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  • Right to Buy - Can Tenants Buy Their Commercial Property?

    A recent decision of the House of Lords may have opened the door for thousands of tenants of offices and other properties originally designed to be used as homes to be given the right to buy their properties.   The Leasehold...
  • Leases - New Code of Practice

    A new code of practice for commercial leases has been released following a long consultation exercise involving landlords and other interested parties. The code makes a number of changes to the substance and detail of current...
  • When is an Environmental Impact Assessment Necessary

    The The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 apply to any development likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of its size, nature or location. If a Local...
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax: Beginner's Guide

    Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a self-assessed tax. The onus is on the taxpayer to make the necessary land transaction return, calculate the tax and pay it across. This is a fundamental change. The old Stamp Duty regime taxed documents, so it was...
  • Rent Arrears Protocol

    Since October 2006, a revised protocol has applied where a social landlord wishes to gain possession of a property occupied by a tenant under a secure tenancy, where possession is sought on the grounds of arrears of rent. It does not apply to claims in...
  • Mixed Premises Legal Status

    Living ‘above the shop’ is quite common in the small business sector and where the premises are rented, the lease will cover both the business and residential parts of the property. However, the statutory basis for repossession is quite different...
  • Landlords and the Disability Discrimination Act

    The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) – which was amended in 2005 – has caused concern amongst the owners of let properties for some time because of uncertainty as to the limits of their responsibilities to make the properties they let...
  • Compensation for Loss of Light

    Following a recent case in which a dispute regarding a property owner’s right to light was unexpectedly dealt with by the granting of an injunction against a developer, a more recent case has offered guidance on how much compensation might be payable...