March 2013 #305 – Law Journals

Redevelopment: Are your ducks in a row?

Rachel Kerr advises developers and property owners to ‘be prepared’ when planning redevelopment or refurbishment works The onus is on the landlord to prove it has a firm and settled intention to undertake the works and a reasonable prospect of being able to do so.The construction activity index is at the highest level since January …

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Property Litigation: Criminal penalties against squatters

Emma Humphreys gives the lowdown on a new criminal offence for squatting in residential buildings Section 144 of the 2012 Act is certainly wider in scope and more straightforward than s7 of the 1977 Act, in that it criminalises the act of squatting itself rather than merely a failure to leave on request. There has …

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Rights Of Light: A perfect opportunity for reform

Nick Lloyd reviews the Law Commission’s proposals and their likely impact Despite what are welcome changes of emphasis in the statutory test, developers may still be concerned that the continued wide discretion will still lead to what is perceived to be an inconsistent approach by the court to the exercise of that discretion. The Law …

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Positive Covenants: Going, going… not gone just yet!

The recent Court of Appeal case of Wilkinson v Kerdene is a useful reminder of an exception to the general rule that the burden of a positive covenant does not run with freehold land, as Simon Jones finds out The facts in Wilkinson v Kerdene Ltd [2013] are similar to those in Halsall v Brizell …

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RPI Dependency: What might it mean for the real estate market?

Following the recent consultation on changing the formulae to calculate the Retail Price Index, John Condliffe looks at the impact of any changes Changes in the economy have resulted in greater funding level volatility between assets and liabilities. An LDI strategy seeks to address this by dividing the portfolio into two parts: one that manages …

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Planning: Localism Ltd

John Baird and Anna Harlow examine a case demonstrating the limits of localism In dealing with the first element – the legal and policy framework – while there was debate as to how this was applied, there was little, if any, dispute about what it was. Since the introduction of the Localism Act 2011 and …

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Construction Focus: The cost of delay

In John Grimes Partnership Ltd v Gubbins a consulting engineer was held liable for a fall in the housing market. John Starr discusses The development of the site was delayed by those 15 months as a result of JGP’s breach of contract. But for that breach, Mr Gubbins would have achieved completion of the development …

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