February 2017 #348 – Law Journals

Planning Update: SEA change

Rachael Herbert examines recent decisions concerning the role that strategic environmental assessments play in the plan-making process, and the consideration of reasonable alternatives ‘An environmental assessment is to be carried out for all plans and programmes listed in Art 5 of the SEA Regulations.’ There has been a spate of recent cases concerning the requirement …

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Construction Focus: Next stop – adjudication

John Starr discusses the lessons to be learned from forming oral contracts ‘The key issue on the application was whether IDM Properties had a realistic prospect of success with its defence that it had no contract with Dacy, and it was common ground between the parties that, if there was no contract, there was no …

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Landlord And Tenant: Expend energy now

Will Densham and Kanchan Adik look at new energy efficiency rules and their impact on rent reviews ‘The new rules bring in a prohibition on letting or continuing to let non-compliant properties. It is important to stress that they do not impose any obligation to carry out works.’ Rent review surveyors have been having a …

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Case Round-Up 2016: Learning curve

Ed Socha and Matthew Prendergast set out valuable lessons from key cases in 2016 ‘The purpose of a qualified covenant is to protect the landlord from having their premises undesirably occupied. A landlord is not entitled to refuse consent on grounds unrelated to the landlord and tenant relationship.’ With one eye on the future, the …

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Prescriptive Rights: Visible signs

Andrew Wade reviews the current position on signage and establishing prescriptive rights ‘Signs either prohibiting or permitting use for recreational activities can be used to prevent a successful town and village green application.’In the 2016 case of Winterburn v Bennett, Richards LJ commented that: Most people do not seek confrontation… Most people do not have …

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Contracts: A joint liability?

Can a contract for the sale of land be enforced when one party has signed for another without consent? Rebecca Field and Amit Unadkat explain ‘The judge found that the “joint and several” provision in the contract enabled the seller to enforce the terms of the contract against the party that had signed.’ An important …

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Statutory Duties: The need to consult

Jeremy Stephen considers why s20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 is overdue for amendment ‘If BDW is correct, all a landlord need do to avoid an s20 consultation is to enter into all its service agreements before there are any tenants. This would clearly frustrate the purposes of s20 of the Act.’ Consultations …

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