Landlord must hand back £70,000 in rent for letting substandard flat – The Guardian

Posted October 23rd, 2015 in landlord & tenant, news, proceeds of crime, rent, repayment by sally

‘A landlord who rented out a storage basement as self-contained accommodation for £975 a month after it was declared substandard has been ordered to pay back £70,000 in rent under the Proceeds of Crime Act.’

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The Guardian, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal notice served over ‘offensive’ coffee shop sign in London – Independent

Posted October 23rd, 2015 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, trespass by michael

‘An “offensive” coffee shop sign has found itself at the centre of a legal row in London.’

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Independent, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Right to rent checks introduced for landlords in England – Home Office

Posted October 21st, 2015 in bills, documents, human rights, immigration, landlord & tenant, news, passports, penalties, rent by sally

‘The government has announced today that from 1 February 2016, all private landlords in England will have to check new tenants have the right to be in the UK before renting out their property.’

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Home Office, 20th October 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Trial judge and costs. Ooops – Nearly Legal

‘I’ve heard about a few costs decisions by trial judges recently which might be considered, to put it politely, interesting, or brave, in the Yes Minister sense. So it was with some interest that I read the Court of Appeal decision in Begum v Birmingham City Council [2015] EWCA Civ 386.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th October 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

New fast-track eviction powers could breach human rights, warns watchdog – The Guardian

‘Government proposals to legally require landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants risk a serious breach of human rights, an official watchdog has warned.’

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The Guardian, 12th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Relief from forfeiture for deliberate breaches of covenant – the Court of Appeal gives guidance in Freifeld – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 7th, 2015 in covenants, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘Mixed residential and commercial developments frequently cause problems for the residential occupiers and work for lawyers, in particular when the commercial units are let to bars or restaurants which create noise and nuisance in the evenings and at weekends.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 16th September 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Rogue landlords should face jail terms to deter them from taking advantage of renters, say national bodies – The Independent

Posted September 21st, 2015 in landlord & tenant, local government, news, penalties, sentencing by sally

‘Rogue landlords should face harsher consequences, including jail terms, to deter them from taking advantage of “vulnerable” renters, national bodies have said.’

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The Independent, 19th September 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Doesn’t it make you proud to be English? – Nearly Legal

Posted September 21st, 2015 in bills, housing, immigration, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘The Immigration Bill 2015 has been published and will have a Second Reading in the House of Commons on October 13, 2015. It contains some truly remarkable provisions about housing. But first, short re-cap to remind you how we got to this stage.’
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Nearly Legal, 19th September 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

The Creative Foundation v Dreamland Leisure Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Posted September 18th, 2015 in artistic works, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases, repairs by sally

The Creative Foundation v Dreamland Leisure Ltd and others; [2015] EWHC 2556 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 383

‘Any part of demised premises which has been justifiably removed from the premises by a tenant in accordance with the tenant’s obligation to repair the premises, and which becomes a chattel having substantial value, vests in the landlord.’

WLR Daily, 11th September 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

After Freifeld, when might a tenant be refused relief from forfeiture? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted September 4th, 2015 in covenants, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘In Freifeld v West Kensington Court Limited [2015] EWCA Civ 806, long-lessees had deliberately granted a future sub-lease of a commercial unit to a Chinese restaurant in breach of their alienation covenant not to sublet without landlord’s consent. An initial application for relief from forfeiture failed, because the tenants had wilfully breached their alienation covenant, and because there was an extensive history of neglectful management by the tenants of their obligations under the headlease. The judge concluded that the relationship between the tenants and their landlord had become dysfunctional and that it should not be re-imposed on the landlord by the grant of relief to the tenants.’
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Tanfield Chambers, 21st August 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Joint ownership and landlords: who serves notice? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted September 4th, 2015 in enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges by sally

‘Joint tenancy has been the only means of ownership of property at law since the Law of Property Act 1925 relegated tenancy in common to equitable ownership only. Despite the 90 years which have elapsed, joint ownership as it impacts on day to day management of residential leasehold property is not always understood. It is not uncommon, on an enfranchisement of a terraced house converted into two flats, for the freehold to be acquired by the two lessees jointly. What then? Must both decide on service charge expenditure together? What happens if one of the two refuses to join in, can the other sue? What if one of the two breaches their lease as leaseholder? These are issues which have often arisen in cases I have dealt with. The answers lie in an analysis of the trust law implications of joint ownership.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 18th August 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Right to Rent – just how bad is it? – Nearly Legal

‘We though it would be bad. And thanks to the JCWI, we can now have an evidence based stab at an answer. JCWI co-ordinated an evaluation of the West Midlands pilot of ‘Right to Rent’ and have published the report.’

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Nearly Legal, 3rd September 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Home is where… the structure is annexed to the ground – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 27th, 2015 in holidays, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘This was one of those rare cases where the facts just do not fit comfortably with the law.’
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Hardwicke Chambers, 12th August 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Making sense of deposits. Nearly. – Nearly Legal

Posted August 25th, 2015 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news, penalties by sally

‘It started as such a simple idea, the tenancy deposit regulations. But bad drafting and some ‘interesting’ interpretations by the Courts put paid to that. We now have a confusing mess, for both landlords and tenants.’
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Nearly Legal, 24th August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Council defeats High Court challenge to borough-wide selective licensing – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 18th, 2015 in consultations, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has rejected a judicial review challenge to Croydon Council’s decision to introduce a selective licensing scheme for the whole borough.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘It did seem to be expensive’ – Nearly Legal

Posted August 14th, 2015 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, service charges by sally

‘Gateway (Leeds) Management Ltd v (1) Naghash (2) Shamsizadeh [2015] UKUT 333 (LC). If a head leaseholder, or managing company passes on as a service charge, rent charged by a freeholder for property in order to provide services, does this amount to a variable service charge for the purposes of s.18 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and so only payable if the rent costs were reasonably incurred and if the services or works to which they relate were of a reasonable standard?’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 8th August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

‘It did seem to be expensive’ – Nearly Legal

Posted August 11th, 2015 in appeals, costs, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, service charges, tribunals by sally

If a head leaseholder, or managing company passes on as a service charge, rent charged by a freeholder for property in order to provide services, does this amount to a variable service charge for the purposes of s.18 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and so only payable if the rent costs were reasonably incurred and if the services or works to which they relate were of a reasonable standard?

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Nearly Legal, 9th August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Pilot scheme forcing landlords to check tenants’ immigration status ‘has failed’ – The Guardian

‘A pilot scheme to force landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants has been a failure, the government’s own data suggests.’

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The Guardian, 6th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court of Appeal: Tenants on small claims track can be ordered to pay more than costs of issue – Litigation Futures

‘County courts can order tenants on the small claims track (SCT) to pay more than the costs of issuing the claim, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
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Litigation Futures, 6th August 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

‘Wilful’ breach of lease not sufficient to allow landlord to terminate, court rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2015 in appeals, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘A tenant who “wilfully” breached the conditions of his lease by sub-letting to an obnoxious sub-tenant without the consent of the ultimate landlord should not be forced to forfeit the lease immediately, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
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OUT-LAW.com, 5th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com