In an important decision for landlords, Scottish & Newcastle plc v Raguz, the House of Lords has restored common sense and commercial reality to the procedures that a landlord has to follow before it can recover arrears of rent from a former t...

In our previous e-briefing, we discussed the advent, from 1 December 2008, of rules on abnormal rent increases. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has acknowledged that the current rules do not work fairly and, in some cases, do not work at all. It is...

The University of Reading will be reporting to the Government on the success of the code for leasing business premises. The Code for Leasing Business Premises in England and Wales 2007 (‘the Code’) was published on 28 March 20...

A landlord is able to hold a tenant to an informal agreement to renew its short-term leases. Recent cases have brought to people's attention that leases for short periods - up to three years - do not need to be executed under seal. In fact, they do...

This VAT and Duties Tribunal decision, Riverside Sports & Leisure Limited, concerned the grant of a lease over sports facilities. It illustrates the point that value added tax (VAT) can be problematical in the most innocuous of transactions. In...

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published an information sheet giving guidance to house builders on the VAT implications of letting unsold houses. The guidance has been published in response to enquiries from house builders who are letting hous...

A Scottish court has ruled that a landlord's right of inspection in a lease permitted the landlord to sink boreholes to search for contamination. In this case, Possfund Custodian Trustee Ltd v Kwik-Fit Properties Ltd, Kwik-Fit was a tenant of a bui...

Realisation of security by mortgagees is a hot topic in current economic circumstances, and Horsham Properties Group Ltd v Clark is a case that underlines that mortgagees' powers can sometimes appear draconian. In this case, the mortgagee appointed...

A building that was built 150 years ago as a house, but that has been used predominantly as offices for the past 60 years, is not a 'house' for the purpose of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. The Court of Appeal in Grosvenor Estates Ltd v Prospect Es...

A landlord who allowed a member of his family to occupy the demised premises after the tenants' departure was held to have accepted a surrender by operation of law of the premises. Tenants took a three-year lease of a very large residential propert...

It appears that it is possible to obtain ownership of part of a river bed by adverse possession. Since 2003, it has become virtually impossible to acquire ownership of registered land by adverse possession - but 12 years' possession of unregistered...

Two recent cases involving easements highlight the risks of leaving part of the arrangement undocumented. Two recent cases raised the doctrine of derogation from grant in relation to the grant of an easement - one successfully and the other not. A ...

Developers can no longer assume that they will be entitled to connect new developments to public sewers for the disposal of service water. The draft Flood and Water Management Bill, intended to improve how the country prepares for and responds to f...

Land deals are currently one of the most scrutinized areas of public procurement, and the correct application of the public procurement rules to land transactions still poses one of the greatest challenges for public bodies. ...

...

Eversheds Sutherland property column: September 2018 Originally published in Practical law In these uncertain times, if cash is king, income is emperor. As a consequence, investors are looking for long-term, lower risk investments in the real estate...

Economic and political uncertainty since the Brexit vote and fear of a predicted debt crisis have increased funding pressures on Higher Education Institutions when putting their estates strategies into action.  A perfect storm of a predicted dr...

Eversheds Sutherland property column: March 2019 Over the last half decade, institutions and investors have become increasingly attracted by the dependable longterm income offered by large-scale professional residential letting. The way investors ac...

Yesterday the Government announced its response to the Law Commission’s report on Event Fees. “Event Fees” are common in the retirement living sector. They are  fees payable on certain events such as sale, subletting or change...

It came to the attention of the Rwandan authorities that many investors who were granted mining concessions left them unexploited, thus wasting potential exploitations. The reasons behind this behaviour reside in the current legislation, which ...

In 2015, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that foreign direct investment for the construction of greenfield projects in developing economies had jumped from US$22 billion in 2013, to US$42 billion in 2014 wit...

Much has been said and written about the UK public’s decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union and the November 2016 election of President Donald Trump. It seems obvious that these momentous events will have profound socio-economic con...

The United States Supreme Court has made it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue foreign states in US courts under the exception to sovereign immunity applicable to “any case . . . in which rights in property taken in violation of international law ...

The compatibility of investment protection treaties with the regulatory framework of European Union law has been a controversial issue for quite some time. A recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Achmea (formerly Eureko) v...

NOWSHERA: The confirmed Covid-19 cases reached to 110 after two more test positive for the viral infection in the district on Saturday. DC Nowshera Shahid Ali Khan that two suspected patients of coronavirus identified as wife of Akmal Shah, resident of Amangarh, and Sabz Ali of Pabbi tested...

TIMERGARA: The volunteers of the Prime Minister’s Corona Relief Tiger Force were urged to serve the people without any political consideration. They were administered oath at a ceremony at district council hall Balambat here on Saturday.A total of 6634 members, including teachers, students,...

PESHAWAR: Contrary to the opinion of doctors, the small traders and general public are fed up with the prolonged lockdown and have started violating the restrictions put in place for their safety.They are anxious to come out of the homes and want the government to lift the so-called lockdown so...

