Unity of Ownership An easement is extinguished where the freeholds of both the dominant and servient land come into the ownership of the same person. The relevant legal concept is 'unity of seisin', which means that both pieces of land must be owned by the same person, in the same capacity (eg not as freeholder of one, tenant of the other, or freeholder of one, trustee of the other). Therefore, if land was in the common ownership and occupation of A, the easements

The proposed terms for the new tenancy set out by the landlord and tenant in any claim form and acknowledgment of service are intended to be that party’s position, with a view to commencing or continuing negotiations

The Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) does not impose any restriction on the ability of landlords to serve a notice under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), whether opposing or not opposing a new tenancy. In an opposed notice, landlords remain able to rely on ground (b)—persistent delay in paying rent (see Practice

In the case of Denise Brewster (Brewster), the Supreme Court ruled that Regulations 24–25 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009, SI 2009/32 (which required the nomination of a cohabiting partner as a condition to the payment of a survivor’s pension) should be disapplied on the grounds that it was not objectively justifiable. In coming to this decision, the Supreme Court relied on Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) which requires that a state should ensure that an individual’s rights under the ECHR are in place unless their denial can be objectively justified. Importantly, the ECHR applies to: • the interpretation of UK legislation (under the section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998)), and • the acts of public authority, including any person whose

Non-geographical service numbers Non-geographical numbers are phone numbers which are not assigned to a geographical location (ie 0845). They are widely used by businesses for providing information and other services. The cost of calling them depends on the price set by each telephone company. Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 3134/2013), which came into force in July 2014, provides that: Where a trader operates a telephone line for the purpose of consumers contacting the trader by telephone in relation to contracts entered into with the trader, a consumer contacting the trader must not be bound to pay more than the basic rate. Following the implementation of regulation 41, businesses offering non-geographic call services for consumers (but not businesses) in relation to existing contracts were required to switch to

The rights of joint policyholders under a life insurance policy may be severable depending on the specific terms of the policy and the nature of the benefits. Generally, the rights to certain benefits, such as terminal illness payments, may be held jointly and severable, while the rights to death benefits are often structured to be payable exclusively to the surviving policyholder and are not severable. For

What is a CVA? A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is a binding arrangement made between a company and its creditors (Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986)). It is the corporate equivalent of the individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). The company need not be insolvent to propose a CVA. The CVA was a major innovation introduced by IA 1986, Pt VIII. In contrast to IVAs, they initially did not prove so popular (with administrations being used instead) but had seen a resurgence when dealing with landlord’s liabilities. The introduction of the Part 26A restructuring plan (RP) in 2020 saw the use of RPs to compromise leasehold liabilities for some mid to large companies, rather than a CVA (see Practice Notes: Part 26A Restructuring plans—an introductory guide, Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—River Island Holdings Limited, Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—Poundland Limited and Part 26A restructuring plan deal debrief—C-Retail Limited (part of the Superdry group)). However, a string of challenges to RPs has led to a resurgence in CVAs,

Bankrupt's conduct When deciding whether to make a bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO), the court will consider the bankrupt's conduct. Usually this includes conduct which led to the bankrupt's inability to pay their debts, but the court is entitled to take any conduct into account, either before or after the bankruptcy. For details of who can make the application, and when and how they do so, see Practice Note: Bankruptcy restrictions orders (BROs). The Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) lists a series of behaviours on the part of the bankrupt that can be taken into account by the court in deciding whether it is appropriate to make a BRO. These are set out below: • failing to keep records which account for a loss of property by them or by a business carried on by them, where the loss occurred in the period beginning two years before the presentation of the petition on which they were made bankrupt and ending with the date of the application for a BRO

An out-of-court appointment cannot be made under paragraph 22 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) by the company or its directors where: • it has been less than 12 months since the cessation of a previous administration where an administrator was appointed by the company or

There are various circumstances in which a development can benefit from charitable relief from a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contribution. See Practice Note: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)—who administers CIL, when does CIL arise, and when and by whom must CIL be paid. Should the site cease to be eligible for that relief within seven years of the commencement of development the original (non-relief) CIL contribution becomes payable. Under regulation 48 of the Community

In the High Court case of Good Harvest Partnership LLP v Centaur Services limited , the court had to decide whether a guarantor of an original tenant can lawfully be made to enter into an authorised guarantee agreement under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995), or whether such arrangement is avoided by LT(C)A 1995, s 25. The landlord’s argument was essentially that, whereas, the guarantor was released by the LT(C)A 1995, s 24(2) from further liability under the tenant covenants in the lease,

We refer you to Practice Note: Voluntary revocation of guarantees by the guarantor giving notice to the lender, which examines when a guarantor can voluntarily revoke its liability under a guarantee and what the effect of the revocation is. Voluntary revocation of guarantee One way for a guarantor to terminate their liability under a guarantee is to give notice to the lender. However, this will depend on the particular provisions of the guarantee. Most guarantees do not include provisions whereby the guarantor can voluntarily revoke the guarantee. Where the guarantee documentation does not include a