Property, Leasehold and Housing

Lifetime tenants of social homes who are victims of domestic abuse will be granted a further lifetime tenancy under the Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Act 2018. The grant of a further tenancy is dependent on whether: either the tenant had to...

Banning letting fees paid by tenants in the private rented sector and capping tenancy deposits in England is the aim of the Tenant Fees Bill. The plan is to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset, and throughout, a tenancy, and is part of a...

The question of whether a landlord was reasonable in refusing consent for planning permission for a change of use because of the fear of enfranchisement (ie acquiring the freehold) was addressed in Rotrust Nominees Ltd v Hautford Ltd. In that case, the...

The Upper Tribunal found that a First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) should not have included planning refusals after the valuation date in the value of an opportunity to develop a block of flat’s roof space, saying that these matters were irrelevant. The case, ...

In the recent case of First Tower Trustees Ltd v CDS (Superstores International) Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1396, Court of Appeal judges unanimously upheld a High Court’s decision that a non-reliance statement in a commercial lease had the effect of...

The government says it wants estate agents to become “professionalised” as a way of improving the housing market and reducing the number of sales that fall though each year. Ministers say delays and complications during the process of buying or...

The leaseholder of a maisonette has been prevented from extending her home by digging down into the subsoil beneath her cellar. The High Court held that the general presumption of being allowed to develop a property upwards did not automatically apply to...

The government is pressing ahead with its plans to make property agents in the private sector join “an approved or designated client money protection (CMP) scheme” if they handle client money. The move follows a public consultation by the...

A commercial landlord has won a dispute with the liquidators of the former BHS retailer over the payment of rent. The issue arose because BHS had entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to pay reduced rents to landlords of its stores and offices....

This is a recent decision in the Court of Appeal, concerning a claim for collective enfranchisement (right to purchase of a freehold) and the rights of the leaseholders over the surrounding gardens. Within a collective enfranchisement claim, the...