Adverse Possession: Absolute or possessory?

Claire James and Keith Shaw report on a recent decision confirming important procedural issues in claims of adverse possession ‘Whether acts constitute a sufficient degree of exclusive possession will depend in particular on “the nature of the land and the manner in which land of that nature is commonly used or enjoyed”.’Acquiring land by adverse …
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Charities: Taking the power back

Zahra Kanani considers the results of a recent consultation over disposal of land by charity trustees ‘The general position, as set out in s36(1) of the Charities Act 1993 is that “no land held by or in trust for a charity shall be conveyed, transferred, leased or otherwise disposed of without an order of the …
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Service Charges: Don’t expect dispensation

The Court of Appeal decision in Daejan confirms that the courts will strictly apply the consultation requirements in s20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Mario Betts assesses the implications ‘The Court of Appeal could not take into account either the costs of the works or the disproportionate financial consequences for the landlord; to …
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Landlord And Tenant: Alternatives to the open market rent review

John Condliffe and Matthew D’Arcy discuss some important points arising from the increased use of index-based and fixed-uplift rent review provisions ‘From 1992 to 2008 RPI inflation was always positive (but mostly below 4%).’An emerging trend in commercial lease negotiations is the use of alternative rent review provisions to open market reviews. New leases are …
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Dilapidations: Re-development of s18?

Richard Bartle reminds us of the common law assessment of damages and the operation of s18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, with reference to recent case law ‘If redevelopment is the only option open to the landlord on termination of a lease then the court would most likely assume that redevelopment will take …
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Construction Focus: Two bites at the cherry

John Starr reviews instances where an adjudicator’s decision may not be binding, in light of recent case law ‘If an adjudicator gets it wrong, the court has to decide if they meant to do what they did (albeit mistakenly) or whether it was an accident. If it was an accident, they can put it right; …
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Competition: Food for thought

Now that the Office of Fair Trading has published its draft guidance, Bill Chandler looks at how competition law will be applied to property transactions when the repeal of the Land Agreements Exclusion Order takes effect in April 2011 ‘Although the OFT always possessed the power to withdraw the protection of the Exclusion Order, the …
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