If you are an investor currently using overseas entities to hold UK property you should be aware that the UK Government is putting together proposals for greater transparency of the beneficial owners of UK properties owned by overseas entities. The regulations will have implications for: the risk management, timing and due diligence in real estate … Continue Reading
By Edward Fairweather and Geoffrey Yussouf on Posted in Real Estate (UK)
It’s now less than one year to go until the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, commonly known as the MEES Regulations (minimum energy efficiency standards) come into effect. It is time to act if you haven’t already. The MEES Regulations (the Regulations) provide that: From 1 April 2018 landlords of … Continue Reading
In today’s volatile markets the commercial viability of a project can change in the time it takes to implement a hard-won planning consent and even after works have begun. It may therefore be necessary to amend a scheme to maintain its profitability and viability. To accommodate such changes, planning schemes are often amended or a … Continue Reading
How can landlords make sure they can claim for the diminution in the value of their reversion when the lease of a dilapidated property comes to an end? Doing no work but hoping to claim was not a successful strategy for the landlord in the case of Car Giant Limited and Acredart Limited v The … Continue Reading
Reports suggest that China proposes to impose greater monitoring of large outbound investments and potentially block state-owned enterprises from purchasing overseas property with a value of more than US$1bn in a single transaction. Additionally, permission may be required for the transfer of funds over US$5m. The previous threshold was US$50m. It is likely that more … Continue Reading
As many of you are aware when doing business with Chinese investors you will need to come to terms with “Guanxi” – meaning relationships or connections outside the family. This is the core of Chinese society and culture. It is important for the Chinese to get to know the person with whom they wish to … Continue Reading
The disputed rates in Newbigin (Valuation Officer) (Respondent) v S J & J Monk (a firm) (Appellant) relate to building works in 2012 and the question was whether the rating list could give the building a £1 nominal value or whether it had to assume a market value based in an assumption of repair. The … 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
On Monday 28 November 2016 the City of London’s Planning and Transport Committee approved (19 votes in favour, 2 against) a resolution to grant permission for the development known as 1 Undershaft which at 73 storeys will be the tallest building in the City of London (that is 304.94m or a little over 1,000ft for … Continue Reading
As we mentioned in an earlier post Regulations for dealing with private rented housing in Wales are increasing. From 23 November 2016 all properties need to be registered and anybody undertaking, letting or management work has to go further and be licensed. FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTINUE READING 1. Registration by all landlords Why register? The Welsh … Continue Reading
It is all too easy for landlords and tenants not to realise that their deal can fall foul of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) requiring contractors to withhold tax from sub-contractors, designed to make sure that sub-contractors income tax is paid. How does this happen? – A landlord can be deemed to be a contractor … Continue Reading
Following our recent update on business rates, we are warning developers to look at their budgets for statutory compensation that may be due at the end of a 1954 Act protected tenancy because of the VOA’s reassessment of rateable values, which comes into force next April 2017. The timing of the notices served to end the … Continue Reading
Since we last posted on common land and town and village greens, there have been new cases. Given the impact common land can have on developments, applications to register land as a town or village green are often appealed so it can take a long time for clear legal principles to emerge. We have pulled together the … Continue Reading
Rentcharges are, in theory, a very useful way of securing a positive obligation to pay against freehold land owners. They are mainly now created to cover estate service charges to ensure freeholders will pay common expenses incurred in looking after communal areas of a development and to help ensure positive covenants are enforced which is … Continue Reading
There have been a number of developments on business rates which affect investment management and lettings to corporate occupiers. Exactly what use qualifies as charitable and benefits from reduced rates is clearer, as is what qualifies as a business unit in a multi-let building plus there is disturbing news on rates appeals. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION … Continue Reading
Wandsworth Council has just taken the unprecedented step of issuing a non-immediate Article 4 Direction to withdraw permitted development rights relating to demolition, alteration and changes of use from 120 pub and bar sites in Wandsworth “due to their historic or architectural value or because they make a positive contribution to their community”. Unlike an … Continue Reading
Major changes to insurance law came into force on 12 August 2016 by virtue of the Insurance Act 2015. Some of the changes will be of benefit to those who have to insure UK real estate and this could provide comfort to mortgagees. The headlines are – New concept of ‘fair disclosure’ by policy holders … 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
Following on from our posting about the removal of the exemption of small scale developments from affordable housing contributions, please note that the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s decision. The Court of Appeal has given legal effect to the Government’s intended policy and that now means that: contributions should not be sought from … Continue Reading
Be aware of the consequences of negotiating an early break right in a renewal lease. The flexibility that this might bring will come at a cost. On a 1954 Act lease renewal, the court has power to determine the rent for the renewal lease. The Court assesses the rent for which those premises “might reasonably … Continue Reading
Commercial landlords know that if a tenant fails to pay rent and the lease contains a forfeiture clause, the landlord can forfeit the lease by peaceable re entry i.e by changing the locks when the tenant is not in the premises. It can be a useful self-help remedy but it is limited by the tenant’s … Continue Reading
The headline news from the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the ‘Housing and Planning Act’) makes it look as though there is a good new solution to enable residential landlords to get their property back in their control when it has been abandoned. In practice it contains a number of provisions that serve only to … Continue Reading
Structuring the ownership of mixed use buildings requires care both initially and then during the management of the building. In a recent case, an investor in the residential parts of a mixed use building faces a significant service charge shortfall that was avoidable. Residential tenants benefit from a statutory requirement that their service charge must … Continue Reading
We were reading in the Property Week (27th May edition) just how unreliable an EPC rating can be. This matters because from 2018 when new minimum energy efficiency regulations (MEES) start to apply, investors won’t be able to grant a lease of a property (and that includes a lease renewal) with an F or a … Continue Reading
