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Does the buyer of a property ‘own’ it after contracts are exchanged but before the transaction is completed? The Court of Appeal’s answer to that fundamental question delivered a substantial Capital Gains Tax (CGT) saving to an off-plan flat buyer. Continue reading →
Litigants who fail strictly to comply with judges’ orders risk the dire consequence of having their cases dismissed without a hearing. That very nearly happened to a commercial tenant in a dispute over alleged rent arrears. Continue reading →
Most leases contain covenants that forbid tenants from doing certain things without their landlords’ consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. The meaning and effect of such provisions came under Supreme Court analysis in an important test case. Continue reading →
In a recent property case that will have a bearing on all contractual matters, the High Court ruled that a footer automatically appended to an email amounted to a legal signature and led to a contract for the sale of land being formed. Continue reading →
Commercial landlords commonly require tenants to opt out of the statutory security of tenure to which they would otherwise be entitled. However, strict procedural steps must be followed to the letter before that can be achieved. Continue reading →
Companies are often far less well known than the brands under which they trade. A recent High Court case illustrated that failing to make a distinction between formal corporate entities and their trading styles can cause problems when it comes to dispute resolution. Continue reading →
An important decision that will be of interest to commercial landlords was issued by the Upper Tribunal (UT) recently.
The UT ruled that prestige office premises that had been stripped bare in preparation for the arrival of a new tenant had a nil rateable value. Continue reading →
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 →