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?

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?

The Pandora Papers confirmed how attractive the UK, especially London and the South East, is for foreign property investors.   This post considers what foreign investors need to know about transparency and land ownership in England and Wales and what is on the horizon.

Close to 90% of land in England and Wales is registered at Her Majesty’s Land Registry, and transaction involving unregistered land will trigger a registration requirement. The title gives basic information about a parcel of land, including the name and address of the registered proprietor.  Non-natural legal personalities such as companies, limited liability partnerships, and charities can own land, and of course there is no restriction on non-UK entities owning land.Continue Reading The Pandora Papers: overseas investment set to become more transparent

The government has launched the Building Safety Bill, which sets out a new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in-scope buildings, based on Dame Judith Hackitt’s review, following the Grenfell tragedy. The Bill, which has had its first reading in the House of Commons, will, as currently drafted:

  • establish the Building Safety Regulator within

Further to our update on the Government’s residential leasehold reforms, the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 12 May 2021. The bill seeks to fulfil one of the proposals set out in the Law Commission’s enfranchisement report and follows on from the Government’s press release made earlier this year, to tackle the inconsistency and ambiguity of ground rents for future residential leaseholders.
Continue Reading Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill published

Earlier this year, the UK Government reconfirmed its intention to bring forward residential leasehold reforms following the Law Commission’s recommendations last year. The proposed changes are expected to benefit up to 4.5 million leaseholders.

The news will no doubt be welcomed by leasehold homeowners who have been campaigning for changes to what they perceive to be unfair ground rent laws. However, the impact on developers, house builders and landlords, is less clear, but it is likely to affect the legal structuring of both the ownership and the ongoing management of new residential developments.

In this article, we consider what the proposed reforms are, when they are expected to come into effect and some of the potential implications on developer landlords or investors.Continue Reading Ground Rent Reform – what’s happening and when?