Council wins Supreme Court battle with ratepayer over service of completion notice – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 18th, 2018 in electronic mail, local government, news, rates, service, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Westminster City Council in a dispute over whether a completion notice in relation to a redevelopment was validly served on a ratepayer.’

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Local Government Lawyer, December 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme Court to rule next week in case on rates and service of completion notice – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 12th, 2018 in news, notification, rates, service, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court will next week (17 December) hand down its ruling in a case on the service of a completion notice by a billing authority.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

MoJ calls for evidence on new personal injury discount rate – Litigation Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued a call for evidence on the new personal injury discount rate to be set under what will soon be the Civil Liability Act.’

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Litigation Futures, 10th December 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Supreme Court to hear dispute over service of completion notice in rates case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 30th, 2018 in appeals, documents, local government, news, rates, service, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court will next week hear a key case on the service of a completion notice by a billing authority.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th October 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Property guardians and ‘non-domestic rates’ – Nearly legal

Posted September 21st, 2018 in landlord & tenant, news, rates, tribunals, valuation by tracey

‘This is an interesting decision of the Valuation Tribunal on the effect of the occupation by property guardians of a commercial building. Some (though not all) property guardian companies have made a sales feature of the alleged freedom from non-domestic (commercial) rates for a building occupied by guardians, on the basis that it is occupied for residential use. This Valuation Tribunal decision rather dents that position, as well as illustrating the complications that arise when you operate on the edges of landlord and tenant law.’

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Nearly legal, 20th September 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Advocate and expert – asking for trouble – Nearly Legal

Posted August 14th, 2018 in advocacy, expert witnesses, news, rates, surveyors, tribunals, valuation by sally

‘Non-domestic rating is not something we usually cover on this blog. It is, after all, not about housing. But the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in Gardiner & Theobold LLP v Jackson (Valuation Officer) [2018] UKUT 253 (LC) goes much wider.’

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Nearly Legal, 13th August 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Supreme Court backs Iceland in refrigeration rates appeal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 9th, 2018 in news, rates, Supreme Court, valuation by tracey

‘An air handling system used in connection with frozen foods retailer Iceland’s refrigerated storage is part of a ‘trade process’, and therefore exempt from business rates, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th March 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

MPs given early chance to scrutinise discount rate reform legislation – Litigation Futures

‘The justice select committee has accepted an invitation by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft legislation to reform the discount rate.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th September 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UKI (Kingsway) Ltd v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily

UKI (Kingsway) Ltd v Westminster City Council [2017] EWCA Civ 430

‘The freeholder of a building being redeveloped failed to agree with the local billing authority a date on which the building would be brought into the ratings list. The authority subsequently delivered to the manager of the building a completion notice addressed to “the owner” specifying a date. The manager, who was not authorised to accept legal documents on behalf of the freeholder, scanned the document and e-mailed a copy to the freeholder. When the building was entered onto the ratings list the freeholder appealed on the grounds that the completion notice was invalid and had not been validly served. Before the Court of Appeal the sole issue was the validity of service.’

WLR Daily, 15th June 2017

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court rates on redevelopment decision will be welcomed by developers, experts say – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 8th, 2017 in news, planning, rates, Supreme Court, valuation by tracey

‘Developers will welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to reduce the rateable value of unoccupied office space undergoing substantial redevelopment works, according to property law experts at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Discount rate announcement set to go ahead after ABI loses judicial review bid – Litigation Futures

‘The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today lost its High Court bid to halt the Lord Chancellor announcing the outcome of the consultation on the discount rate.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th January 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Nor any drop to drink – Nearly Legal

‘Jones v London Borough of Southwark [2016] EWHC 457 (Ch). Quite a lot of councils have agreements with water suppliers under which the council will collect water charges from their tenants, effectively as an addition to the rent. This case concerned a challenge to the nature and validity of Southwark’s agreement, at least before 2013.’

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Nearly Legal, 5th March 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Court rules council overcharged 37,000 tenants for water and sewerage – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 7th, 2016 in housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rates, sewerage, utilities, water by tracey

‘A London borough has overcharged approximately 37,000 tenants for water and sewerage services, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th March 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Woolway (Valuation Officer) v Mazars LLP – WLR Daily

Posted August 12th, 2015 in appeals, leases, news, rates, Supreme Court, tribunals, valuation by sally

Woolway (Valuation Officer) v Mazars LLP [2015] UKSC 53; [2015] WLR (D) 353

‘Where a business’s offices were on two separate floors of an office block, the communication between the two being solely by way of the block’s communal lift, those two floors comprised two separate hereditaments for the purposes of non-domestic rating.’

WLR Daily, 29th July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Property owner liable for business rates when property fell unoccupied following liquidation of tenants, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 17th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rates by tracey

‘A property fund group face a near £600,000 business rates bill in Birmingham after the council in the area won a High Court ruling relating to liability for business rates due following liquidation of the tenants of a property in the city.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Pall Mall Investments (London) Ltd v Gloucester City Council – WLR Daily

Posted July 15th, 2014 in law reports, local government, rates by tracey

Pall Mall Investments (London) Ltd v Gloucester City Council: [2014] EWHC 2247 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 301

‘The owner of a non-domestic hereditament which was unoccupied in consequence of its own failure to carry out necessary maintenance and repair, was not entitled to exemption from unoccupied rates pursuant to regulation 4(c) of the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations 2008 unless occupation was prohibited by law either expressly or by necessary implication.’

WLR Daily, 8th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Strasbourg on Mormons and their temples – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 7th, 2014 in human rights, news, rates, religious discrimination, taxation by tracey

‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. the United Kingdom, ECHR, 4 March 2014. An apparently dry dispute about business rates on one of the Mormons’ temples in Preston  has reached Strasbourg and raises interesting issues about indirect discrimination on religious grounds. The underlying question was whether the temple was a place of “public religious worship” and therefore exempt from rates.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th March 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Charity unable to claim rates relief – Wi-Fi transmitters were “minimal” use, says High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 16th, 2013 in charities, news, rates, telecommunications by sally

“A registered charity that provides free Wi-Fi services and broadcasts public safety messages using transmitters installed in otherwise empty commercial properties cannot claim business rates relief, the High Court has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Company entitled to use rent free period in the first five years for valuation purposes, tribunal finds – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 23rd, 2012 in landlord & tenant, news, rates, rent, tribunals, valuation by tracey

“A Valuation Tribunal has rejected an approach by assessors that would have increased the business rates paid by a City firm by 20% over the first five years of a lease.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th July 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

High Court ruling on rates provides reassurance to landlords of empty properties, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 2nd, 2012 in landlord & tenant, news, rates, taxation by sally

“A High Court ruling will reassure landlords seeking to avoid business rate charges on properties left lying empty, a property law expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th June 2012

Source: www.out-law.com