March 2022 #395 – Law Journals

Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992: A tale of two mansions

Emily Vandenberg considers the first reported case on the 1992 Act, highlighting the importance of parties working together and with a bigger picture in mind The Act itself is relatively short, and while described by the judge as ‘carefully crafted’, it does not offer a huge amount of guidance and will therefore be important for …

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Building, fire safety and leasehold reform: With management comes responsibility

Oliver Park argues that the government’s drive to abolish leasehold is difficult to reconcile with the growing regulation of the sector, in particular in relation to building and fire safety The process is typically driven forward by a few individuals, and participants often agree to join without properly thinking through whether they or any of …

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Local Plans: Fail to plan

Nicola Gooch considers why Local Plans are so difficult to adopt On a national level, the lack of consistency in policy approach is a real and genuine problem. It would be fair to say that 2022 has not started well for strategic planning. While the days are now getting lighter and longer, the feeling of …

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Securing biodiversity net gain: Implications for developers and landowners

Fiona Sawyer and Jane McMenemy discuss why developers and landowners need to be aware of the forthcoming biodiversity net gain requirements, and what they can be doing to prepare The priority is to avoid or reduce biodiversity impacts on-site, and where possible to achieve the minimum 10% biodiversity net gain on-site as well. However, the …

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The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022: Thoughts and implications

Hayley Bruce considers the intricacies of the 2022 Act and possible reaction from the property sector The general rule for a permitted rent is a peppercorn rent which means an annual rent of one peppercorn, having no financial value. There are two exceptions to this: shared ownership leases and replacement leases (s4(1) of the Act). …

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Lease renewals: Following the pandemic

Jonathan Ross focuses on some recent cases which reflect the changing rental market, and the vital importance of establishing and relying on relevant comparables As held in the JD Sports case, turnover rents are now very difficult to justify on renewal even where the old lease had a turnover rent. Primarily as a result of …

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Construction focus: On dangerous ground

Charlotte Mashhoudy considers case law, standard form construction contracts and the ways in which parties can mitigate the risk associated with unforeseen site conditions A clear understanding from the outset as to the commercial position regarding site conditions and risk allocation should help to prevent disputes between employer and contractor. The term ‘site conditions’ is …

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