This flowchart outlines the stages to consider in determining whether an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required for a non-dwelling. For

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a requirement in respect of properties marketed for sale and/or letting and, from 1 April 2018, any property let on a new tenancy or a fixed term renewal (and from 1 April 2020, all tenancies). The latter must also have a minimum rating of E or higher. They last for ten years, after which they expire. The purpose of the requirement is twofold—to promote energy efficiency on a macro level, and to enable tenants or prospective tenants to determine the affordability of heating and lighting bills. EPCs are governed by the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPC Regs 2012), SI 2012/3118 (as amended), made under the Energy Act 2011. EPC

Public procurement by bodies governed by public law which are for the most part funded by the state is covered by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102. The definition of ‘bodies governed by public law’ is set out in PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 2. Applying this definition, a university is subject to the PCR 2015 if at least half of its income came from public authorities during the budgetary

This Q&A assumes that: • it does not follow that HM Land Registry will have no concern with the transaction in any circumstances. It is possible that a restriction may have been entered the register to protect the member against any disposition by the trustee company not made in accordance with the self-invested personal pension (SIPP) documentation. Depending upon the terms of any such restriction, it may be that the existing restriction needs to be removed and, potentially, a new one to be entered • it is also the case that some SIPP arrangements permit the member to be a co-trustee with the trustee company of assets held in the member’s SIPP. If the member is a co-trustee, there should be a restriction in form A on the register. If the trusteeship will be unchanged under the new SIPP, no change will be required, but if there is a change in trusteeship,

Form IHT100 is used to inform HMRC of a chargeable event giving rise to an IHT liability, which includes when a life interest terminates on the life tenant’s death. See Practice Note: Trusts—IHT returns and tax compliance and IHTM10651. However, it is possible that HMRC may accept that the requisite information has been submitted

The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970 (LA(GS)A 1970) is a short statute, comprising of only three sections. Most of the detail is set out in LA(GS)A 1970, s 1, which permits local authorities to enter into contracts and agreements with other local authorities and public bodies for any of the following: • the supply of goods or materials • provision of administrative, technical or professional services • the use of vehicles, plant or apparatus, and • for undertaking maintenance works NHS trusts were first established under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, and the common-sense approach would be to conclude that an NHS Trust is a ‘public body’. However, for the purposes of LA(GS)A 1970, ‘public body’ is defined in a more restrictive sense. Firstly, LA(GS)A 1970, s 1(4) states ‘public body’ means any: • local authority • police and crime commissioner • housing action trust established under Part III of the Housing Act 1988 • person

Under section 76 of Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003), it is the duty of the purchaser of UK land interests to notify HMRC about every notifiable transaction within 30 days after the effective date of the land transaction in question. This notification is in the form of a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) return. In order to be a ‘notifiable transaction’ it must first be a ‘land transaction’, which is the ‘acquisition’ of a ‘chargeable interest’. ‘Acquisition’ expressly includes the surrender of a chargeable interest in land under FA 2003, s 43(3). A ‘chargeable interest’ includes any estate in land

For information in general on assignments by way of security and taking security over contractual rights, see Practice Notes: • Assignments by way of security, and • Taking security over contractual rights Under section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925), an absolute assignment made in writing of any debt or other legal thing in action, of which express notice in writing has been given to the debtor has the effect in law (subject to equities having priority over the right of the assignee) to pass and transfer from the date of such notice the power to give a good discharge for the same without the concurrence of

The higher rates of the 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 to 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 an interest in another dwelling which has a market value of

The response to this Q&A assumes that: • the testator and certain individuals agreed during the testator's lifetime that no claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) would be made against the testator's estate on their death • the testator has died, but the other parties to the agreement are still alive It is generally accepted, by analogy

The use of the word 'guarantee' is not determinative as to whether a contract of suretyship is indeed a contract of guarantee. The Court of Appeal decision in IIG Capital shows that using the word 'guarantee' does not always mean the contract will be treated as such; it is a question of construction. Failure to use the term 'guarantee' will not necessarily make a practical difference. It is a question of construction and 'every case must depend upon the true construction of the actual words in which the promise is expressed'. It is therefore important to ensure that

An agreement to surrender is an estate contract. If it is to bind successors in title, it therefore needs to be protected by registration. Section 32(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) provides that a notice may be entered in the register ‘in respect of the burden of an interest affecting a registered estate or charge’. LRA 2002 does not set out an exhaustive list of what constitutes an ‘interest affecting an estate or charge’,