The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014 (“ESOS”) came into force across the UK last July. The purpose of ESOS is to require large businesses to identify energy efficiency savings by carrying out energy audits; ESOS is intended to deliver part of the UK’s 2020 target to reduce energy consumption by 20%. The reality is … Continue Reading
The recently introduced vacant building credit, and policy exemption for small developments from affordable housing contributions have been swiftly removed from national planning guidance this morning following a High Court ruling on Friday. The policy excluded developments of 10 homes and 1,000 square meters or less, from the requirement to provide or contribute to affordable … Continue Reading
Residential landlords of properties in Wales need to be aware of the extra regulatory burden that applies to them and particularly because breach could be a criminal offence. The Welsh Assembly has added an additional layer of regulations which affect private rented residential property in Wales only and which are expected to come into force … Continue Reading
As increasing numbers of investors now include residential and mixed use properties in their portfolios there are bound to be issues dealing with the residential element of service charges and you really can’t be too careful about the administration of residential service charges. From our perspective it seems like an almost endless stream of cases … Continue Reading
We posted in 2013 on the Regulations that will make it unlawful from 01 April 2018 to let properties with an F or a G EPC rating. These are now in force. There are some time limited exemptions and a few exclusions but now is the time for investors to plan on how they can … Continue Reading
The dust has now settled on the recent cases involving discussion on the continuing AGA, GAGA situation and its inter play with section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995. The second case has given us just a little bit more certainty about how lease guarantees on an assignment can be made to … Continue Reading
In our post on 20 March we explained the implications of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 and in particular the need for heat suppliers to register before 30 April 2015. In amendment regulations of yesterday the date for registration has now, thankfully, been put back to 31 December 2015. Minor tidying up … Continue Reading
Are you a developer or landlord of commercial or residential multi-let premises? Are those premises supplied with heat by either a communal heating system or a district heating system?… Continue Reading
The construction industry is preparing itself for new health and safety practices as a result of the CDM Regulations 2015 which will come into force on 1 April 2015. Developers of big projects will undoubtedly be affected but the Regulations also affect much smaller construction projects too. Developers will need to be aware that the … Continue Reading
The question of how to value a building which is undergoing substantial refurbishment came before the Court of Appeal who ruled yesterday that the Valuation Tribunal had wrongly attributed a rateable value of £1 to offices which had almost all of its internal elements stripped out including the cooling system, all internal and external plant, … Continue Reading
You might have seen some of the recent media coverage of Gordon Ramsay’s court case relating to a personal guarantee given to his landlord that was signed using an “automated pen” operated by his estranged business partner and father in law. A significant sum was at stake given the personal guarantee guaranteed the tenant’s obligations … Continue Reading
It is the time of year when the Great British weather batters buildings up and down the country causing signs to fall off some and roofs to cave in! Beware, though, if you are the Landlord or manager of a mixed use building – emergency repairs may cost you more than you think. Section 20 … Continue Reading
More news on break clauses - an important appeal to come on the question of refunding rent for the period after the break and also a new case on whether a break clause could be exercised and then whether it was effective because of patch repairs… Continue Reading
When tenants offer landlords guarantees of their lease liabilities landlords need to take care what assignment rights the tenant can have and this was demonstrated in last week’s Court of Appeal decision in Tindall Cobham 1 Ltd v Adda Hotels. As you may recall, prior to the KS Victoria case (previously reported here) it was … Continue Reading
This entry was written by Lesley Vars and Leah Speckhard Recent years have seen the increase in popularity of pop-up shops as solutions for landlords in need of cash flow. Retailers like pop-ups as a chance to test the waters before signing a long-term lease or to sell seasonal merchandise. Pop-up shops began to take … Continue Reading
Our tax team has written a client alert on the extension of UK CGT to gains arising from the disposal of UK residential property after April 2015 by non-resident individuals and entities. This will extend UK CGT beyond its current scope: historically, non-UK resident individuals and companies disposing of UK property were not subject to … Continue Reading
There has been much commentary in the property press over the last few days reporting on the eagerly anticipated outcome of BNP Paribas’ appeal against the High Court’s ruling last year that allowed M&S (BNP’s tenant) to recover £1.1m of rent and other charges after exercising their break right. The Court of Appeal allowed the … Continue Reading
We have seen a number of articles that refer to the risk of unclaimed capital allowances being lost as a result of the new capital allowances rules. It is estimated that there is over a billion pounds of unclaimed capital allowances in the UK. The concern is that any such unclaimed allowances could be lost … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Nicholas Rock, Maricela Robles Garza, Alexandra Gordon, and Pryderi Diebschlag. It is common for our clients to require a short environmental indemnity in a property deal usually when the transaction is well advanced (and the due diligence is in) and often once the timetable is really compressed. Sadly there … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Emma Flacks. Judgment in the Court of Appeal case of Pillar Denton v Game Retail– about rent due during the administration of Game was handed down yesterday. It is a landmark ruling for administrators, on the thorny issue of the payment of rent during the period of the tenant’s … Continue Reading
New procedures will make it harder to register land as a town or village green (‘TVG’). This is one of the Government’s many measures for lessening the impediments to property development. Two recent cases about registered TVGs have also been decided in favour of development.… Continue Reading
This post was also written by Alexander J. Heaton. Leases entered into by tenants at the height of the last real estate boom tend not to be particularly tenant-friendly. Many tenants re-structured during the recession and still hold surplus space which, given the improving economic conditions is now getting sublet. These boom time leases can … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Nicholas Rock, Alexandra Gordon, Pryderi Diebschlag, Maricela Robles Garza. Members of the Brownfields Solutions team at Reed Smith have just published the first in a new series of articles looking at issues relevant to those with an interest in UK brownfield land. In the first article, the team looks … Continue Reading
This post was written by Jo Carter and Siobhan Hayes. The controversy over the unfair and anachronistic business rates system is constantly in the main stream press at the moment and today saw the BBC report on the expected announcement of a freeze to rates rises to be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn … Continue Reading
