EDIT 22.11.2022: as this post went to press, the Appeal Court departed from the view of both the High Court and the County Court, and proclaimed a strict orthodoxy.  They held that the judge below had asked himself the wrong question; he should have asked whether the notice had been given to the tenant, not what the notice had meant.  The appeal shows that the utmost care must be taken when serving break notices, as the court will show no leniency if the notice is incorrect.  

Ensuring a break notice is validly served can be critical, especially for fixed break dates as without a rolling break option there is only one ‘bite of the cherry’ to break the lease. The consequences of serving an invalid break notice may be drastic, for example, it may fetter a landlord in obtaining vacant possession in order to carry out a development scheme or a tenant may remain liable for a lease that it no longer wants and cannot get rid of in any other way.

Continue Reading Nelsonian blindness is no defence to a break notice

For those of you living outside of the UK, Waitrose is an upmarket supermarket whose wares are indefinably better, or at least more expensive, than its competitors.  If an area hosts a Waitrose, then it proves that it is a good place to live, and property prices will leap with joy at the privilege.

Competition law rarely intrudes into land agreements.  Indeed, until 2011, when the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010 (the ‘Order’) was introduced, most land agreements were not caught at all.  In the past eleven years there have been very few cases brought under the legislation, explicable by the softly, softly approach that the regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), chooses to take. 

Continue Reading Waitrose gets a slap on the wrist for breaching competition law in restrictive land agreements

The Court of Appeal, in the conjoined appeals of London Trocadero (2015) LLP v Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd and Bank of New York Mellon (International) Ltd v Cine-UK Ltd, once again vindicated beleaguered landlords by refusing to imply terms into professionally negotiated leases.  Tenants cannot withhold rent except in circumstances expressly set out in the lease.   

Buttressing the judgment is the reiteration of the stated “fundamental basis” of a lease: it is an estate granting exclusive possession for a fixed term, in consideration for payment of rent. The tenants’ frustrated intention to use the premises as a cinema was not sufficient to cause a total failure of consideration.

Continue Reading The Picturehouse litigation: post-Covid, the Court of Appeal emphasises that contracts are meant to be binding

When acquiring a property for development, covenants that restrict the type or form of development always need to be carefully considered. There are a number of ways in which restrictive covenants can be addressed, and in two recent cases developers sought to have the relevant restrictive covenants discharged following the grant of planning permission.

Continue Reading When are restrictive covenants not development constraints?

Introduction

Reform of the regime governing residential long leaseholds (leases of dwellings for a term of twenty one years or more) has been going on for over fifty years.  The latest reform is to restrict a landlord’s ability to charge ground rent on top of an initial premium paid on the grant of the lease.  Ground rent is a sum the tenant pays annually, in addition to the lump sum for the lease itself.  Unlike insurance rent and service charges which the tenant must also pay, ground rent is seen as an ongoing windfall for the landlord, as it is not referable to provision of a service.

Continue Reading Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022
Business legal document concept : Pen and glasses on a lease agreement form. Lease agreement is a contract between a lessor and a lessee that allow lessee rights to use of a property owned by lessor

Following the introduction of the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill  to the House of Commons on 11 May 2022, we follow up on our article Levelling Up – Government to play matchmaker on the high street? with an overview of the proposed legislation.

In brief, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill  (the “Bill”) establishes a statutory notice procedure to be followed by local authorities before a rental auction can be carried out and the landlord required to grant a short-term tenancy to the “successful bidder”.

Continue Reading Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill – High Street Rental Auctions

Last week the UK Government published its long-awaited proposals for reform of the planning system in England and Wales, in the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill.

Back in June 2020, radical reforms to the planning system were proposed, including introducing zoning and deemed planning permission in designated growth areas.  Despite the abandonment of these far-reaching reforms, the proposals set out in the Bill, are significant.  The main changes are as follows.

Continue Reading Levelling Up and Planning Reform

The Government’s recent Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper announced the intention to give local authorities the power to require landlords to rent out long-term vacant properties on the high street to tenants such as local businesses and community groups. This is primarily targeted at addressing the social problems associated with high streets that have high vacancy rates. Very little detail has so far been announced and we await the release of the Levelling Up Bill after the Queen’s Speech on 10 May 2022.

In this article we will consider some questions arising out of the White Paper, and we will follow up on the detail once the Bill is released.

Continue Reading Levelling Up – Government to play matchmaker on the high street?

Introduction

From the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror, to the establishment of the Land Registry, identifying the owner of a piece of land has had a long history in the UK.  Whilst William wanted to know the extent of his conquered lands so he could tax his new subjects, and land registration was introduced to make conveyancing and mortgages easier, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the “Act”) has a more high minded purpose.  It is intended to make public the “real” identity of foreign proprietors owning land in the UK and thus discourage bad actors from investing in English real estate.

Continue Reading The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act: what to expect

The skyline of London, United Kingdom, during sunset time

After a long period of uncertainty, HMRC have finally issued their decision as to whether or not valued added tax (“VAT”) is chargeable on dilapidations payments.

Historically, dilapidations payable by a tenant at the end of a lease had not been subject to VAT.  The payment was to compensate the landlord for having its premises returned in disrepair, contrary to the tenant’s promise to keep them in repair.  Truly compensatory payments have historically been treated as not subject to VAT as it was considered they were not payments for a supply of goods or services.

Continue Reading As you were! HMRC decides no VAT payable on dilapidations payments after all