Industry comment, updates and news from the Websters team.
Russell May of Boyes Turner notes that, before embarking on legal action against a difficult tenant, landlords should know whether they will be able to recover the costs involved from that tenant. Read the full article here.
All demands for the payment of service charges relating to residential premises must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations. Davenport Lyons points out that tenant who receives a demand that either fails to contain a summary or contains a summary but not in the prescribed form is entitled to withhold payment. Read full article here.
‘Green Leases’ or Commercial Lease Arrangements for Sustainable Buildingsare becoming increasingly popular. A ‘Green Lease’ is a lease of a commercial or public building, which incorporates an agreement between a landlord and a tenant as to how a building is to be occupied, operated and managed in a sustainable way.
Read the full article from Ogier here
Break options can be an invaluable asset for Tenants in tough economic times. Gordons LLP has highlighted that they offer the promise of flexibility and can be a handy tool for re-negotiating terms with the Landlord. Tenants must beware taking their break option for granted given the many pitfalls to be avoided.
Read the full article here
With the economic climate remaining uncertain, service charges are continuing to give rise to tensions between landlords and their tenants. Tenants are scrutinising service charge accounts for unjustified costs and best value whereas landlords are more cautious about incurring costs unless recovery through the service charge is likely.
The Practical Law Company has posted the revised RICS code on service charges in commercial leases, which has been released for comment.
Obtain a copy of the draft here
Capital Shopping Centres , the UK’s largest mall owner, saw a “discernible improvement” in demand for its properties, notably from retailers chasing a short supply of larger shop units.
“The impact of the reduced supply of new high quality retail space is increasingly apparent in letting negotiations,” Chief Executive David Fischel said in a trading update. Occupancy at CSC’s established centres is 98.8%…..
Read the full article here
Confusion can often arise surrounding the precise identity of the landlord, which has been the subject of much litigation in recent years, as this article from Shepherd and Wedderburn points out.
The latest example of this is the recent case of Standard Life Investments Property Holdings Ltd v W & J Linney Limited [2010] EWHC 480 (Ch) (reported in July 2010), another example which illustrates the importance of a tenant knowing the identity of its landlord. Here, the tenant……
Read the full article here.
At the end of last week the Second Edition of the Guide for Landlords and Tenants relating to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme was published by the working party set up by the BPF, IPF, BCSC and others.
This Guide has been issued following the industry wide consultation which took place earlier this year and the unsuccessful attempt to try and achieve a consensus between landlords and tenants as to how the real estate industry should respond in relation to incorporating CRC in leases.
Get a full copy of the Guide here.
Maxine Quinn of Shepherd and Wedderburn notes that, following the concerns from homeowners and tenants, in Scotland, regarding excessive administration charges and lack of remedies against such practices, the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on a self-regulatory accreditation scheme for property factors. However, Patricia Ferguson MSP introduced a Bill to the Scottish Parliament on 1 June 2010 suggesting a more robust registration scheme. Read the full article here.
