News and Articles

Property lawyers have not generally needed to take a great deal of notice of Human Rights law. Particularly in the field of commercial property the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 has been fairly minimal. The reason for this is that the HRA 1998 does not, generally, impose any obligations on private individuals. In the lexicon of human rights jargon, the effect of the Act is vertical not horizontal; that is to say it regulates relations between state and citizen and not between private individuals or companies.

It is difficult to imply a term into a lease and parties need to spell out the position clearly regarding re-imbursement payments for rent, service charge, sinking fund, and insurance when a Lease can be ended early.

Pay close attention to lease requirements when calculating service charge and crediting provisional sums.

Ensure the right parties make the statutory application for a new business tenancy.

Provisions in residential leases enabling landlords to determine each tenant’s service charge proportion may be void.

Provisions in residential leases enabling landlords to determine each tenant’s service charge proportion may be void.

Nicholas Dowding QC practises at Falcon Chambers, specialising in the law of landlord and tenant, and he is regarded as one of the ablest and most sought-after silks in this field. H

Failure to highlight a property price discrepancy may cost solicitors dearly.

1. In negotiations or proceedings for the renewal of a lease, parties often focus on the level of rent, the length of the new term, break options, rent review provisions and what “reasonable modernisation” entails. The extent of the demised premises and the treatment of fixtures installed during the previous terms(s) are not usually in the spotlight. In this short article the question is posed as to whether greater care needs to be given to the treatment of fixtures added during the earlier term: is there a real risk that tenants may inadvertently lose their right to remove their fixtures at the expiry of the new lease (or that landlords may inadvertently become burdened at the end of the term with fixtures that they did not bargain for and have to pay to be removed)?

The new law on criminal trespass has produced a significant body of interest regarding its interplay with squatter’s rights including applications by squatters for registration under Schedule 6 of the Land Registration Act 2002; the focus of this article.