The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2020. Appeal cases What happened? When? Find out more Service charge certificates and set-off provisions Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1521 The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on Friday 13 November 2020. The case was a dispute over service charges claimed by a landlord against a tenant under two commercial leases. The landlord relied on a contractual provision which allowed it to certify the sums payable by the tenant each year, such certificate ‘in the absence of manifest or mathematical error or fraud’ to be ‘conclusive’. The Court of Appeal, reversing the Deputy Master and Deputy Judge decisions below, held that the provision meant what it said and the landlord was entitled to summary judgment on its claim. The decision is relevant to any commercial contract where one party is permitted to certify

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2021. Appeal cases What’s happening? When? Find out more Annexation of restrictive covenants Bath Rugby Ltd v Greenwood [2021] EWCA Civ 1927 The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 21 December 2021. The case related to a restrictive covenant created on 6 April 1922 concerning land in the centre of Bath (part of which is the home of Bath Rugby club). The Court of Appeal, allowing the appeal, held that a 1922 conveyance did not sufficiently identify the land intended to be benefited and so the requirements for annexation had not been met. The judge confirmed that it was asking too much of the words – ‘which may be or grow to be a nuisance and annoyance or disturbance or otherwise prejudicially affect the adjoining premises or the neighbourhood…’to make them do the work of not only identifying the scope of

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2022. Appeal cases col style="width: 33%;"> What’s happening? When? Find out more Residential ground rent notices Stampfer v Avon Ground Rents Ltd [2022] UKUT 68 (LC) The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 24 October 2022. The Court of Appeal held that a landlord was not entitled to claim a ground rent collection fee for the costs of preparation of the formal demand for rent that had to be given by the landlord pursuant to section 166 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002). Under the terms of the lease the landlord was expressly entitled to its costs relating to ‘the collection of rents’. The court ruled that the effect of CLRA 2002, s 166 was that rent could not be collected until it was due, that is until the statutory notice had been served (‘the section 166 notice’). As a result,

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2023. Appeal cases What’s happening? When? Find out more Service charge—costs of litigation Dell and another v 89 Holland Park (Management) Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1460 The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 8 December 2023. The appeal concerned whether the appellant landlord was entitled to recover service charges of £430,411.00 from the respondent lessees. The sums were a portion of £2,763,521.00 of costs incurred by the appellant in disputes with a neighbouring landowner. At first instance, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) held that the costs were recoverable by the appellant. However, this was overturned on appeal to the Upper Tribunal. In the Court of Appeal, Lady Justice Falk (with whom Lord Justice Arnold and Lord Justice Philips agreed) found that Judge Cooke was correct to conclude that the costs are not recoverable under the provisions of the lease relied on by the

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2024. Appeal cases What’s happening? When? Find out more HMO—landlord liable for RRO despite company landlord Cabo v Dezotti [2022] UKUT 240 (LC), [2022] All ER (D) 11 (Sep) The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 6 November 2025. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the Upper Tribunal (UT) had been justified in concluding that the appellant had been an undisclosed principal under an occupation agreement and had therefore been the respondent’s landlord for the purposes of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA 2016) such that a rent repayment order could be made.The UT had dismissed an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), ordering the appellant freehold owner of a property to repay rent of £9,600 to the respondent. The UT found that the FTT had been entitled to find that the appellant had been

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2025. Appeal cases What’s happening? When? Find out more Sale of mortgaged property—defaulting mortgagor vs receiver Fairmont Property Developers UK v Venus Bridging Ltd and others [2025] EWCA Civ 1513 The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 26 November 2025. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal challenging the refusal to exercise discretion under section 91 LPA 1925 to give a mortgagor conduct of sale, holding that exceptional circumstances are required before courts will interfere with mortgagees' contractual rights where they are actively exercising powers of sale, and that applicants must demonstrate a likelihood of sale at undervalue rather than mere possibility. The appellant mortgagor had defaulted on a loan secured by a second mortgage over an industrial property, leading to appointment of receivers who marketed the property seeking offers exceeding £4.75m, whilst the mortgagor believed the property was worth

