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Oliver Park argues that the government’s drive to abolish leasehold is difficult to reconcile with the growing regulation of the sector, in particular in relation to building and fire safety The process is typically driven forward by a few individuals, and participants often agree to join without properly thinking through whether they or any of …
Continue reading "Building, fire safety and leasehold reform: With management comes responsibility"
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Nicola Gooch considers why Local Plans are so difficult to adopt On a national level, the lack of consistency in policy approach is a real and genuine problem. It would be fair to say that 2022 has not started well for strategic planning. While the days are now getting lighter and longer, the feeling of …
Continue reading "Local Plans: Fail to plan"
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Fiona Sawyer and Jane McMenemy discuss why developers and landowners need to be aware of the forthcoming biodiversity net gain requirements, and what they can be doing to prepare The priority is to avoid or reduce biodiversity impacts on-site, and where possible to achieve the minimum 10% biodiversity net gain on-site as well. However, the …
Continue reading "Securing biodiversity net gain: Implications for developers and landowners"
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Hayley Bruce considers the intricacies of the 2022 Act and possible reaction from the property sector The general rule for a permitted rent is a peppercorn rent which means an annual rent of one peppercorn, having no financial value. There are two exceptions to this: shared ownership leases and replacement leases (s4(1) of the Act). …
Continue reading "The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022: Thoughts and implications"
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Jonathan Ross focuses on some recent cases which reflect the changing rental market, and the vital importance of establishing and relying on relevant comparables As held in the JD Sports case, turnover rents are now very difficult to justify on renewal even where the old lease had a turnover rent. Primarily as a result of …
Continue reading "Lease renewals: Following the pandemic"
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Charlotte Mashhoudy considers case law, standard form construction contracts and the ways in which parties can mitigate the risk associated with unforeseen site conditions A clear understanding from the outset as to the commercial position regarding site conditions and risk allocation should help to prevent disputes between employer and contractor. The term ‘site conditions’ is …
Continue reading "Construction focus: On dangerous ground"
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Christobel Smales considers the challenge of retrofitting at scale in the wake of COP26 Technological innovation takes time and if there is one thing that came out of COP26, it is that we do not have the luxury of time to invest in finding and implementing solutions to address the climate crisis. Until relatively recently, …
Continue reading "Sustainability: The role of retrofit"
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Alexandra Adams and Dean Cooper look at the most recent government announcement in response to unsafe cladding and what exactly has changed Critically, the government has said that it will take all necessary steps to make this new plan happen, including restricting developer access to government funding and future procurements, using planning powers, pursuing companies …
Continue reading "Fire safety: The continuing cladding conundrum"
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Stephen Scott assesses a recent legal challenge brought following recent changes to permitted development rights RCA were concerned that, notwithstanding the government’s stated aims, the changes risked upsetting the balance of town centres too far in favour of residential use if there were not the checks and balances provided by the former planning process. Subsequent …
Continue reading "Urban developments: Unplanned consequences?"
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Andrew Wallis considers the impact of climate change on UK real estate, addressing the risks and their effects, and how these are best dealt with The comfortable option that the industry is accustomed to – if we can insure the risk, our duty is done – is no longer sufficient. It needs to look beyond …
Continue reading "Climate change: A guide for the built environment in the UK"
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