In a painstaking judgment handed down yesterday morning, Marcus Smith J held that in the event that the United Kingdom does leave the European Union, as it is set to do on 29 March, this action does not operate to frustrate a lease entered into by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The EMA is an … Continue Reading
Modern Slavery is broadly a term covering slavery, forced labour, servitude and human trafficking. It has been described as “the great human rights issue of our time” by Theresa May. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced as part of an effort to tackle the issue by imposing a requirement on every large business carrying … Continue Reading
We are often asked by landlords whether tenants need to completely strip out premises including partitioning when they are required to deliver up vacant possession. This is most common when break clauses are conditional on delivering vacant possession. What does vacant possession mean? In the leading case (NYK Logistics Limited –v– Ibrend Estates), it was … Continue Reading
It is now clear that leases cannot be assigned to the tenant’s guarantor but serious issues arise out of the recent High Court case of EMI Group Limited v O&H Q1 Limited which specified that any lease assignment by a tenant to its guarantor is void. This means that the assignment is not effective, the … Continue Reading
We are finding that some of our clients are shocked by the recent radical changes to the system of court fees. The changes have made larger claims much more expensive to commence. As a result, landlords may lose the settlement leverage that used to be exerted through the issue of a claim and genuine claims … 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
There was a surprise announcement in today’s Budget in relation to “high-end” residential property. The government has significantly extended the scope of the SDLT 15% “penal” rate that applies to acquisitions of residential property by non-natural persons (i.e. corporate entities). The 15% rate currently applies to individual residential properties worth over £2,000,000. From midnight tonight the 15% … 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 written by Katherine Campbell and Siobhan Hayes. Do tenants who want to exercise a break part way through a quarter have to pay the whole quarter’s rent on the quarter day in order to validly exercise the break? You will know from our previous posting that there have been two cases in … Continue Reading
This post was written by Katherine Campbell and Siobhan Hayes. We have seen many cases deciding whether tenants have managed to break their leases during this economic downturn. Many tenants break rights are conditional on rent payment by the break date and the recent case of PCE Investors Limited v Cancer Research UK highlights another danger … Continue Reading
Break clauses are currently one of the hot topics in real estate litigation. This is unsurprising given the state of the market. A High Court case reported this week shows how difficult it can be for tenants to operate a conditional break clause in a lease. In this case, the lease contained a condition that … Continue Reading
Much has been written about the UK Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (Energy Efficiency) Scheme (‘CRC’) over the last two years. Many in the property sector are aware of the complications around reporting carbon emissions to comply with the CRC and charging the costs of allowances to those consuming the fuel. The UK Government’s comprehensive spending … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Philip Olmer and Alex Heaton. Earlier this year we wrote about the impact of the Good Harvest case (Good Harvest Partnership LLP v Centaur Services Limited), both from the perspective of the landlord and of the tenant . Much of the commentary from the spring of this year was advising … Continue Reading
We wrote a variety of blog postings on the UK’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (Energy Efficiency) Scheme (‘CRC’) whilst the Government was consulting on the draft Regulations. A lot of the information must have seemed unimportant prior to April 2010 but now the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order 2010 (‘CRC Order’) is in force and many … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Alex Heaton. A recent High Court decision on the liability of a guarantor is already causing investors concern. See our earlier posting . Here we consider the immediate implications for tenants and their guarantors, and, perhaps surprisingly, it is not all good news.… Continue Reading
This post was also written by Mark Hargreaves. Following on from our original blog on the Bribery Bill there have been some changes to the Bill during its speedy passage through Parliament. We have no doubt that this Bill will be enacted before the General Election. Agents, investors and developers do need to be aware … Continue Reading
This post was also written by George Brown and Mark Hargreaves Can the Bribery Bill, which we are told will become law before the General Election, affect property investors, agents and buyers?… Continue Reading
Tenants exercising break clauses in their leases are creating plenty of work in the property disputes field at the moment. Many tenants who have the opportunity to break the term of their lease are seizing it, and landlords in return want to find any way possible to challenge the validity of those notices. This posting identifies some of the topics arising on lease breaks.… Continue Reading
Landlords/investors involved in selling or refinancing tenanted properties may need to carry out intensive environmental tests to satisfy the buyer/lender. Can landlords do these without the tenant’s co-operation, for which a tenant may seek a high price? Leases of commercial property reserve specific rights of entry for landlords. Can these be exercised to allow an … Continue Reading
The duty on investors and other owners to notify building insurers and keep them updated of all material circumstances should not be under-estimated. Failure to do this may result in cover being prejudiced. An unusual case that reached the Court of Appeal earlier this year made us think about whether property investors have got more … Continue Reading
Effecting a lease break can be vital to a tenant’s business plans. There are a vast number of reported cases on the question of whether notices have been validly served. There are many more property lawyers’ files where the operation of a break is challenged. Tenants need to take great care and seek legal advice … Continue Reading