The Property—horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2026. Appeal cases What happened? When? Find out more Right to manage—qualifying tenants, the registration gap and voidable notices Avon Freeholds Limited v Cresta Court E RTM Company Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1016 The Supreme Court handed down judgment on 27 August 2026. The Supreme Court unanimously allowed the appeal, holding that the right to manage company’s failure to give an notice inviting participation to an equitable long lessee, did not invalidate its application for a transfer of the right to manage the premises.The Court of Appeal had held that the right to manage company’s claim notice was invalid because the company failed to comply with section 78(1) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002) as it failed to serve an equitable long lessee with a notice inviting participation (participation notice) before serving the claim notice. The

What is a CVA? A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is an insolvency process that allows a company to enter into a contractual agreement with creditors to settle its unsecured debts or come to an arrangement with them over its affairs. The company's directors continue to operate the business, subject to the supervision of an insolvency practitioner. Retailers in particular with large property portfolios often use so-called ‘landlord CVAs’ to restructure their rental obligations and close unprofitable stores. This note explains how property law and landlord and tenant issues may arise under such a CVA. This note identifies provisions which are commonly found in CVAs and explains how they may operate in practice. However, each CVA will differ depending on the exact terms of the proposal. It is therefore essential to review the CVA proposal carefully to establish its impact on creditors. This note does not provide detailed information on the mechanics of approving and implementing a CVA. For Practice Notes which deal with the CVA procedure,

What are portfolio loans? A portfolio is a collection of investments, eg a collection of properties which may be held by an investment company, hedge fund, financial/pension institution or individuals. In property financing, portfolio investment loans are provided by funders (banks and non-bank lenders) to borrowers who have or wish to acquire or hold a portfolio of properties for investment. See Practice Note: Real estate finance—investment facilities—key features. When are portfolio loans suitable? Portfolio loans are suitable where: • there is a mixture of property types, such as office, residential or industrial properties • borrowers wish to acquire a portfolio of properties • borrowers wish to borrow using part of, or all, of their portfolio as security • there are different levels of rental income or fluctuation in income from the portfolio of properties • borrowers are looking to consolidate their borrowings Reasons to consider portfolio financing Larger loan amount The amount is secured against the value of the portfolio as a whole. Lower interest rate The overall risk to the

date [date] Parties 1 [name of (first) Seller] [and [name of second Seller] both] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered address is at] [address] (Seller) 2 [name of Buyer] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered address is at [address]] (Buyer) 1 Definitions In this Agreement, the following definitions apply: Acceptance Notice • a notice, signed by the Buyer, in the form attached to this Agreement at Appendix 5; Acceptance Period • the period ending [20] Working Days after the day on which an Offer Notice is served; Buyer’s Solicitors • [[name] of [address] (reference [details]) OR the solicitors so described in the Acceptance Notice OR or any other solicitors that the Buyer notifies to the Seller; [Deposit • [10]% of the Price [(being £[amount, in figures] [([amount, in words] pounds)])];] Disposal •   (a) is a sale, gift, exchange, transfer, grant, declaration of trust, lease [(except a lease for a term not exceeding [7] years at the open market rent without a premium)] [or any other assurance by any instrument except a Will] of the Property or any estate or in it (whether or not for valuable

General Register of Sasines or the Land Register of Scotland

Pre-completion Checklist for funder's solicitor Checklist for borrower's solicitor Title information• If the borrower’s solicitor is providing a certificate of title or report on title, ensure the borrower's solicitor has provided a signed engrossment of the certificate of title (or report on title) with all the plans and annexures held to the borrower's solicitors order until the day of completion • Ensure the borrower's solicitor has put on risk any defective title/chancel repair insurance that is required and confirms payment of the premium prior to completion. Any report on title or certificate of title should also include details of the title insurance policy • ensure the valuer has confirmed that the valuation is unaffected by the contents of the certificate/report • Provide a signed and dated report to the funder summarising the title information • Provide the funder with any construction, planning and/or environmental reports which have been prepared as part of the transaction • Ensure all HM Land Registry forms have been approved and, if the application will be sent off by