Planning obligations form part of the planning process and will usually be invoked by the local planning authority when a planning permission is sought by a developer. They are used to mitigate the impact of new buildings on the local community and infrastructure, and are imposed by a Section 106 Agreement which is a legal agreement between the applicant seeking planning permission and the local planning authority....
The Court of Appeal (CA) has very recently decided that an application for a new business tenancy made by one of two business partners was not a valid application where the existing lease was held by both partners. The CA`s decision held that both joint tenants must join in any application for a new tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ("the Act") unless there is an applicable statutory exception. The case in question is Lie v Mohile [2014] EWCA Civ 728....
The restaurant sector has always been fast moving and competitive. Buoyed by current eating trends and increased consumer spending the newer restaurant brands are expanding their mini empires whilst the larger operators are protecting their market share with modern renovations and a determined push to grow still further....
In Century Projects Limited v Almacantar (Centre Point) Limited & others [2014], the claimant tenant held a 36 year lease of the top floors of Centre Point Tower at Tottenham Court Road, London which it used as a high class restaurant and private members` club. It sought an injunction to restrain the landlord from carrying out external works to the cladding of the tower which involved the erection of scaffolding around the building, including scaffolding at the level of the top floors....
In Singh v Dhanji [2014], a landlord refused to grant to the tenant licence to assign a 15 year lease of premises used as a dental practice unless the tenant:...
The recent case of Tindall Cobham 1 Ltd v Adda Hotels [2014] has questioned the position reached by the K/S Victoria v House of Fraser (Store Management) Ltd [2011] case. As we reported in our update "A Guarantor or not a guarantor? That is the question." the K/S Victoria case confirmed that a lease obligation requiring an existing group company guarantor to guarantee the lease obligations of an associated assignee company was void....
The Court of Appeal has recently reversed the decision of the High Court in the controversial case of Marks and Spencer plc v BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust Company (Jersey) Limited and (2) BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust Company Limited [2013]....
The High Court has clarified the position on who is responsible for business rates following disclaimer of a lease in Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust and another v Birmingham City Council [2014]....
Public Houses have been closing at an increasing level in recent years. In August this year the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) reported that pubs were closing at a rate of 31 a week with fewer than 55,000 British pubs in operation....
It is not always possible or desirable for an agreement for lease to be unconditional. Often, there is a need for an agreement for lease where the ultimate grant of the lease is conditional upon certain conditions being satisfied. This can lead to disputes, where it becomes in the interest of either party to try to wriggle out of its obligation to take the lease....
As many of us will experience every day the UK`s train stations are getting busier. With more people using the often creaking infrastructure every year the result is that there is a consistent annual increase in footfall at all of the major train stations in the UK. According to Network Rail more than a staggering one billion people, on average, pass through one of their 19 managed stations every year....
The recent case of Martin Retail Group Limited v Crawley Borough Council has indicated how the requirements of competition law may be applied by courts to retail leases which include provisions that restrict the use of a property....
A brief look at the commercial requirements and the legal aspects a pop-up tenant looks for and needs to consider when choosing premises....
Landlords and tenants will welcome a recent change in HMRC policy on the application of VAT to the surrenders of leases....
Rule changes from 1 April 2014 could have serious effects for commercial property owners....
A recent case in the Court of Appeal (Simon v Byford and others [2014] EWCA Civ 280) reviewed the test of capacity for those seeking to make a Will. The Court of Appeal drew a clear distinction between capacity and memory. It held that the test for capacity depended on the potential capacity to understand, rather than memory, and stated that the test for capacity did not extend to unknown or unintended consequences of testamentary dispositions...
The Court of Appeal has very recently considered circumstances where a Landlord was opposed to the renewal of the Lease protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 on the basis of disrepair and breaches of covenant. The case in question is Youssefi v Mussellwhite [2014] EXCA Civ 885....
The recent Judgment in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) case of Qdime Ltd v Various Leaseholders at Bath Building (Swindon) and others [2014] UKUT 261 (LC) is a decision that will be of interest to landlords and tenants....
A recent Supreme Court case, Marley v Rawlings ruled for the first time at the highest judicial level on the circumstances under which a will may be rectified pursuant to s20(1)(a) of the Administration of Justice Act 1982...
The question of whether publicly-owned land can be registered as a town or village green has been clarified by the recent Supreme Court decision in R (Barkas) v North Yorkshire County Council which has stated that the previous decision in R( Beresford) v City Of Sunderland [2003) should no longer be followed....