Karen Mitchell and Alison Mould discuss an important ruling on whether Brexit would cause a lease to be frustrated ‘Generally, parties to contracts only rely on frustration if there is no other legal avenue available to them, as it is not easy to establish and, unsurprisingly, often arises in only the most unique and complex …
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Ed Cracknell reviews the pilot scheme in the Central London County Court which has been running since the beginning of the year ‘Where court directions are complied with, the traditional adversarial court process – disclosure of documents, exchange of witness statements and expert reports – that works so well for, say, a commercial dispute is …
Continue reading "Unopposed lease renewals: More haste less speed?"
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A ‘licence’ can turn out to be a lease when put to judicial scrutiny. Emma Pinkerton and Sarah Moore explain how to make sure legal documentation delivers ‘It is the reality of the circumstances in which the parties find themselves that counts – not how they decide to categorise their agreement.’Clients often ask their solicitors …
Continue reading "Leases: Practise what you preach"
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The current vogue for sub-letting has hit a hurdle in the courts. Henry Webb explains ‘While a “private residence” covenant will normally only prevent the Airbnb style of letting, the covenant at issue in Roundlistic is far worse from a purchaser’s perspective, because it effectively prevents any sub-letting at all.’Following the Upper Tribunal’s recent decision …
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Katie Gray reviews a recent case that considers the competing interests of freeholders and RTM companies ‘The case for the leaseholders was that the effect of the 2002 Act is to impose an absolute prohibition on any landlord from developing any part of a building in respect of which a Right to Manage company exercises …
Continue reading "Leases: An illuminating judgment"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2016 #160Lady Hood was the lessee of the property in Chelsea (‘the property’) pursuant to a lease (‘the head lease’) dated 21 September 1979 and made between (1) Viscount Chelsea (‘the head lessor’) (2) the Chelsea Land & Investment Company Limited (‘Chelsea land”); (3) Cadogan Holdings Company (‘Cadogan’) and (4) Lady Hood. The head lease contained a covenant by the lessee not to transfer underlet or part with possession of part of the demised premises without consent of Cadogan. The head lease also contained a right for the head lessor or the Company to forfeit the head lease for breaches o...
Mark Pawlowski explores the rules governing liability of joint tenants and their guarantors for rent under the lease ‘A guarantor for the obligations of the original tenant is invariably a party to the lease. In other words, the guarantor’s covenant is made with the landlord and the latter can sue on the direct covenant between …
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In considering Berrisford v Mexfield, the Supreme Court has expressed its view on the current, unsatisfactory, legal position where a lease or tenancy agreement has been created for an uncertain duration. Carl Roche investigates ‘If the view of the Supreme Court is followed, imperfect tenancies will no longer give rise to implied periodic tenancies. Instead …
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Michael Higgin considers the implications of a case that has found plasterwork applied to walls and ceilings to be structural ‘The introduction of modern building techniques means that we should be cautious to extrapolate anything rigidly from the legal analysis of traditional methods of construction, but should also weigh up the circumstances.’The recent case of …
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