prorogued (suspended). Continue Reading Where now for the Renters’ (Reform) Bill and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill?

Background

Cases on failure to complete sale and purchase contracts of land are not uncommon.  Much rarer are disputes over the consequences of failure to pay the required deposit when the contract is formed, because the mechanics of the Standard Commercial Property Conditions require payment by electronic means from the buyer’s conveyancer on the same day as exchange of contracts.  The involvement of conveyancers therefore minimises any possibility of default by the buyer. 

The case of IAA Vehicle Services Limited v HBC Limited [2024] EWHC 1 (Ch) is one of those rare cases and provides an opportunity to remind ourselves of the usefulness of the court’s equitable discretion in certain circumstances . Continue Reading It all depends – time is not always of the essence in contracts for the sale of land

Background

The case of Messenex Limited v Lanark Square Limited[2024] presents both landlords and tenants with a few illustrations of how not to run an application for consent to alterations. 

Facts

The Tenant held a two hundred year lease of a mixed use building in Docklands, London, and made two separate applications for a licence to alter in respect of two sets of works for which it had already obtained planning permission.  The first was to add three stories to the four storey block, adding a total of nine flats to the building.  The second – a smaller project – was to reconfigure the ground floor of the building as four new residential units in place of the existing offices.   Continue Reading “Reasonable Reasons” and Collateral Advantage – not a numbers game

Introduction

Cabinet minister Michael Gove has not been shy in putting forward his intention of “destroying the outdated feudal system of leasehold“, at least as far as residential property is concerned.  The Leasehold and Freehold Bill (“LAFB”), announced in the King’s speech which opened the new parliamentary session, falls some way short of this intention.  However, it does show Mr Gove’s continuing intention to introduce measures which he claims are fairer for residential long leaseholders.  Landlords may have a different perspective. 

Nor are tenants left out:  the Renters (Reform) Bill is back centre stage.  Below, we take a closer look at the proposed legislation.Continue Reading The King’s Speech: no tidings of great joy for landlords

The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 (the “Act”) was intended to give tenants security of tenure to carry on their businesses without the disruption of relocation and the attendant risk of loss of goodwill. However, the interests of the landlord in maximising the value of its own premises were also considered in the Act, with provision that a landlord may recover possession if (amongst other grounds) it can prove the intention to redevelop the premises. A recent High Court decision has provided an interesting (and from a landlord’s perspective, welcome) steer on the weight the court gives to a landlord’s future right to redevelop.Continue Reading Landlord gets second chance after missing crucial date in lease renewal proceedings