A commercial tenant has been refused permission to re-amend its defence to a service charge claim four weeks before trial. The court ruled that although the new defences had reasonable prospects of success, they could have been pleaded earlier and there was no good reason for the delay. The issue arose because the tenant refused
On 07 January 2021 the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced proposals that mean leaseholders will be able to extend their lease by 990 years instead of the current 90 years allowed by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, and for those with lease lengths below 80 years, removal of marriage value which
The government has extended the ban on business evictions until the end of March because of the continuing Covid pandemic. There will also be a review of commercial landlord and tenant legislation, to address concerns that the current framework does not reflect the current economic conditions. This final extension to protections from the threat of
The terms of a tenancy agreement entitled a landlord to add grounds maintenance to the services for which it could charge. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving Curo Places Ltd and Anthony Pimlett. Curo Places was a registered provider of social housing. It had entered into a tenancy
A landlord has been ordered to pay damages to a church organisation that was unlawfully evicted from its rented premises. The case involved Jesus Sanctuary Ministries Ltd and Ruby Triangle Properties. The church had started occupying the property under a rental agreement in 2009. The property was later sold to the current landlord. In 2019,
A commercial tenant that left behind asbestos-contaminated materials after having its lease terminated has been ordered to pay the cost of clearing the site. There was a “”yield-up”” covenant in the lease that required the tenant to remove buildings erected on the site and to leave the site in “”good and substantial repair and condition””.
The government has extended its ban on landlords evicting businesses until the end of the year. The move is in response to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Ministers say that where companies can pay their rent, they should do so, as this support is aimed at those businesses struggling the most during the pandemic. It’s hoped
Landlords can now bring possession proceedings again, but the government has also announced new measures to give tenants extra protection over the winter, especially at Christmas. The government has changed the law to increase notice periods to 6 months meaning renters now served notice can stay in their homes over winter, with time to find alternative support or
A landlord has been ordered to repay a large proportion of rent to the tenants of his house in multiple occupation (HMO) because he did not have the appropriate licence as required by the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The tenants had paid approximately £28,600 rent and sought a rent repayment order. The First-tier Tribunal
A letting and management company has failed to get an injunction to allow it to continue to manage a block of flats following a dispute with the owner. The case involved Atlas Residential Solutions Management UK Ltd and Greengate Sarl (2019). Greengate had purchased the building and hoped to re-sell it after the flats had