MANSEHRA: Though Kaghan-Naran section of Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road has been reopened to traffic following the suspension of five consecutive months, the tourism activities in the valley are yet to be resumed.The road, which was blocked due to heavy snowfall in Kaghan valley in December 2019, was...

PESHAWAR: Confusion prevailed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over cancellation of the board examinations and extension of school closure until July 15 as no decision could be taken at the provincial level despite the loud and clear announcement made by federal Education Minister Shafqat...

TABKHTBAI: Two more patients died of coronavirus and were buried under the Standard Operating Procedures in their respective areas in Takhtbhai tehsil on Saturday.According to health department, one Ali Akbar Ameer, a resident of Pirano Daag, 67, was admitted to a hospital in Islamabad for chest...

CHITRAL: A local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Muhammad Said Khan Lal has expressed concern over illegal hunting of Ibex and other wildlife in the historic hunting area of Zewargol in Torkho area of Upper Chitral. In a statement on Saturday, Said Khan Lal, who is also former tehsil councilor and...

MINGORA: Another patient died of coronavirus while 13 more tested positive for the viral infection, taking the death toll to 21 in Swat district on Saturday. Also, the confirmed Covid-19 cases reached 322 after 13 more reported positive for the viral disease in the district. It said that test of...

JAMRUD: A man was killed while another sustained injuries when rivals traded fire over a land dispute at Nai Abadi area in Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber district on Saturday. The police said that two cousins opened fire on each other over a property dispute in Nai Abadi, Lalkhel area, that left...

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department arrested five people for allegedly collecting donations for terrorist organisation in Khajuri area of Khyber district. An official said the CTD conducted raids on reports that few people were collecting donations for terrorist organisation. The official...

GHALLANAI: Local elders have demanded the government to take action against drug mafia in Mohmand tribal district.Speaking to journalists, social workers and elders including Malik Jehanzeb, Malik Salim, Malik Rasool Khan and others said that on the one hand coronavirus has created a risk to lives...

HARIPUR: A woman whose husband was murdered in broad daylight about 50 days back has criticized the local police for using delaying tactics in arresting the nominated accused.Speaking to media person here on Saturday Maryam Bibi, widow of Abid Sultan, a serving patwari of Revenue Department, said...

MARDAN: Food packages were distributed among 1,196 deserving families in different parts of the district on Saturday.According to a press release, Additional Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Ali, Assistant Commissioner Gul Bano, police and revenue officials and soldiers of Pakistan Army distributed the...

SWABI: The police here on Saturday said that a five-year-old girl, whose body was recently recovered from a water channel, was killed by her aunt. Speaking at a news conference here, DPO Imran Shahid said that investigation revealed that Wajeeha Khan’s aunt was involved in her killing. The...

The Pakistan Development Foundation has asked the government to allow the students of final semesters in BS and masters programme to return to the universities. Muhammad Bilal Sethi, the chairman of the foundation, wrote a letter to Governor Shah Farman, who is chancellor of public sector...

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party on Saturday said that the rise in the coronavirus infection cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had frightened the general public.ANP provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak in a statement said that the ground realities were completely different from the...

HARIPUR: Three persons allegedly molested a 12-year-old boy in village Hattar, police said here on Saturday.Officials of the Hattar Police Station quoted Yasmin Bibi as saying that Arsalan, Saqib and Qasim from the same village took her son to the old labour colony where they molested him and...

HANGU: The police claimed to have foiled a car-snatching bid and arrested the accused in the district on Saturday.Police said that one Arifur Rehman, a resident of Naryab, was going to Peshawar in his car when accused Syed Saqi Abbas and Fahim intercepted him in Ibrahimzai area after a long...

DIR: The Prime Minister’s Volunteer Tiger Force for Covid-19 was inaugurated in Upper Dir the other day.In this regard, a simple function was organised at the district council hall in Dir town where DC Khalid Iqbal Khattak, MNA Sahibzada Sibghatullah, District Police Officer Mian Nasib Jan,...

PESHAWAR: The workers of Jang/Geo Group continued protest on 56th consecutive day against the arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman here on Saturday.Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the protesters urged the government to release Mir...

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has asked officials to ensure timely completion of Citizens Facilitation Centres projects in the provincial capital launched under the Digital Access Initiative of the provincial government.He also directed the high-ups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information...

We probably all recognise the following situation.  Employee is given written warning.  One month after that warning has expired, the employee commits similar misconduct again.  Can the employer rely on the previous misconduct and exp...

The Court of Appeal is just starting to have an opportunity to shed light on the meaning and application of the statutory dispute resolution procedures. However, whilst any such cases are of significant interest now, they are likely to have a short ...

ACAS has published 'Discipline and grievances at work: Draft ACAS guide', which it has been working on since issuing its revised Code of Practice on discipline and grievance for consultation (Full Article