New Judgment: S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Ltd [2018] UKSC 62 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal considered the construction of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. It specifically considered whether a landlord which intends to carry out works if, and only if, those works are necessary to satisfy s 30(1)(f), and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of the undertaking given by the respondent in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f). It also considered whether a landlord whose sole or predominant commercial objective is to undertake works in order to fulfil ground (f) and thereby avoid the grant of a new lease to the tenant, and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of an undertaking given in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f).’

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UKSC Blog, 5th December 2018

Source: ukscblog.com

Law Commission seeks to jump-start commonhold demand – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 11th, 2018 in housing, landlord & tenant, Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘The Law Commission is hoping to reinvigorate demand for an alternative form of property ownership that struggled to gain traction when it was introduced nearly two decades ago.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court applies state aid rules in lease dispute – 11 KBW

Posted December 11th, 2018 in appeals, leases, local government, news, sport, state aids by sally

‘James Goudie QC explains how the Court of Appeal reached its conclusion, in a dispute over a lease extension, that the extension granted to the owners of a football club by a local authority was not state aid.’

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11 KBW, 13th November 2018

Source: www.11kbw.com

Expand ‘commonhold’ ownership system, government urged – The Guardian

Posted December 10th, 2018 in Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘The rarely used “commonhold” system of home ownership should be expanded as an alternative to landlord-controlled leaseholds which are increasingly resented, the Law Commission is recommending.’

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The Guardian, 10th December 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Service charge claims – paying trial fees and concurrent jurisdiction – Nearly Legal

Posted November 12th, 2018 in fees, jurisdiction, leases, news, service charges by tracey

‘Hyslop v 38/41 CHG Residents Company Ltd QBD 05/11/2018. CHG were the freeholder of a property with various leasehold flats. The FTT had determined that Ms Hyslop and other leaseholders owed CHG certain service charges. H applied to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal out of time and this was granted. However CHG then brought a claim in the county court against H for non payment of service charges over a five year period.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th November 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Who needs a wall anyway? Unfit to occupy and risk of collapse – Nearly Legal

Posted November 12th, 2018 in defective premises, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent by tracey

‘Or, the significance of tenancy agreement clauses.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th November 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Valuation under evaluation: proposals for reform – Tanfield Chambers

‘Nicola Muir considers the Law Commission’s options for reforming the valuation of residential lease extensions.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 18th October 2018

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Nicholas Saunderson v Cambridge Park Court Residents Association Limited [2018] UKUT 182 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 5th, 2018 in appeals, covenants, housing, jurisdiction, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal considered the extent of a tenant’s liability to pay for communal heating when that obligation arose only by an estoppel by convention and, in fact, the tenant’s flat was no longer connected to the communal system.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 5th October 201

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Avon Ground Rents Ltd v Child [2018] UKUT 204 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

‘The UT comprised of Holgate J and HHJ Hodge QC (also sitting as County Court judges) gave valuable guidance concerning the importance of judges maintaining jurisdictional clarity and seperation when sitting as both FTT judges and County Court judges under the Residential Property Dispute Deployment Pilot.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 5th October 2018

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

A not so short assured shorthold tenancy – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 5th, 2018 in housing, landlord & tenant, leases, limitations, news, rent by sally

‘The ground rent scandal can give rise to accidental ASTs with unexpected consequences.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 18th October 2018

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Universal Credit – more woes – Nearly Legal

Posted November 2nd, 2018 in benefits, housing, leases, mesne profits, news, regulations, rent by sally

‘The Universal Credit Regulations 2013 contain certain exclusions from the housing element of Universal Credit.’

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Nearly Legal, 1st November 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

A way to deal with delinquent lessors? – Nearly Legal

Posted October 26th, 2018 in covenants, landlord & tenant, leases, news by tracey

‘A not infrequent problem for leaseholders is a landlord who takes a lackadaisical approach to enforcing leasehold covenants, or worse yet allows or waives breaches of covenants by certain leaseholders.’

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Nearly Legal, 24th October 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Property Guardians – licence not tenancy in office building – Nearly Legal

Posted October 26th, 2018 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, repossession by tracey

‘Camelot Guardian Management Ltd v Khoo (2018) EWHC 2296 (QB). This is quite a significant judgment on the issue of property guardians and the licence/tenancy distinction. This was Mr Khoo’s appeal of a first instance possession judgment that found his occupation was under a licence, not a tenancy.’

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Nearly Legal, 23rd October 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Council wins Court of Appeal battle over stadium and state aid – Local Government Lawyer

‘Coventry City Council has won a Court of Appeal case in the latest round of a four-year long litigation saga over the city’s sports stadium the Ricoh Arena.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Plans to stop house buyers being ‘exploited’ by ripoff leases delayed, almost a year after government promise – The Independent

Posted October 15th, 2018 in consultations, housing, leases, news, rent by tracey

‘Flagship plans to stop house buyers being “exploited” by ripoff leases have been delayed, nearly a year after the government vowed to act.’

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The Independent, 14th October 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Law Commission publishes leasehold reform proposals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in consultations, enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘Detailed proposals to reform the leasehold enfranchisement process and make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders in England and Wales to purchase the freehold of their house or flat have been published by the Law Commission.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

A fairer deal for leaseholders of houses and flats – Law Commission

‘The Law Commission has proposed a series of radical reforms designed to provide a better deal for leaseholders who want to purchase the freehold or to extend the lease of their home.’

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Law commission, 20th September 2018

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

When a long lease is a shorthold – Nearly Legal

Posted September 18th, 2018 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent by sally

‘While on leasehold issues, this has been floating around for a bit, but I don’t think it has had the attention and awareness it deserves (perhaps particularly from conveyancers). With all the fuss/scandal around leasehold houses and multiplying ground rent clauses, a more general issue with long leases and ground rent has been overlooked.’

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Nearly Legal, 16th September 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlord granted injunction against tenant using Airbnb, upheld on appeal: Bermondsey Exchange Freeholders Limited v Ninos Koumetto (Trustee in Bankruptcy of Kevin Geoghehan Conway) [2018], County Court at Central London – Henderson Chambers

Posted August 9th, 2018 in injunctions, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘The rise of websites such as Airbnb has seen an increase in short term holiday style letting of traditionally long-term residential properties. In 2015 London’s housing legislation was amended specifically in response to the rise of Airbnb and other websites: a homeowner is able to let out their house, flat or spare rooms for up to three months a year. In London, unlike other cities such as Berlin or Barcelona, there are no city-wide regulations (or restrictions) regarding the use of Airbnb. This case emphasises that it falls to construction of the terms of the lease between the freeholder and leaseholder to ascertain whether a leaseholder’s use of Airbnb is permitted.’

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Henderson Chambers, 27th July 2018

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Radical proposal to make escaping ‘leasehold trap’ easier for homeowners raised by Law Commission – The Independent

Posted July 20th, 2018 in enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news, reports by tracey

‘A radical proposal to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to escape the so-called “leasehold trap” and buy the freehold of their houses has been put forward by the Law Commission.’

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The Independent, 19th July 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk