6 May 2014 Blog Preserving the special character of a neighbourhood Many readers will be familiar with the special architectural character of Hampstead Garden Suburb, the plan and design of which drew on the experience of those involved with establishing the first garden city at Letchworth... Share this article Bookmark this page 4 min read
23 April 2014 Blog R Square Properties Ltd v Nissan Motors (GB) Limited: a right to park may constitute an easement An exclusive right to use parking spaces can constitute an easement, when the grantor of the right has not been completely deprived of their use of the land... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
23 April 2014 Blog Break options in leases: error in break notice means a tenant cannot end a lease There have been instances recently where the courts have heard challenges by landlords trying to prevent tenants exercising break options to end a lease. The latest decision comes from the Court of Appeal where it has ruled that the tenant failed to exercise the break effectively because it made a mistake in the notice... Share this article Bookmark this page 3 min read
16 April 2014 Blog No TUPE requirement for transferees to inform transferor’s employees Regulation 13 of TUPE requires that both transferor and transferee must inform and, if necessary, consult appropriate representatives of its own employees affected by the transfer in advance of the transfer date... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
9 April 2014 Blog Landlords beware: the guarantor must be a party to subsequent lease variations/supplemental agreements It is an established rule that where a guarantor guarantees the tenant’s obligations under a lease, any subsequent amendments to the lease will discharge the guarantor’s liability unless either... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
6 April 2014 Blog Distressing news for landlords – abolition of distress for rent from 6 April 2014 Some landlords find distress a quick and effective method of recovering rent arrears but from April this will no longer be an option. The new statutory procedure which replaces it is regarded by many as less advantageous to landlords than the old system... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
6 April 2014 Blog Owning unregistered land without title deeds: affirming your ownership How do you protect your ownership of unregistered land, if you do not have the deeds? What if you have no proof of your ownership of land or interest in the land? There is a way to confirm your ownership, using the Land Registry... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
2 April 2014 Blog Tenant holds over after the end of a lease: landlords – make sure you have a paper trail evidencing negotiations The Court of Appeal decision in Erismus Housing Ltd v Barclays Wealth Trustees (2014) deals with a common situation: a landlord grants a fixed term lease and excludes security of tenure so it can get the property back when the lease ends... Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
30 March 2014 Blog Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2014 Most provisions of the Act came into effect on 13 March 2014. The first same sex marriages took place this weekend, as the law requires couples to wait at least 16 days after giving notice to the register office before getting married. Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read
21 March 2014 Blog A right of way – “use it or lose it”? “Use it or lose it” – in fact with a right of way over your neighbour’s land, the opposite is true. Case law shows mere failure to use a right does not on its own lead to its loss. This was illustrated by the Court of Appeal in Benn v Hardinge (1992)... Share this article Bookmark this page 3 min read
21 March 2014 Blog Landlord’s fixtures/tenant’s fixtures –what’s the difference? The Court of Appeal in Peel Land and Property (Ports No.3) Ltd v TS Sheerness Ltd [2014] EWCA explores what is meant by tenant’s fixtures and whether a tenant has the right to remove tenant fixtures. In general the position is... Share this article Bookmark this page 3 min read
10 March 2014 Blog EU court ruling supports use of hyperlinks Swedish newspaper journalists had complained that the use of hyperlinks to connect to their articles from a news searching website, Retriever Sverige, was wrong. But the articles were already available on newspaper’s own freely accessible website. Share this article Bookmark this page 2 min read