The 25th April 2012 marked the implementation of the first  phase of amendments to the Licensing Act 2003 (‘the Licensing Act’) ...

Mining e-Brief Mining operations around the country strive to send home employees safely at the end of each shift, by implementing various stringent health and safety measures in their working places. Despite these measures and various safety drives...

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On 15 March 2020, following the announcement by President Ramaphosa regarding South Africa’s precautionary measures that must be put in place to prevent the contraction and spread of COVID-19, South Africans came face to face with the stark re...

A landlord who intends to forfeit a lease must avoid any action that would waive a 'once and for all' breach of covenant by the tenant. This Court of Appeal decision will interest landlords and tenants, especially while market conditions remain toug...

The parties to a commercial agreement may find that they have assumed contractual obligations that are more onerous than they might appear. The High Court decision in Ryanair Ltd v SR Technics Ireland Ltd illustrates the perils of taking a contract...

A non-recourse agreement between a landlord and an incoming tenant did not affect the liability of a previous tenant under an authorised guarantee agreement. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (the 1999 Act) applies to contractual ter...

Site waste management plans will be necessary for construction and demolition work with effect from 6 April 2008. The Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008 require site waste management plans for all construction and engineering projects in ...

The Department of Communities and Local Government has published new guidance explaining how the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will work in practice. The guidance covers: how CIL will be set and spent how, when and by whom CIL will be...

Enfranchisement of long leasehold buildings in commercial use may have become a real possibility as a result of a recent decision by the House of Lords. The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 gives long leasehold tenants the right to buy the freehold of the...

In its concern to block tax avoidance, HMRC is planning to make Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ever more complicated, as two recent consultations show. Residential properties held by companies The first consultation proposes the imposition of SDLT on ...

The VAT tribunal has decided that the sale of a 'future property rental business' qualified as a transfer of a going concern. If the sale of a property rental business satisfies the conditions that apply to sales of businesses as going concerns, th...

Rights granted by side letters will not necessarily be eligible for inclusion in new business leases. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 confers security of tenure on business tenants. It empowers the courts to order a new tenancy of the property com...

A guidance note for clients Empty rates As part of its policy to encourage the use and occupation of empty buildings, the Government has introduced the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 (the 2007 Act). Under the 2007 Act, with effect from 1 April ...

The litigation in City Inn (Jersey) Ltd v Ten Trinity Square Ltd, between rival hoteliers next to the Tower of London, concerned restrictive covenants imposed by the Port of London Authority (PLA). The parties asked the court to decide whether the c...

The new energy performance regime came into force on 6 April 2008 in respect of buildings with a floor area in excess of 10,000 square metres. Buildings with a floor area of over 2,500 square metres will be brought within the regime on 1 July. Howev...

The Law Commission has published a consultation paper proposing wide-ranging reforms to the law governing easements, covenants and profits à prendre. The changes suggested by the Law Commission include: the creation of a single new method ...

As a general rule, leases of land must be made by deed. Failure to comply with this requirement means that the tenant will not acquire a legal estate in land. However, leases granted for a term of up to three years need not be made by deed so long a...

The Court of Appeal decision in Forsyth-Grant v Allen concerned the construction of a pair of semi-detached houses that interfered with the rights of light enjoyed by a neighbouring hotel. The builder employed a rights of light surveyor, who tried t...

The issue in McCann v United Kingdom was whether our domestic law is compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Article 8 provides that everyone has the right to respect for their home. Mr McCann's wife left the family ho...

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 grants tenants of flats a right of first refusal if the landlord wishes to dispose of its interest in the whole or part of 'a building'. In a decision that is hugely significant for the increasing numbers of landowne...

The 'option to tax', or 'election to waive exemption' is a facility that allows property owners to charge VAT on sales and lettings, rather than exempting them. This means that they can recover VAT they incur on construction and other costs. Various...

The Government has published a guidance note designed to help owners and occupiers understand how new rules requiring display energy certificates (DECs) in large public buildings will work in practice. The guidance also explains the responsibilities...

In Re Alisha House, the Lands Tribunal discharged a restrictive covenant preventing a developer from using land for residential development in circumstances where: the developer had entered into the restrictive covenant with the local authority r...

Section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 requires contracts to dispose of interests in land to be made in writing. However, leases granted for a term of up to three years need not be made in writing so long as the term st...

A landlord had acted reasonably in refusing consent to an assignment to a newly incorporated company, despite the landlord having the benefit of the previous tenant's covenant. Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Victoria Street (No 3) Ltd concerned a cov...

The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), a cap and trade scheme that aims to reduce the UK's carbon dioxide emissions, is due to come into force in only twelve months' time. On 12 March 2009, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) publish...

A simple drafting error in a lease invalidates a contracting–out order. In Newham LBC v Thomas–Van Staden, which has been fully reported only recently, the Court of Appeal has presented us with a curious decision on the effect of a draf...

Land Registry fees will increase on 6 July 2009. A new Land Registry fee order has been published, increasing fees across the board for registration and information services from 6 July. The Land Registry is required to recover from its fees and c...

It is proposed that the rule against perpetuities should no longer apply to property transactions, but only for those entered into after the law has changed.   A Perpetuities and Accumulations Bill has been published and underwent its second re...

Residential developers need to take great care that they do not jeopardise their recovery of VAT by granting a short–term tenancy. The current downturn is leading developers to let out new properties instead of selling them. Great care is nee...

The Land Registry is changing its practice on the discharge of mortgages in cases where form DS1 is not available when the application is made to the Land Registry. On 3 August 2009, the Land Registry will implement an important change in practice ...

Helpful analysis of when landlords of mixed–use properties need to consult their tenants before incurring service charge costs. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords who own residential blocks of flats to consult their tenants b...

How important is public procurement to the public sector? Many contracting bodies incur more expenditure each year on externally provided works, services and supplies than they do on their own workforce, but focus typicall...

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High value residential property New Tax Rates The 2012 Budget introduced a new charge to stamp duty land tax (“SD...

The protection of brands is a key issue for many businesses, particularly for those brands which are consumer facing.   One aspect of brand protection is the protection of brands in domain names. Until recently, the number of generic top l...

Introduction The “No” vote by the people of Scotland to Scottish Independence removes some elements of uncertainty from the political and economic landscape in Scotland.  Nevertheless, the narrow margin of the vote against independe...

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement contained the following stamp duty land tax announcement regarding the tax-free ...

This week, an Advocate General gave a landmark opinion that the VAT exemption for the management of certain special investment funds can apply to property management, as well as to other fund management services. The opinion represents a completely ...

The Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C-595/13 Staatssecretaris van Financiën v Fiscale Eenheid X NV cs on 9 December 2015. Full Article