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If your lawful use of your land is inconvenient for a neighbour, it almost goes without saying that that is just too bad. The point was underlined by a case in which the presence of a pavement telecommunications box stood in the way of a major housing development. Continue reading →
The Estate Agents Act 1979 is quite specific as to how contracts between estate agents and their customers should be documented. A recent case dealt with the outcome of a failure to adhere to the terms of the Act, which in essence meant that an estate agent has faced a more than ten-year delay in securing his right to a commission. Continue reading →
The Government has today opened a consultation process over its proposal to scrap the right of private landlords to evict their tenants using the ‘no-fault’ eviction process, which if passed could in effect create open-ended tenancies and make it far more difficult for landlords to get back possession. Continue reading →
A recent case, brought by a man who had entered into a two-year tenancy agreement with no break clause on a house and garden in Kent, dealt with the interpretation of a rent suspension clause. Continue reading →
Disregard for legal obligations in property development is unwise, as a recent case shows. It involved a developer that high-handedly decided to build affordable housing in the full knowledge that the charity which owns adjacent land benefits from restrictive covenants which would thereby be breached. The charity intended to use its land to build a hospice for sick children. Continue reading →
No matter how many security measures are taken, plots of vacant land are at risk of being invaded by trespassers. However, with the right legal advice, landowners can take pre-emptive action to minimise such hazards and protect their investments. Continue reading →
Property title deeds often contain restrictions on future use of the land and one of the most common is a requirement that only one house can be built on a single plot. It may be thought that such a restriction must be adhered to forever, but if the circumstances are appropriate, restrictions can be lifted if they impede reasonable developments from reaching fruition. Continue reading →
Rent review clauses are normally straightforward, but when they are not there may be trouble brewing. Recently, a case involving an office block in Bromley found its way to the Court of Appeal. In dispute was the amount of rent payable on the rent review date. Continue reading →
As part of its strategy to help JAMS (just about managing) people, the Chancellor has announced plans today in the Government’s Autumn Statement that landlords in England and Wales will be banned from charging letting agents’ fees to residential tenants. No date has been set for the onset of the legislation, but the government hopes this will be “as soon as possible”. There is already a ban in place in Scotland. Continue reading →
The Section 21 Notice has, historically, enabled landlords to recover possession of property where the fixed term of the tenancy has come to an end and without having to justify recovery on a specified ground. Legislative changes in recent years have restricted the landlord’s ability to recover possession where a landlord has failed to protect a tenant deposit in an approved scheme and where prescribed information about the tenant deposit has not been served. Legislative changes coming in to force from 1 October 2015 further restrict the landlord’s ability to recover possession for failure to comply with prescribed requirements and in retaliation to a tenant complaint. Continue reading →