Archive for the 'Leasehold and shared ownership' Category

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Leasehold law update

By J on 18/12/2011. 0 Comments

It’s cold, wet and miserable, but at least there is some new leasehold legislation and a case to cheer you up.

The first is the Right to Manage (Prescribed Particulars and Forms) (Wales) Regulations 2011, replacing the 2004 regulations of the same name. As you’ll all know, the Right to Manage is where qualifying leaseholders of buildings form a company which can take over the landlord’s management functions; it involves the service of a series of prescribed notices, all of which are dealt with in these new regulations. On a similar note, the RTM Companies (Model Articles) (Wales) Regulations 2011 have also been published, prescribing new forms of model … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership.

Sometimes Turning Up Is Optional

By David Smith on 04/12/2011. 0 Comments

Hardy & Anor v Haselden & Ors [2011] EWCA Civ 1387

Excuse the (slightly flippant) title which is a backhanded reference to a recent post by NL. This is actually a slightly sad case.

It is also slightly convoluted set of facts so you will have to bear with me.

Facts
Mr & Mrs Haselden were the owners of a farm in Lancashire along with their daughter, Mrs Ollerton. Mr & Mrs Hardy met with the Haseldens on several occasions during the latter part of 1997 to discuss terms on which the Hardys might move into the farm. In August 1997 Mr Haselden is said to have made an oral … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Leasehold and shared ownership and Possession. Tags: .

And you find that power where?

By J on 27/11/2011. 0 Comments

By s.168, Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, a landlord may not serve a notice under s.146, Law of Property Act 1925, or otherwise exercise a right of re-entry (i.e. forfeiture) in respect of a breach of a covenant (other than one to pay rent – which is unaffected by s.146, see s.146(11); or service/administration charges, which are dealt with under s.81, Housing Act 1996), unless the breach has been admitted by the tenant or determined by a court, LVT or arbitral tribunal.

There is a bit of a cottage industry in these applications to the LVT. Landlord says that tenant is in breach by, e.g. having a cat. … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , , .

No further forward

By J on 20/11/2011. 3 Comments

One of the most vexing questions in service charge litigation is the interaction between default judgment and s.81, Housing Act 1996. In summary, s.81, 1996 Act requires that, before any notice under s.146, Law of Property Act 1925 (forfeiture) can be served, or any right of re-entry exercised, there must be a “final determination” that the amount of the service charge is due. This can be provided by the LVT, arbitral tribunal or court. Alternatively, the tenant can admit the sum is due.

Now, is a default judgment a “final determination” for these purposes? This is quite important because, in the overwhelming majority of service charge arrears cases, the landlord … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership.

Service charge accounting

By J on 17/11/2011. 0 Comments

The Association of Residential Managing Agents have, together with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (and their sister body in Scotland), have published non-statutory best practice guidance on how to account for service charges, their tax treatment, the rights of leaseholders to see certain documents, etc. It’s an impressive piece of work which has been over a year in the making and, best of all, is available to download for free, here.… Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership.

Calling Hercules J

By J on 17/11/2011. 0 Comments

Freeholders of 69 Marina, St Leonards-on-Sea v Oram and another [2011] EWCA Civ 1258

A case on costs of LVT and county court proceedings, and quite an important one at that. 69 Marina is a building in St Leonards-on-Sea. It has been converted into 6 flats, five of which were let on long leaseholders. Four of the leaseholders were registered as freeholders and held the freehold on trust for all the leaseholders. In 2005, works totalling £19,031.36 were done to the property to remedy some water penetration. The freeholder sought to recover the costs via the service charge, but the two leaseholder defendants did not make the payments sought. The … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership.

Until the Abbott be deposed: uncertain terms

By NL on 10/11/2011. 5 Comments

Berrisford v Mexfield Housing Co-operative Ltd (Rev 1) [2011] UKSC 32

What happens to a lease for an uncertain term? Or a tenancy that ends on some specified event, whose date is not known and which may or may not happen? Can either the tenant or the landlord rely on the clauses in the tenancy agreement?

The Supreme Court simply and indeed elegantly gives us the answer in this case, the final part of the extraordinary saga of Ms Berrisford and the Mexfield housing Co-op, which saw Mexfield arguing in the Court of Appeal that all of the tenancies it had granted were invalid. (Our reports on the High Court… Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Leasehold and shared ownership, Licences and occupiers and Possession. Tags: .
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