The Court has recently issued one of the most damning criticisms of an expert witness that has been seen for quite some time (Van Oord UK Ltd v Allseas UK Ltd). Any expert witnesses of a nervous disposition, look away now. The case in question...
In today’s Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that from 1 April 2016 buy-to-let landlords and people buying second homes will face paying Stamp Duty Land Tax at a rate 3% above the current rate. There will be exemptions for certain types...
A valuer produces a negligent overvaluation of residential property. The lender relies upon that valuation and then sues its solicitors when it discovers that the valuation was wrong. Barking mad? Not so thought the High Court in Goldsmith Williams...
A naturist resort. A chalet. And a modest plot of land. Those were the subjects of the hotly contested case of Spielplatz Limited –v- Pearson. The legal issues that were laid bare during the proceedings centred on whether the chalet was a chattel or...
The real estate market in New York is booming. So much so that tenants of rent-regulated apartments are being harassed by landlords and by professional “tenant re-locators” who are trying to persuade them to move out so that they can re-let and...
The landlord in the case of Freifeld –v- West Kensington Court Limited could hardly believe its luck. The landlord was faced with a situation where its tenant had breached its lease by underletting the premises in deliberate breach of covenant. The...
On 1 June 2015, Berlin began enforcing rent controls preventing landlords from charging over 10% more than the local average rent for new tenants. The chairman of the Berlin ...
According to the Court of Appeal, the answer to this question in the case of Mr Best is “yes!”. Mr Best has emerged victorious from the Court of Appeal with the court having confirming that Mr Best is entitled to snaffle ownership of a property...
Forfeiting a lease of commercial premises can be as simple as changing the locks. But in the case of residential premises, a landlord has to tread with much greater care. Changing the locks is not an option. So says the Protection from Eviction Act...
We caught up with David Carter, Chief Executive of the Sheriffs Office, to find out more about the life of a sheriff. Describe your typical working day. Personally, I’m no early bird and prefer to work late into the evening, including...
QUESTION: I have served a Section 25 Notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954on my tenant. The expiry date contained in the Notice has now passed but there have been several extensions of that date. We are now four months beyond the...
The Supreme Court has this week dismissed an appeal brought by a group of lessees challenging the interpretation of service charge clauses. The lessees are long leaseholders of holiday chalets at Oxwich Leisure Park near Swansea. The...
In that elusive happy–go-lucky world where landlords and tenants co-exist in blissful harmony, serving formal notices on each other is probably unnecessary. No doubt, a cup of tea and a friendly chat achieves the same purpose. But in the real world of...
Forfeiture is a powerful weapon for a landlord. One breach and the tenant can be booted out. But what happens if you kick that commercial tenant out and he comes banging on the door demanding to be let in again? Is he down as well as out? ...
If you have a right of way over neighbouring land and you stop using it for a long period of time, perhaps several years or more, will you eventually be regarded as having abandoned your right of way? The answer is no. Non-use, even for many years,...
The Court of Appeal has recently awarded a cohabitee a 25% beneficial interest in a property solely owned by her partner despite the Court finding that her financial contribution had been “insignificant” In the recent Court of Appeal case of...
Conditional break clauses continue to haunt tenants. Once again, a tenant has been stung by onerous break clause conditions that were virtually impossible to comply with ( Sirhowy Investments Limited v Henderson & Knight ). Mr Henderson and Miss...
Paul Engelbrecht, Commercial Property Solicitor in Cheltenham advises that Landlords must think carefully, and quickly, in considering a request for the assignment, or transfer of a lease. Failure to do so could result in costly consequences. The Court of...
The judgment in the recent case of Rendlesham Estates Plc v Barr Limited illustrates how the Defective Premises Act 1972 can make a building contractor liable to a subsequent occupier of a dwelling, even where there is no contractual relationship between...
It is not often that someone can say that they got lucky in the highest court in the land. But Mr Telchadder who was the subject of the recent Supreme Court ruling in Telchadder v Wickland Holdings Limited had a very lucky escape. The Telchadder case...
