News and Articles

The Court is now giving useful guidance to surveyors re Terminal Dilapidations Claims.

This optional response form is provided for consultees’ convenience in responding to our Consultation Paper on Rights to Light.

Failure to respond or negotiate before proceedings can prove costly.

The Court will not allow a stalemate to arise.

Several property statutes contain a provision enabling a notice (or some other document) to be served by being “sent by post” (without prescribing any particular method of posting): see section 176(2) and (3) of the Housing Act 1985; section 54(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987; section 99(1) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993; section 15(1) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (“PWA 1996”); and section 111(1) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

The High Court has considered whether owners who rebuild houses they live in are liable to purchasers under the Defective Premises Act 1972 In November 2009, Mr and Mrs Zennstrom agreed to buy a property overlooking the marina in Hamble, Southampton for £1.1 million. Mr Zennstrom was a co-founder of Skype.

Hooper v Oates [20 February 2013] considered the significant issue of whether a damages claim for breach of contract to buy property was to be measured by reference to the property’s value at the date of the breach, or rather by reference to its value at a later date. There was a large difference in the respective values, which had a major impact on the level of damages.

On 27 February 2013 the Law Commission published its report on reform of the Electronic Communications Code and in so doing recommended a complete re-draft. The report does not include a draft Bill but the Government is said to be committed to the implementation of a revised Code (which will not be retrospective) in light of the report.

Where a Lease provided for the landlord to insure the building but omitted any express obligation on the tenant to contribute to the cost, a term would not be implied to make the tenant liable to contribute and, in the absence of any sweeping up provision, none of the service charge provisions could be construed to cover this cost.

The Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 does not apply to options or conditional Agreements for Lease.