It will not have escaped the attention of anyone in the real estate industry that today is the March quarter day. For many landlords and occupiers, the immediate focus will be on rent payments due today and the media are already reporting that large numbers of retailers are expected to withhold rent to ease cashflow
Category Archives: Real Estate News
Subscribe to Real Estate News RSS FeedUK COVID-19: Commercial tenants to be given three months’ protection from forfeiture
Yesterday, as well as locking down the country, the government published critical amendments to the emergency Coronavirus Bill protecting commercial tenants from the risk of forfeiture until the end of June 2020. The Bill, together with these amendments, has now been approved by the House of Commons and is, today, going before the House of
COVID-19 in the UK: emergency legislation for renters
The government has confirmed it will bring forward emergency legislation to protect residential tenants from eviction. Following the Budget which announced mortgage “holidays” for those who own their homes, the government has been urged to assist private renters impacted by COVID-19. Under the emergency legislation landlords will be unable to start proceedings to obtain possession
Coronavirus UK – has your tenant asked for a concession?
In Boris Johnson’s first daily coronavirus update yesterday, he urged the general public to stop “non-essential contact” and “all unnecessary travel“, and to avoid social venues including “pubs, clubs and theatres“. Although supermarkets have been doing a roaring trade in pasta, hand sanitiser and loo roll in recent days, other retailers, restaurants and pubs have
You can’t just wash your hands of it… A landlord and tenant’s guide to COVID-19 in the UK
As hand gels and toilet paper fly off the shelves and children across the world cross their fingers for school closures, the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus has taken over the news. The outbreak has now been declared as a pandemic and is showing few signs of slowing. But what does the virus mean for commercial landlords
Budget 2020: real estate tax changes
Here is a brief summary of the measures in the March 2020 Budget which are relevant to the Real Estate sector. Non-UK resident companies with UK property income – As previously announced, non-UK resident companies that carry on a UK property business, or have other UK property income, will be charged to Corporation Tax on UK
Mistakes in notices: useful guidance from the Court of Appeal
Earlier this month the Court of Appeal decided the case of Captain Nigel Crighton Pease v Jeffrey William Carter and Louise Mary Carter. The case concerned whether statutory notices of proceedings for possession, served under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, containing an incorrect date for the commencement of proceedings, had been validly served.
A Leap Day Bonus
Wishing you a Happy Leap Day for tomorrow! Traditionally the day for women to issue marriage proposals, 29 February may also have an unexpected consequence for buyers and sellers of commercial properties when they work out their completion statements. The Standard Commercial Property Conditions are a set of standard conditions which are incorporated (to a
MEES and residential property – don’t be a fool come 1 April 2020
Come April Fool’s Day 2020, landlords of residential property should be aware not just of customary pranks and hoaxes, but also of the implications of the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (the “MEES Regulations“). What is the current position for residential property? Since 1 April 2018, landlords of “domestic private
Private Property? Court of Appeal says that being overlooked is not a nuisance
The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the case of Fearn & Others v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, concerning a dispute between the Tate Modern gallery and its residential neighbours over the Tate’s public viewing platform. The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal has confirmed that “mere overlooking” is
Noisy works: a useful reminder for landlords
When a landlord is carrying out works it is usually impossible to avoid some level of disturbance to tenants. On that basis, previous case law has made clear that a landlord carrying out works will need to take “all reasonable steps to minimise the disturbance” to its tenants in order to avoid a tenant successfully
Coming soon: New electrical safety standards for PRS landlords
New draft Electrical Safety Regulations have been laid before Parliament but what do they mean for landlords in the private rented sector? When and where will they apply? If passed, these regulations will apply in England to most new residential tenancies from 1 July 2020 and all existing residential tenancies from 1 April 2021. They
Don’t take it personally: Is the benefit of an agreement for lease personal to the landlord?
In Bella Italia Restaurants Limited v Stane Park Limited, Bella Italia had entered into a conditional agreement for lease with its prospective landlord, the Trustees of the Churchmanor Pension Scheme. As you would expect, the agreement contained a right for the landlord to grant a lease, on the terms agreed, with a corresponding obligation on
Unleashing real estate’s potential: what follows next?
The real estate sector will welcome the stability, at least in the short term, that such a decisive election result brings. Jackie Newstead, our Global Head of Real Estate, predicts a post-election bounce in investment following a return of confidence to the market and a busy Q1 in 2020. Deals which were on ice can
Confirmation from the Court of Appeal: Exercising CRAR will waive a right to forfeit
In an earlier blog we discussed the High Court decision in the case of Thirunavukkrasu v Brar & Brar. The High Court confirmed that taking action pursuant to the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery regime (CRAR) would amount to a waiver of a right to forfeit. The landlords subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal, which
Court of Appeal confirms that telecoms operators can obtain Code rights to carry out site visits
A second case has been decided by the Court of Appeal under the 2017 Electronic Communications Code (the “Code“). The Court upheld the decision of the Upper Tribunal that an approved operator under the Code has a right to access and carry out investigations on a site’s suitability for installation of electronic communications equipment (known
Electronic signatures: a warning sign
How do you sign your emails? If your name and contact details are automatically generated at the bottom of an e-mail, do you consider you have signed the e-mail and should be contractually bound by the contents? This was the issue for the county court in the recent case of Neocleous v Rees. The facts
Higher MEES on the horizon?
On 15 October, the government published a consultation on tightening minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for commercial properties. Click here for a copy of the consultation. Responses must be submitted by 7 January 2020 and we strongly encourage all interested parties to respond. The consultation focuses on two key questions: What should the minimum standard of
Reacting to a CPO – what do you need to do?
In the second of our series on compulsory purchase, we turn to what you should do if your property is at risk of compulsory acquisition. The first thing to do is brace yourself – the process is long, often slow and can frequently feel stacked against you. There are, though, key steps which can, and
Time to weed out knotweed – is Europe leading the way?
Are we overly cautious when dealing with Japanese knotweed? Are other countries more proportionate in their approach? And do we need a new risk assessment to better reflect the situation on the ground? Read on to find out what the government’s Select Committee has concluded in an area where policy looks set to change …
Electric Vehicle charging – regulation that sparks a charge towards a better network
The UK government has published its Road to Zero strategy last year, paving the way for a significant expansion of both on and off-street electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities in the UK. The EV revolution is happening and the revenue streams and technologies available are driving the emergence of different business models and opportunities for
Back to basics: what to do when you receive a break notice
In the current climate, all types of occupiers including occupiers of retail, office and warehouse space, will be considering their leasing requirements and looking to rationalise their property portfolios. As a result, landlords may find that they are seeing an increase in the number of tenants seeking to operate break rights in leases. For obvious
Section 21 is dead. Long live section 8!
The future of the UK rental market is emerging. The government wants views on its plans for removing the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) regime and bolstering the court process for gaining possession of a property. Will it be enough to fill the vacuum left by the AST regime? Background In April, we blogged about the government’s plans to
Motive Matters … Can land owners rely on redevelopment plans to resist Code rights?
It has been almost 18 months since the new Electronic Communications Code changed the legal landscape for telecoms operators and land owners. At its core, the Code is a framework for operators to obtain rights to install their apparatus on private land. The policy behind the Code is to improve our communications infrastructure so that