Cabinet minister Michael Gove has not been shy in putting forward his intention of “destroying the outdated feudal system of leasehold“, at least as far as residential property is concerned.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
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
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the “Act”) created the Register of Overseas Entities (“ROE”) at Companies House to make it more difficult for bad actors to launder dirty money through property in the UK and to increase transparency around property ownership. Most overseas entities (“OEs”) with legal or beneficial interests in UK registered property were required to register on the ROE by 31 January 2023. OEs acquiring UK land for the first time must also ensure that they are registered on the ROE before making an application to HM Land Registry to register their purchase. Continue Reading The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022
In the case of Pretoria Energy Company (Chittering) Ltd v Blankney Estates Ltd [2023], the claimant brought a claim for damages of almost six million pounds against the defendant for breach of a contract to enter into a twenty five year lease, allegedly created between the parties in a document entitled “Heads of Terms of Proposed Agreement”.Continue Reading Documents containing heads of terms do not constitute a binding agreement for lease
Mainstream media has been very excited about the “once in a generation” reform of the law for private renters to be introduced by the Renters (Reform) Bill 2023 (the “Bill”). However, landlords do not need to panic – yet. Legislatively, the Bill has only just had its first reading in the Commons, and even when – or if – it makes it to the statute books, there will be transitionary periods which will give landlords time to decide whether they wish to remain in the private rented sector.
Below, we take a landlord’s perspective of what the new legislation might mean.Continue Reading Renters (Reform) Bill 2023: a long way to go
The Curry Mile in Manchester is a stretch of the Wilmslow Road, leading from the city centre to the suburbs. It is lined with restaurants, cafes and shops from all parts of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Afghan restaurants rub shoulders with Bangladeshi sweet shops and continental stores display fruit and vegetables on pavement stands to tempt in the passers-by who are a mix of locals and students from Manchester’s two universities.
Compliance with planning regulations is not the chief concern of the restauranteurs, bartenders and shopkeepers, but a very recent sentencing decision of HHJ Timothy Smith at Manchester Crown Court illustrates starkly that a landlord cannot allow its tenant to disregard planning controls and ignore planning enforcementContinue Reading “Hot” Rent – Landlord finds rent confiscated as proceeds of crime
In the last of our blogs on developments in planning law in 2022, we consider the extent to which you can change the development for which planning permission has been given without the need to make a new application for a full planning permission.
The Reid Case – The facts
The issue was considered in the High Court case of Reid v Secretary of State for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities (2022) (“Reid“).Continue Reading Our top 6 Planning Law takeaways for 2022 – Part 6: How to get a new planning permission without applying for it
In the fifth of our blogs on recent developments in planning law, we turn our attention to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 introduced by Jacob Rees-Mogg at the height of the Truss premiership in September 2022.
Described by Professor Michael Zander KC as “one of the worst pieces of legislation I can remember in some 60 years of following the law-making process“, the Bill seeks to deliver on the Brexit promise of taking back control of our legislation.Continue Reading Our top 6 Planning Law takeaways for 2022 – Part 5: Retained EU Law Repeal Bill
Admittedly, a blog on the intricacies of the Community Infrastructure Levy (“CIL“) doesn’t sound like a very appealing prospect, but everyone needs their medicine occasionally.
In December 2022, the Court of Appeal had to consider the legal consequences of a local authority’s failure to serve a CIL liability notice and the question of whether the local authority could correct the defects in an earlier notice by serving a revised CIL liability notice.Continue Reading Our top 6 Planning Law takeaways in 2022 – Part 4: What happens if the local authority gets its CIL paperwork wrong?
We often get asked, when clients are faced with obstinate and, frankly, slow local authorities dealing with planning applications or s106 agreements, whether we can threaten legal action (other than planning appeals). Most of the time this is just letting off steam, but what is the answer?
A recent 140-page judgment in the case of Primavera v Hertsmere Borough Council (2022) considered if, and in what circumstances, a local planning authority might be liable for negligence for the way it dealt with a planning application.Continue Reading Our top 6 Planning Law takeaways in 2022 – Part 3: What to do when the planners delay