Landlord, Tenant and Property

Business Tenancies - What is a Business?
The question as to what sort of organisations can be regarded as businesses came before the courts in a case involving a not-for-profit company which had failed to give the required notices to protect their tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 . ...
Compensation for Loss of Light
Following a recent case in which a dispute regarding a property owner’s right to light was unexpectedly dealt with by the granting of an injunction against a developer, a more recent case has offered guidance on how much compensation might be payable...
Data Protection Guidance for Landlords
The Information Commissioner's best practice guide for landlords - written to to assist them in complying with the Data Protection Act can be downloaded from the Information Commissioner’s website . The guide includes a checklist which is intended to...
Guidance on Letters of Intent
Letters of intent are widely used in the building trade, because it is normal for both developer and contractor to wish to make progress on a building project without having to wait until the formal contractual arrangements have been fully agreed. However,...
Landlord's Repairs and Loss of Trade
One of the continuing sources of friction between landlords and tenants is the maintenance of buildings. Normally, the arguments are over inadequate maintenance, but a recent case dealt with problems which arose when a landlord repaired a building occupied...
Landlords - Dealing With Pre-Pack Tenants
Businesses in financial difficulties are increasingly seeking ways of ridding themselves of extra costs and, in many cases, premises let in more promising economic times are viewed as a substantial and avoidable liability, especially for businesses which...
Landlords and the Disability Discrimination Act
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) – which was amended in 2005 – has caused concern amongst the owners of let properties for some time because of uncertainty as to the limits of their responsibilities to make the properties they let...
Late Payment and Material Breach
Recent guidance has been given by the High Court on what constitutes a ‘material breach’ of a contract and the circumstances necessary for late payment to be regarded as serious enough to justify the termination of a contract. The dispute arose...
Leases - Code of Practice
In 2007, a new code of practice for commercial leases was released following a long consultation exercise involving landlords and other interested parties. The code made a number of changes to the substance and detail of the then current practice. These...
Mixed Premises - Legal Status
Living ‘above the shop’ is quite common in the small business sector and where the premises are rented, the lease will cover both the business and residential parts of the property. However, the statutory basis for repossession is quite different...
Optional Errors
People who want to buy a property but do not currently have the means to do so, or who simply want to be guaranteed the opportunity to buy it during a specified period or at some future date, will often undertake an option agreement with the owner. Under...
Options and Pre-emption Rights
Prospective purchasers and vendors of land frequently wish to ‘lock in’ the other party to the deal and the means by which this is done will normally involve the prospective vendor either giving the prospective purchaser an option to purchase the...
Rent Arrears Protocol
Since October 2006, a revised protocol has applied where a social landlord wishes to gain possession of a property occupied by a tenant under a secure tenancy, where possession is sought on the grounds of arrears of rent. It does not apply to claims in...
Right to Buy - Can Tenants Buy Their Commercial Property?
A recent decision of the House of Lords may have opened the door for thousands of tenants of offices and other properties originally designed to be used as homes to be given the right to buy their properties. The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 gives a long...
Stamp Duty Land Tax: Beginner's Guide
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a self-assessed tax. The onus is on the taxpayer to make the necessary land transaction return, calculate the tax and pay it across. This is a fundamental change. The old Stamp Duty regime taxed documents, so it was...
Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes - Rules
If you are a landlord it is vital that you are aware of the requirement, introduced in April 2007, that all deposits (for rent up to £25,000 per annum) taken by landlords and letting agents for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales must be...
Termination of Leases - Tips for Landlords
In the present economic environment, many tenants will be seeking to vacate premises, reduce the size of their premises or renegotiate their leases, so times are tough for landlords. Furthermore, tenants who were ‘good tenants’ or...
Termination of Leases - Tips for Tenants
Break clauses in commercial leases have probably received more attention from tenants in the last year or so than at any time since the early 1990s. For tenants seeking to break their leases, here are some pointers: • Make sure any notice to break the...
The Duty to Manage Asbestos - HSE Guidance
According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Every year 1,000 people who have been involved in carrying out building maintenance and repair work...
The Duty to Manage Asbestos - HSE Guidance
According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Every year 1,000 people who have been involved in carrying out building maintenance and repair work die as a...
What Do You Pay for Work After the Contract Ends?
It is very common, especially with building contracts, for work to be needed to be done by contractors after the expiry of the original contract. Recently, a case came to court in which a company that had obtained work under tender for Brunel University...
What is a Change of Layout?
The question of just how far a lessee can go in altering the layout of a property without either the landlord’s consent or breaching other terms of the lease can be a vexing one. The 2006 case of Waycourt Ltd. v Viscount Chelsea looked at the issue...
When Green is Brown (and Vice Versa)
Development in rural areas presents a number of challenges for planning teams and developers alike. Whilst planning policy is clear that previously developed (i.e. 'brown') land is to be used for new housing in preference to undeveloped ('green') land, even...
When is an Environmental Impact Assessment Necessary
The The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 apply to any development likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of its size, nature or location. If a Local Authority fails...