On March 31, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York declared New York City’s Guaranty Bill unconstitutional, finding it violates the United States Constitution’s Contracts Clause. New York City landlords may now be able to seek previously unenforceable arrears from commercial lease guarantors owed from March 7, 2020 through … Continue Reading
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 transformed the global hospitality industry as governments imposed lockdowns in an attempt to stop the virus’s spread, which halted global travel and inhibited the vast majority of in-person events. This was an unprecedented challenge for the industry, which was required to quickly adapt and innovate in order … Continue Reading
Retail took a big hit in 2022 with 17,145 shops closing, a 50% increase on 2021. Large and small names alike were effected: Joules, M&Co and T M Lewin were hit hard, totalling 6,055 shop closures and 151,500 jobs lost. 1/3 of these closures were due to insolvency and the rest because of need to … Continue Reading
The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 6th December 2022. This means greater balance towards landowners and telecoms operators along with supporting 5G and fibre network rollouts. However, there still needs to be more regulations to be passed for the provisions to become effective in 2023. Read the full article … Continue Reading
By Phillip H. Babich and Sara M. Eddy Less parking and more housing, or just less parking? Figuring out parking configurations for development projects in California will get a little easier for developers starting January 1, 2023. The state legislature has adopted Assembly Bill 2097 (AB 2097), and Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed it into … Continue Reading
We have recently seen what may be the first award made under the arbitration scheme established under the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022. Ernest Jones and H Samuel, jewellery retailers, has been ordered to pay £450,000 in unpaid office rent, where it had been argued that the offices, its headquarters, served purely to support its … Continue Reading
On February 2, 2022, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, changed the status of a decision in January from unpublished to published. The decision is significant for its clear and unequivocal ruling that the California Density Bonus Law (Cal. Gov. Code, § 65915 et seq.) prevails over local zoning and land use requirements … Continue Reading
An ordinance that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed on Jan. 25 will require landlords to give residential tenants a 10-day notice and an opportunity to cure before commencing eviction proceedings for just cause. This extends the three-day notice requirement under state law. The 10-day notice and cure requirement will apply to just cause … Continue Reading
The federal opportunity zone program (26 U.S.C. Sec. 1400Z et seq., the “OZ Program”) provides tax benefits to encourage private investment in economically distressed areas. More than 8,700 census tracts, located in every state, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories, were designated as opportunity zones. Proponents hoped that investments in these communities would spur economic … Continue Reading
In 2015, the City of Pittsburgh enacted the Paid Sick Days Act (the “Act”). The Act requires all private employers within the City of Pittsburgh to provide paid sick leave benefits to all full or part-time employees under the following guidelines: • Employers with 15 or more employees must provide workers with up to 40 … Continue Reading
By James Doerfler and Alison Wickizer Toepp on Posted in Real Estate (U.S.)
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) contracts, the most commonly used set of construction contract forms on commercial projects in the United States, recently released the second part of its once-in-a-decade updates to the 2017 versions of its primary forms. A Client Alert was issued summarizing the changes, which are described at length in a … Continue Reading
The construction industry is witness to some fascinating developments, particularly around trophy properties in prime US coastal cities. Within the US –and California particularly- we’re seeing a large number of reputable, experienced contractors banding together to pitch and win construction contracts on trophy properties. Companies that once ferociously competed have joined forces under Joint Venture … Continue Reading
In early July 2017, in a case titled Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP, et al. v. Upper Merion Area School District & Keystone Realty Advisors, LLC, No. 49 MAP 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a landmark decision constitutionally curbing the rights of taxing jurisdictions to file selective appeals under Pennsylvania’s Consolidated County Assessment … Continue Reading
In a landmark case titled Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP, et al. v. Upper Merion Area School District & Keystone Realty Advisors, LLC, No. 49 MAP 2016, issued July 5, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (the “Court”) constitutionally curbed the rights of taxing jurisdictions to file selective appeals often called reverse tax appeals under … Continue Reading
Several types of bonds exist in the development world. So, which type of bond is best for your project? A payment and performance bond is a combination instrument. It’s first a payment bond that guarantees that the contractor will pay the labor and material costs they are obliged to pay. But it’s also a performance … Continue Reading
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced his FY 2018 budget proposal on January 17. The proposal includes several significant revenue-raisers, including a few that could impact the New York real estate market. Income Tax – Sourcing of Gain From Sale of Interests in Entities Holding Co-op Shares – Currently, if an individual who is not … Continue Reading
Welcome to 2017 and the first posting of the New Year on realestatelegalupdate.com. In a Law360.com article published on January 2nd titled “California Real Estate Legislation and Regs to Watch in 2017,” Andrew McIntyre of Law360 addresses the challenges facing the California real estate market in the new year. Simon Adams of Reed Smith is quoted extensively in … Continue Reading
Blighted residential and commercial properties are a major impediment to rehabilitation and redevelopment efforts in cities and towns throughout Pennsylvania. However, late in the 2016 legislative term, the Pennsylvania House and Senate enacted new laws that will change the rehabilitation and redevelopment landscape. On November 4th, 2016 Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill … Continue Reading
In a recent Law360.com article written by Andrew McIntyre, the author addresses three issues in converting parking to accommodate the growing need for E-commerce delivery space and the future effects of driverless vehicles: Zoning Market unpredictability Cost The article discusses the efforts some developers are making to build flexibility into today’s parking space construction to … Continue Reading
In a recent Washington Post article titled “Don’t be confused when it comes to condo insurance,” Robert Diamond of Reed Smith’s Tyson office offered his observations on the complexities of condominium insurance coverage. In some jurisdictions, when a unit owner is found to be negligent — such as when a bathtub overflows or there is a kitchen … Continue Reading
Finding an apartment in New York City is a journey in stress management. You’ve done your internet research. You’ve climbed a thousand steps. Now, you’ve found the place of your dreams. Is it too good to be true? It might. Why? Because the financial standing to qualify for that apartment is an entirely different matter. … Continue Reading
Companies like Uber, Tesla, and Google are racing to bring driverless cars to the public. Uber is utilizing its experience as a service provider and its knowledge of demand patterns and customer behavior to compete with carmakers. Starting this week, Uber is offering riders in Pittsburgh the chance to hail a driverless car (though a human will … Continue Reading
The Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit (THPTC) is a little known incentive program established through Texas House Bill 500 during the 83rd Texas Legislative Session. With the goal of making historic preservation projects more economically viable and feasible in the state, the THPTC offers a 25 percent franchise tax credit for eligible rehabilitation costs for … Continue Reading
Pennsylvania organizations hoping to increase development of public amenities and parks along Pennsylvania’s waterfronts may soon benefit from the new “Waterfront Development Tax Credit” enacted as part of Act 84, and signed into law by Governor Wolf on July 13, 2016. Intended to “encourage private investment in waterfront property”, the new law grants tax credits … Continue Reading
