Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential
No. 1 Deansgate (Residential) Limited v No. 1 Deansgate RTM Co. Limited
In Eversheds ‘Top 5 cases of 2013, it was reported that the decision in this case was that, for the
purposes of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, a building can be
attached to another and still be considered to be ‘structurally detached’, so long as the
attachment is not of a structural nature. The relevance of this finding is because
qualifying leaseholders of flats are entitled to establish and join a Right to Manage
company (‘RTM company’) if they all occupy a ‘self contained’ building. The building in
this case was a 14 floor block of flats which was originally a stand alone building but
over time neighbouring properties had been connected to it. The leaseholders formed
an RTM company and sought to acquire the Right to Manage which was denied.
However it was held that as the neighbouring buildings derived no structural support
from the building in question, it could be regarded as structurally detached and the
Right to Manage application could proceed. The cases which considered the phrase
‘structurally detached’ when looking at the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, were irrelevant
for this purpose. Residents will now have to consider not whether their building is joined
or touches another building, but if it gains any real support from that building before
making an application.
Monday, February 17th, 2014 in Commercial, Landlord, News, Residential, Service Charge
Websters has been specialising in the production and audit of service charge accounts for nearly forty years. When we started this work, service charge audits were frequently undertaken as part of the property owner’s general annual audit. This was not a satisfactory situation because specialist knowledge is needed for accurate service charge accounting assessment. Some of the advantages of an audit are:-
- Landlords and tenants can be assured of their transparent financial relationships
- Tenants can trust that the service charge is correct and fair at no added cost to the landlord
- There can be a significant reduction in investigations by tenants into service charges, saving time and money for landlords
- Specialist advice on current techniques for the internal accounts team will be available
We now act for a very large number of landlords, who recognise that independently audited accounts can remove a major cause of conflict with their tenants
Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential
Landlords should remember the following:
When a tenant applies for licence to assign a new lease, under what circumstances does the lease allow the landlord to
demand an authorised guarantee agreement (AGA)? Even if the landlord can request an AGA, it may not be worthwhile, for example, if the outgoing tenant is in financial difficulty.
Think before pursuing a former tenant or guarantor. If the former tenant or guarantor pays in full they will be entitled to
an overriding lease. It may be better to persevere pursuing the current tenant, or to forfeit the lease if there is a chance
of re-letting the premises at the same or higher rent.
Remember that varying a lease can release guarantors, including former tenants who have entered into an AGA.
Guarantors should, where possible, be joined in as a consenting party to a variation.
Giving time to a tenant in a binding way which will allow the tenant to pay rent late or not at all could operate to release
a guarantee.
Friday, December 27th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential
An article in The Guardian states that The Office of Fair Trading is to investigate the property management industry following complaints from flat-owners and wants to hear from interested parties who can shed some light on why the management of leasehold homes in England and Wales may not be working well for consumers.
Read the full article here
Thursday, November 28th, 2013 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
A landlord often supplies services, other than rent, such as insurance, water and electricity. Some services may not be standard-rated as a stand-alone supply and Pearson has reported that barristers, who were tenants at the Middle temple, found that problems arose when their landlord supplied a ‘mixture’ of services. VAT law has a preference for treating ‘bundles’ of supplies as a single supply where splitting them would be regarded as ‘artificial’. When a mixed supply is deemed to be a single supply, the predominant supply will determine the VAT rate charged.
Read the full article here
Wednesday, November 20th, 2013 in News, Residential
Buying a home is increasingly out of reach for many, yet 78% of people want to be a homeowner. A revamped form of shared ownership could be the answer.
Read the full Guardian article here
Wednesday, November 20th, 2013 in Commercial, Landlord, News
In Read Smith‘s Real Estate Legal Update, it was noted that some of the highest profile corporate occupiers have on-going programmes for reducing power consumption and improving their impact on the environment but others may be persuaded by the costs savings or required by some of these new laws and regulations to turn green.
Read the full article here
Thursday, November 7th, 2013 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
Joanna Nicholls of Howes Percival has reported that, from 1 January 2015, it will be illegal to use the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) gas R22 in either its newly produced ‘virgin’ or recycled form. R22 gas is a commonly used coolant in older air conditioning systems so its ban will have a significant impact as these systems will either have to be converted or replaced. The key question for landlords and tenants is who will pay?
Read the full article here
Tuesday, October 29th, 2013 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Service Charge
Anna Rutherford of Speechly Bircham notes that the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 made on 26 July 2013 provide further detail on the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) procedure which comes into force next April. There has been uncertainty and speculation concerning the new regime which replaces the existing law on seizure and sale of goods and the archaic law of distress. CRAR seeks to provide a unified procedure for enforcement agents to follow. Since the Regulations cover specific amounts of rent only, commercial Landlords might be advised to refrain from offering inclusive rents, without detailing separate sums for rent and service charge.
read more here
Friday, September 20th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
Peter Bolton King, the RICS Global Residential Director, reports that the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code is in need of updating, as the current document is woefully out of date. RICS is intending to consult stakeholders next month about what revisions they would like to see in a 3rd edition and will also be asking respondents to assess the impact of any changes. Without a business impact assessment it is unlikely that any updated edition would be endorsed by the government.
Read the full article here
