The Court of Appeal has ruled that a group of leaseholders were not responsible for the cost of repairs if those repairs also made good fundamental structural defects in their properties. The leases related to flats situated in a large block constructed in 1957. They were for 125-year terms and were originally granted under the
A commercial landlord has won a dispute over unpaid rent of more than £166,000 despite the tenant citing Covid-19 as the reason for its failure to pay. The case involved Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft MBH and TFS Stores Ltd. Commerz was the leasehold owner of the Westfield Shopping Centre. TFS was the tenant of one of
A company has been told that it is two years too late to apply to rescind a winding up order against it. The fact that the delay had been caused by a shareholder negotiating to pay its debts was not a good reason for breach of the time limit. The case involved Sarjanda Ltd and
The government has extended the ban on evicting commercial tenants until 30 June. The move is designed to help those worst affected by the pandemic, such as bars and restaurants, get back to business when doors fully reopen for hospitality no earlier than 17 May. Residential tenants will also be supported as the ban on
While it is still too soon for any certainty and teething problems are likely to persist, it is possible to speculate and draw some current conclusions on the effect of Brexit on some areas of UK legal practice.
A property company has been told that it cannot avoid a civil penalty for running an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO). The case involved Thurrock Council and Palm View Estates. The landlord, Palm View, had bought the house in 2014. It was converted for occupation by six people with a shared kitchen. On 20
A commercial tenant has been refused permission to re-amend its defence to a service charge claim four weeks before trial. The court ruled that although the new defences had reasonable prospects of success, they could have been pleaded earlier and there was no good reason for the delay. The issue arose because the tenant refused
On 07 January 2021 the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced proposals that mean leaseholders will be able to extend their lease by 990 years instead of the current 90 years allowed by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, and for those with lease lengths below 80 years, removal of marriage value which
The government has extended the ban on business evictions until the end of March because of the continuing Covid pandemic. There will also be a review of commercial landlord and tenant legislation, to address concerns that the current framework does not reflect the current economic conditions. This final extension to protections from the threat of
The terms of a tenancy agreement entitled a landlord to add grounds maintenance to the services for which it could charge. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving Curo Places Ltd and Anthony Pimlett. Curo Places was a registered provider of social housing. It had entered into a tenancy