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There was an important law change yesterday regarding fire safety, most importantly the regulation of doors, balconies, and cladding. In our recent update, we discuss the obligations on landlords and how to deal with enforcement action that may be taken...
The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision in Gateway Housing v PRs of Mohammed Nuruj Ali & Delara Begum [2020] EWCA Civ 1339. The case revolved around the problem of serving a Notice to Quit where...
Background Unlike those living in freehold houses, flat owners need to consider the management of the building they live in and the surrounding communal areas. Historically, this management was solely the responsibility of the landlord, or in some...
A national increase in property prices has fuelled 3,754 probes into inheritance tax (IHT) between 2020 and 2021. On average, each IHT investigation launched by HMRC gained an additional £71,000, totalling a further £254 million for the 2020/21...
Landlords in England of residential property must check whether a tenant, or lodger, is legally entitled to rent the property. This was first introduced under the Immigration Act 2014. It was part of the Government’s “hostile...
Where a landlord is taking proceedings against a resident with a “protected characteristic”, two possible defences arise under the Equality Act. The first is the discrimination defence under s15 Equality Act where it is alleged the landlord is...
The Stamp Duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland has been extended to 30 June 2021, after it was initially scheduled to be finishing at the end of March. Following a difficult period for the housing market, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that Stamp...
Landlords still make this mistake and tenants often do not know any different so the problem isn’t trained away and continues to reoccur. So what is the problem? Failing to comply with s.47 and s.48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 The...
The Government has confirmed that legislation will be bought forward allowing leaseholders to extend their leases by a maximum of 990 years at zero ground rent, turning away from the 50-year lease extension with ground for leasehold houses and a 90-year...
After several months of possession claims being stayed, the stay has now been lifted. The Master of the Rolls has set up a working group to address concerns about the consequences of the current stay on housing possession claims ending. The group...
Why appoint a new manager? Leaseholders are very often unhappy with the management of their block. Disputes over reasonableness of service charge is one of the main reasons for looking for a change, as they see their service charges increasing without...
Extensions to Existing Reliefs Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 provides that a right of re-entry or forfeiture under a relevant business tenancy for non-payment of rent may not be enforced, by action or otherwise during the relevant period. ...
The Electrical Safety Standards in Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 From 1 July 2020, private landlords will be required to ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period that the residential property is...
The Government has announced they are extending the stay on eviction proceedings for social or private rental accommodation by a further two months (to 23 August 2020), bringing the moratorium on evictions to a total of five months. The Government has...
It was certainly a welcomed step taken by Government to reopen the housing market on 13 May 2020. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick set out guidance for those wishing to move home safely in line with social distancing advice. It was reported that 450,000...
Within the last 24 hours the Government has announced further measures to assist commercial tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. The Government has already placed a moratorium on a landlord’s ability to forfeit a commercial lease for...
The newly enacted Coronavirus Act 2020 is welcomed by many tenants. It has suspended a landlord’s ability to re-enter premises and take possession of it without court action (known in legal terms as “forfeiture”) where a business tenant...
Coronavirus has impacted on all our lives. From Roythornes’ point of view, most of our staff are working from home and continuing to provide the high level of service for which we are known. We have received several questions about conveyancing...
The Government has announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, there is to be a ban on all new possession proceedings for all residential tenancies for at least three months, whether it is social housing or privately rented. The draft...
When I’m meeting with a client to discuss a lease extension, I can guarantee they ask me the same three questions: Why do I have to extend my lease? What is the process? How much will it cost me? A lot of buyers assume that when they purchased a flat,...
