News and Articles

Response to Default County Court Judgments Consultation Paper

TRIBUNAL PROCEDURE COMMITTEE CONSULTATION ON POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE TRIBUNAL PROCEDURE (FIRST- TIER TRIBUNAL) (PROPERTY CHAMBER) RULES 2013 AND THE TRIBUNAL PROCEDURE (UPPER TRIBUNAL) (LANDS CHAMBER) RULES 2010 CONCERNING COSTS IN LEASEHOLD CASES AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY CASES.

Many of you will remember our longstanding and much missed member, Alan Langleben, who sadly passed away in 2016. The Association established a Memorial Essay Competition at that time in Alan’s memory. Alan was a staunch supporter of our Association from its early days and was, in particular, a much admired and respected member of our Law Reform Committee.

We have seen an increase in our overall membership and with around 60% of PLA members permanently based outside London, it’s great to see a busy and successful calendar of training and social events across all our regions.

January can be a dark time - both literally and metaphorically. It is a time for trying to curb that sugar habit that you acquired over Christmas and fighting your way through the newcomers to make it to the squat rack at the gym. However, it is also a time for reflecting on the past year and making plans and getting excited about the year ahead. So I thought that I would do exactly that in this first blog post!

Reply of the Law Reform Committee of the Property Litigation Association to the consultation by the RICS on a new professional statement for service charges in commercial property

If the proverb that “a good beginning makes a good end” is correct, then it bodes well for a productive year for your Website & Marketing Committee (WMC). I am delighted to kick-off 2018 by welcoming a new sub-committee member, Tim Reid (Hogan Lovells), and confirming a new partnership between the PLA and Lexology.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published a Consultation on reinstating the practice of the Valuation Office Agency prior to the decision of the Supreme Court in Woolway (VO) v Mazars [2015] UKSC 53.

As we start 2018 I can’t help thinking that there’s never been a better time to be a property litigator.

The importance of alternative dispute resolution in modern day practice cannot be overstated. The means by which the courts have incentivised ADR is twofold; being both direct and indirect. The direct means is by penalising parties who have shown a failure to have due regard to ADR through the litigious process. The indirect method is by reducing recoverable costs such that even victory comes at a cost.