‘Older people who have moved into retirement leasehold properties could be being hit with unfair fees worth thousands of pounds, according to the Law Commission.’
Law Commission, 31st March 2017
Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission
‘Towards the end of last year, the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) handed down decisions in two cases involving estoppel by convention:
Admiralty Park Management Ltd v Ojo [2016] UKUT 0421 (LC) 8 September 2016 (“Ojo”); and
Bucklitsch and anor v Merchant Exchange Management Company Limited [2016] UKUT 0527 (LC) 13 December 2016 (“Bucklitsch”).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 18th January 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Commercial property landlords could be forced to actively inspect their properties and police tenants suspected of tobacco and other excise duty evasion under plans proposed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), an expert has warned.’
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd February 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has given guidance on the approach to be followed by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) when considering whether there is an estoppel by convention which prevents a leaseholder from denying the payability of a service charge which has not been demanded in accordance with the terms of the lease.’
Arden Chambers, 16th February 2017
Source: www.ardenchambers.com
‘Repairing obligations are almost universally incorporated in commercial and residential leases and licences. In the general sense an obligation to repair is to carry out such repairs and maintenance as might be required from time to time (although much can depend upon the precise wording of the covenant/obligation). Where there is a breach by a tenant or licensee, the covenant is broken everyday the property is out of repair: the breach, therefore, is of a continuing nature. ‘
Full story (PDF)
The 36 Group, 6th February 2017
Source: www.36group.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has held that whether service charge costs are reasonably incurred, for the purposes of Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s.19, is to be determined by reference to an objective standard of reasonableness rather than applying public law principles of rationality. A tribunal should not, however, impose its own decision where a landlord has adopted a course of action which led to a reasonable outcome, even if there was a cheaper outcome which was also reasonable.’
Arden Chambers, 2nd February 2017
Source: www.ardenchambers.com
‘On 29th September 2004 the Trustees of the Ashtead United Charity allocated Mrs Janet Watts accommodation in an almshouse, in fact one of 14 residential flats the Charity owned at Ashstead in Surrey. In May 2015 they issued proceedings for possession based on the allegations that Mrs Watts had acted in an anti-social manner, swearing, spitting, and aggression. This was a breach of the terms of the Appointments Letter under which she was allocated the property. At the first directions hearing the District Judge ordered a trial of the issue of whether Mrs Watts occupied as a licensee of the Charity or a tenant. If the former of course it would be relatively easy for the Charity to evict her; if the latter, much less so.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 18th January 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Articles include:
Restrictive Covenants and Building Schemes Just Like Buses p.7
Land Registration and the Service of Notices: mind the gap p.10
Forks & Spades; Leases & Licences; Possession & Occupation p.14
Recovering Costs in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) p. 16
Newsletter (PDF)
Falcon Chambers, Winter 2017
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
‘An interesting question. To what extent, if at all, can leaseholders’ service charges be set at a level to ‘subsidise’ a shortfall as against actual maintenance costs in service charges recoverable from social tenants in flats provided under a section 106 agreement.’
Nearly Legal, 12th February 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘We saw the Upper Tribunal take a new approach to determining whether the costs of improvement works, passed on through the service charge, were reasonably incurred. The UT held that particular consideration should have been given to the views of the leaseholders, whether they could be done more cheaply and the financial circumstances of the leaseholders.’
Nearly Legal, 5th February 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The vexed issues of costs in service charge disputes rumble on. Willow Court Management Company (1985) Ltd v Alexander [2016] UKUT 0290 (LC) (our note) set out guidance for how and when rule 13 costs awards will be engaged and awarded in the First Tier Tribunal (for unreasonable conduct). But in this case, the landlord had been awarded 20% of their costs under a Rue 13 decision, but then sought to recover the full costs under a contractual entitlement to costs of an enforcement action under the lease, and sort the FTT’s determination of those as a variable administration charge.’
Nearly Legal, 9th January 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation & Anor [2016] EWHC 1075 (Ch). It is a commercial property case, but has interesting elements on the way in which building works may be reasonably carried out.’
Nearly Legal, 4th January 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Leasehold houses aren’t the only problem area – apartment buyers need help too.’
The Guardian, 3rd December 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A landlord may rely on a contractual indemnity clause in a lease to claim as an administration charge the whole of the costs of service charge proceedings in the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) even where it has already been awarded some of its costs under rule 13(1)(b) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013, as Martin Rodger QC, Deputy President, has held in 87 St George’s Square Management Ltd v Whiteside [2016] UKUT 438 (LC).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 14th November 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Tamsin Cox & Julia Petrenko examine a useful authority for freeholders of residential buildings in relation to Airbnb.’
New Law Journal, 18th November 2016
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that an indemnity given in a lease can be viewed as a promise by the tenant to protect the landlord from the landlord’s liability to a third party. For the tenant to be liable, the tenant’s breach must be the reason for the landlord’s liability to the third party. In this case, the indemnity was not drafted widely enough to render the tenant responsible for the administrative and legal costs incurred by the landlord once the ground rent had been tendered (even though it was tendered late).’
Tanfield Chambers, 10th October 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘In Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Ltd [2016] UKUT 303 (LC), in what has become known as ‘the Airbnb ruling’, the Upper Tribunal gave guidance on the circumstances in which short-term lets might amount to a breach of covenant prohibiting the use of a property for anything other than ‘a private residence’. In this article, Jamal Demachkie (who acted for the successful landlord at first instance and on appeal) provides his analysis of this important decision.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th October 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘The Upper Tribunal upheld the FTT’s determination that the lessee had breached a covenant in her lease not to use her flat other than as a private residence by granting a series of short-term lettings of the property. The fact that the lessee had granted the lettings meant that her occupation of the flat was so transient and not sufficiently permanent that she would not consider the property her private residence.’
Tanfield Chambers, 10th October 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Solicitors costs of and incidental to the preparation of a counter notice were recoverable under s. 60 LRHUDA 1993. There ought to be some reduction in costs where a landlord was dealing with multiple claims involving the same building.’
Tanfield Chambers, 1st November 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘The interplay between tenants’ rent obligations and their ability to break the term of their leases has for a number of years been a topic which has been of considerable interest to practitioners advising both either landlords or tenants. Two cases in particular will have been high on the radar in advising clients both before and after the exercise of a break clause.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th October 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
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