This question raises the circumstances in which a tenancy will enjoy the protection of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988). A tenancy with such protection will be an ‘assured tenancy’. HA 1988, s 1 helpfully sets out when a tenancy will be an assured tenancy. It is helpful to break the definition into its constituent parts. First, there must be a tenancy, rather than a licence. The grant of exclusive occupation is key—Street v Mountford. Second, there must be a dwellinghouse let as a separate dwelling. In most cases, there will be an identifiable flat or house so that the position is clear. The House of Lords considered the meaning of dwellinghouse in Uratemp Ventures Limited v Collins, concluding that a room in a hotel which lacked its own cooking facilities and shared bathroom facilities with others could constitute a dwellinghouse for the purposes

The following assumptions have been made for the purposes of this Q&A: • the sole director’s actions in operating out of the premises and requiring access in that regard are all within their authority, and undertaken in their capacity, as a director of the tenant company • the landlord is refusing access in the capacity of landlord (ie the landlord’s position as shareholder is irrelevant for these purposes) • the informal lease agreement is a fixed-term or periodic tenancy, rather than being a licence/tenancy at will. In that regard, the court will look at the substance of an agreement in

An application for a unilateral notice may be made in connection with a ‘pending land action’, namely a contested claim of entitlement in respect of a property (for example an application for a property adjustment order within financial remedy proceedings), and may be made without the co-operation of the registered proprietor. The unilateral notice entry should provide brief details as to the nature of the interest protected, identify that it is a unilateral notice, and provide the name and address of the person who is the beneficiary of the notice pursuant to section 35 of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002). The

For stamp duty land tax (SDLT) purposes, residential property is defined in section 116 of the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003). Residential property means buildings that are: • used as a dwelling • suitable for use as a dwelling, or • in the process of being constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling In considering whether the property is residential, the relevant time is the effective date of the

There are various rates of SDLT that can apply to acquisitions of different types of property (residential, non-residential (commercial property) or mixed use property) by a company. The higher 15% rate applies to certain high value acquisitions of residential property where the purchaser is a company and an exclusion does not apply (Schedule

It is sometimes the case that an employee can have more than one employer, and their contract of employment makes clear that this is the case. Joint employment should be distinguished from arrangements such as secondments, where the sole employer lends their employee’s services to a third party, or from sole employment where the terms of the contract allow the employer to direct

It is not unusual for residential property to be let to a corporate entity, to be used, for example, to provide a home for a director or other employee of the company, either by way of a sub-tenancy or more often a licence. The tenancy will usually provide for a permitted occupier and the terms of that occupation and will usually seek to ensure that a sub-tenancy is not created. The tenancy is governed by the terms of the contract entered into

Is the arrangement a tenancy at will or Landlord

Creating the security There are two elements to this Q&A. Firstly, can the director create security over the shares and loan notes they own in/from the company to secure a liability due to the company. As the shares/loan notes are assets of the director they can be the subject of security created by them to any third party. The second element is the question as to what type of security can be taken by the company in relation to those assets. Share security It is not possible for the company to own its own shares and therefore a legal mortgage of the shares will not be available. Although, special provisions of the Companies Act 2006 allow share buyback and the holding of shares in treasury they would not appear to be applicable to this situation. However,

If there is a share purchase, the identity of the employer remains unchanged and, if the new owner wants to ensure that a key employee or MD signs up to a new long-term contract, this will be a matter for negotiation between the parties. For further information on employment issues on share purchases, see Practice Notes: • Share purchases—employment issues acting for the buyer • Share purchases—employment issues acting for the seller If there is an asset purchase to which the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246 applies then, subject to an employee's right to object to the transfer (see Practice Note: Employee transfer—Employee right to object to the transfer, the contracts of employment of those employees employed by the transferor and 'assigned to the organised grouping

Trusts of land may: • be created expressly (section 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) requires that any declaration of trust ‘must be manifested and proved by some writing signed by some person who is able to declare such trust’)—the declaration of trust may be contained in a transfer to the registered proprietors, or in a separate trust deed, or in a separate (less formal) document • arise from the parties’ conduct, or • be imposed by statute, eg where land is transferred to two or more persons (LPA 1925, ss 34–36) Where there is more than one beneficial owner of real property, or where the beneficial owner differs from the legal owner, a trust of land will arise—see

Background Section 1029 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) deals with the restoration of a company to the company’s register by the court. The court will allow anyone appearing to have an interest in the restoration of a company to bring an application to restore a company by court order. Where the requirements of the Registrar have been met and the Treasury Solicitor (or solicitor for the Duchy of Cornwall or Duchy of Lancaster (as applicable)) gives his consent to the restoration,