Service charges Service charges are levied by landlords to recover the costs they incur in providing services to a building. The way in which the service charge is organised is set out in the tenant's lease or tenancy agreement. The charge normally covers the cost of such matters as general maintenance and repairs, insurance of the building and, where the services are provided, central heating, lifts, porters, lighting and cleaning of common areas, etc. The charges may also include the costs of management by the landlord or by a professional managing agent and for contributions to a reserve fund. Relationship of landlord and tenant The relationship of landlord and tenant has its origins in the medieval land law and was originally one of contract only. However, from early times the contract conferred an estate or proprietary interest in the land

Mary Ashley of 15 Old Square The higher rates of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) will apply to the purchase of a major interest in a single dwelling by an individual, if at the end of the day of purchase, conditions A–D are met: • condition A—the chargeable consideration is £40,000 or more • condition B—the dwelling is not subject to a lease which has more than 21 years to run on the date of purchase • condition C—the purchaser owns a major interest in another dwelling which has a market value of £40,000 or more and is not subject to a lease

Once an option to tax land and buildings has been made, it can only be revoked in certain circumstances. One of these circumstances is where an option has had effect for more than 20 years. Under paragraph 25 of Schedule 10 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994, a taxpayer can revoke an option to tax that has had effect for more than 20 years provided the taxpayer either meets certain conditions or gets prior permission from HMRC. The conditions are set out in HMRC VAT Notice 742A, section 8.3 and have force of law. The taxpayer must meet Condition 1 or all of Conditions 2–5. Condition 1 would not apply here as this

Where a landlord has served a valid notice pursuant to section 25 of the Landlord and

There is an unusual state of affairs in this case. For whatever reason, the lower part of a building is the subject of one freehold estate and the upper part of it is the subject of another. Each is the subject of a separate registration

Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) sets out rules governing how a landlord must deal with a tenancy deposit which is paid by their tenant. These rules include a requirement that the landlord comply with the initial requirements of an authorised scheme within 30 days of being given the deposit and that the landlord provide certain prescribed information to the tenant. HA 2004, ss 214–215 set out the consequences where a tenancy deposit has not been dealt with correctly: • HA 2004, s 214 gives a tenant the right to bring proceedings in the County Court • HA 2004, s 215 provides that a landlord cannot

Whether or not joint proprietors are joint tenants in equity or tenants in common they hold the legal estate as joint tenants so that on the death of one the other takes the legal estate by survivorship. The surviving joint tenant ‘the survivor’ then holds the property on trust for those beneficially entitled, prima facie, the survivor and the deceased joint tenant’s estate. On the death of the survivor, the legal estate will vest in the survivor’s personal representatives. We are told

Introduction The protections that must be put in place vis-à-vis the sale of land in the scenario described depend upon whether or not the parcel of land that is being sold is being sold by the company holding a registered or unregistered charge. Given the reference in the question to the property being sold under a possession order, it has been assumed when answering the question that the company has an interest in the land by way of charge that has enabled it to take possession. Assuming, for the moment, that the land out of which there is to a transfer of part is registered,

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) applies to chargeable land transactions. A land transaction is an acquisition of a chargeable interest. Where the demise of a lease is extended, a surrender and re-grant of the lease occurs by operation of law. This means that there is an acquisition of a chargeable interest by both the landlord and the tenant (see sections 42 and 43 of the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003)). When a new lease is granted in

The interest of the parents under the trust can take effect only in equity. Assuming that: • the property being purchased is registered land • the legal ownership is to be taken in the name of the son or daughter alone • a charge by way of legal mortgage over the legal estate in the property is to be granted to the mortgage lender, and • the charge and the deed of trust are both to be executed at the time of purchase of the property it

This Q&A focuses on tenancies which began prior to 15 January 1989 and relate to a non-resident landlord. It is assumed that the purchase relates to the freehold and that there are no intervening tenancies. We have limited this Q&A to cover protected tenancies but not protected shorthold tenancies, and it does not consider the scenario of whether the tenants would have the right of first refusal of any relevant disposal under section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987). The buyer of the property will be bound by the tenancies in the same way as his predecessors in title were, including the original landlord of the protected tenancy. In practice, it is questionable whether the tenants would surrender their protected

When contracts for the sale and purchase of property are exchanged, the beneficial interest in the property passes to the buyer with effect from exchange of contracts, provided that the contract is specifically enforceable. While the legal title will remain with the seller until completion, the seller will hold the legal estate on trust for the buyer. Further, between exchange and completion the seller will retain a right to remain in possession under its common law lien as seller, which arises at the date of the contract (that is, the date of exchange) (see: Phillips v Silvester and Re Birmingham). During this period, generally, the powers of ownership, such as the power of the seller to let or change tenants (other than to the buyer), are suspended