Terrorism insurance is an increasingly contentious issue in service charge cases; in short, many leaseholders think it is unnecessary and simply serves to increase the their service charges (and, potentially, acts as an additional source of commission for landlords, itself a very contentious issue). Well, in Qdime Ltd v Various Leaseholders at Bath Building (Swindon) […]
Category Archives: Leasehold and shared ownership
Former landlords and s.20B LTA 1985
In Ground Rents (Regisport) Ltd v Dowlen [2014] UKUT 144 (LC), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) had to – once again – grapple with s.20B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The facts are quite straightforward. Imagine, if you will, that there is a modern development of three blocks of flats. It was developed by Countryside […]
Don’t ask the surveyor
Windermere Marina Village v Wild [2014] UKUT 163 (LC) is an important decision about the vexed question of apportionment that arises in many residential service charge disputes. Many residential leases for flats divide up the total service charge bill between flat owners in some fixed proportion. For example in a block of four flats, each flat might bear […]
An interim measure
Fisher v Howard De Walden Estate Ltd RAP/19/2013 is that rare thing – a citeable permission to appeal decision from the UT(LC) (remembering that in Re Bradmoss [2012] UKUT 3 (LC), the UT(LC) had disapproved of reliance on permission decisions, see our brief note, here). It concerns the approach to be taken to permission to […]
Fiddler under the roof
Yeung v Potel & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 481 A Court of Appeal case on the problems with the edges of demises and reserved rights of access, involving, in this case, a land grab above a ceiling and a demand to access the flat above. Flats 3 and 4 were part of a 4 storey […]
You don’t just walk away
R (Twelve Baytree Ltd) v Rent Assessment Committee [2014] EWHC 1129 (Admin) is that rare beast – a judicial review of the LVT (as it was; FTT(PC) as it is now). It concerns how you withdraw a Right to Manage claim. I confess, when I first heard about this case, I had thought it would […]
Gonna get myself arrested
Maunder Taylor v SHG-SH20 Ltd 3CL02066 is one of the more interesting (and potentially, important) county court cases I’ve come across recently (transcript not publicly available; I’ve got one and am trying to persuade the Landlord and Tenant Reports to publish it). For reasons that will become clear, it has wider significance for LVT/FTT cases […]
Disrepair: La luta continua!
2013 was a difficult year for claimant disrepair. Changes in legal aid funding have made it all but impossible to pursue a disrepair claim under legal aid alone, as funding is only available for an order to carry out repairs to where there is serious risk to health or well being of the tenant or […]
Moving places
I was reading the report from the Senior President of Tribunals (here) and came across some interesting little bits: (a) The President of the Lands Chamber in his report notes that he now has a power to make a protective costs order in cases where there is a significant disparity in resources between parties – […]
The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Justice taketh away
Morshead Mansions Ltd v Di Marco [2014] EWCA Civ 96 marks the tragic demise of a clever and useful remedy fashioned by Mann J in the High Court case of the same name (our note here). In brief, ss.21, 22, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 entitle leaseholders to summaries of costs in respect of their […]
