Refine By
Clear all filter
About 91012 results for "*"
Where a landlord is obliged under a repairing covenant to repair an external wall (the cost of which can be recharged to the tenant via the service charge) but fails to do so, which, as a consequence, causes damage to the internal wall within the tenant's demise and repairing covenant, is the tenant liable for the internal repairs?
Q&As
This Q&A relates to the disrepair of the landlord’s external wall causing disrepair to the tenant’s internal wall, rather than repair works to the external wall causing disrepair to the internal wall (in which case, see the Court of Appeal case of McGreal v Wake as authority for the principle that the landlord must make good damage consequential upon works of repair, although note that the case related to damage to decorations rather than causing disrepair; as stated by Sir John Donaldson MR: ‘Although we have been referred to no authority directly in point, we consider that the landlord's obligation to effect repairs must carry with it an obligation to make good any consequential damage to decorations’). On the above assumption,
Where a landlord is seeking payment of ground rent arrears, and the lease provides that the lessee is to indemnify the lessor ‘in respect of solicitors' costs incurred by them in the attempted recovery of sums due', would this include the landlord’s solicitor’s ‘referral fee’ which they say are 'legal and administration costs'?
Q&As
A lease or tenancy agreement will generally include a covenant by the tenant to pay any sums incurred by the landlord in connection with the recovery or attempted recovery of any arrears of rent or the enforcement of other tenant covenants in the lease. See for example clauses 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 of Precedent: Lease of whole building and clauses 7.4.3 and 7.4.4 of Precedent: Long lease—residential house. It appears that the tenant has failed to make payment of ground rent (due to an
Where a landlord is selling a residential property for which the residential tenants have paid tenancy deposits, are there any particular steps which the landlord must take to transfer the deposits to the new landlord?
Q&As
This Q&A assumes that the name of the landlord is reflected on the face of the tenancy deposit certificate. If the name of the agent is on the certificate and the agent will remain the same, then the deposit protection arrangements are unlikely to be affected. Where residential property subject to an assured shorthold tenancy is sold with the tenant in situ, both the seller and the buyer have responsibility that the deposit remains protected under a deposit protection scheme. In England and Wales, there are both ‘Insurance-based schemes’ and ‘Custodial schemes’ in Practice Note: Tenancy deposit schemes and how they are dealt with on a
Where a landlord of a commercial property firstly fails to demand payment of service charge for a number of years and secondly fails to issue service charge certificates at the end of each year in accordance with the terms of the lease, will the landlord be precluded from recovering the service charge?
Q&As
This Q&A arises in the context of a commercial lease so that the various statutory requirements which must be met when claiming service charges of residential premises and the restrictions upon what may be claimed do not apply. In respect of the first issue, a service charge will usually only arise in the context of a long lease. It will likely therefore have been granted by deed (as required by sections 52(1), (2) and 54(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 in the case of leases for longer than three years). If the service charge is payable under a deed, then a claim for its recovery will be a claim under a specialty and subject therefore to a 12–year limitation period (section 8(1) of the Limitation
Where a landlord opposes the grant of a new business tenancy in its section 25 notice/counter-notice to a section 26 request, based on a ground of opposition in section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 which gives rise to statutory compensation, must the tenant take any steps to preserve its right to compensation and if so, is there a deadline by which this must be done?
Q&As
This Q&A has been drafted on the basis that the landlord has not included a non-compensation ground and the: • tenant does not make an application for the grant of a new lease (section 24(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
Where a landlord proposes to transfer a freehold property which is currently the subject of possession proceedings against a tenant at the property, is it necessary to substitute the transferee of the property as the claimant in the possession proceedings?
Q&As
Case study A and B are landlords of a residential property which was let to a tenant under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). The lease has subsequently expired and the tenant continues to occupy the premises under a periodic tenancy. Landlord A served a section 8 notice (s 8 notice) on the tenant and a hearing date is set for two weeks’ time. A is proposing to transfer the property to B absolutely, but is unsure as to whether it is necessary to add or substitute B as a party to the possession proceedings. Issuing possession proceedings following service of a s 8 notice In answering this Q&A we assume that the relevant property is owned by both partners, but the s 8 notice under the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) was served in the name of one landlord
Where a landlord received a section 26 request from a tenant and does not oppose the grant of a new lease, only the terms, does the landlord need to serve a counter notice with its own terms, or can this simply be set out in a letter? Is there a time limit in which the landlord must do this? If a landlord does oppose the grant of a new tenancy and wishes to serve a counter notice, is there a prescribed form for this?
Q&As
A landlord need only serve a counter-notice to a tenant’s request for a new lease under section 26 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) if they wish to oppose the grant of a new tenancy: LTA 1954, s 26(6). If they do not intend to oppose, no counter-notice is required and usual practice is simply to put the parties’ surveyors in touch to begin negotiating. If
Where a landlord sells goods left behind by a tenant following forfeiture of a lease and service of a torts notice, can the landlord use the proceeds of sale to satisfy any arrears due from the tenant?
Q&As
Where a tenant leaves goods behind in a property following the end of a tenancy (whether by effluxion of time or determination by forfeiture for example), the landlord will become an involuntary bailee of these goods and will be under a duty to take reasonable care of them until they are returned to the tenant, or disposed of. Pursuant to section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (T(IG)A 1977), a landlord will be entitled to exercise a power of sale over these goods, provided it has first complied with the provisions of T(IG)A 1977, Sch 1, Pt II and served notice on the tenant of its intention to sell the goods in the event that they are not claimed within a specified period. If the procedures in T(IG)A 1977 are not complied with, a tenant could seek damages for
Where a landlord served a section 8 notice (relying on grounds 8, 10 and 11) but subsequently agreed with the tenant that the arrears would be discharged through monthly payments, can the landlord rely on the notice served to issue possession proceedings if the tenant fails to keep up with the agreed payments, or will a new notice be required?
Q&As
The grounds for possession set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 are either mandatory or discretionary grounds. Where a mandatory ground is made out by the landlord, the court is obliged to make an order for outright possession, or a suspended order for possession (usually for a period of up to six weeks), where, for example, the tenant can demonstrate exceptional hardship. The court has much wider powers in relation to a discretionary ground for possession, so that where the landlord successfully makes out a discretionary ground, the court may order possession within a specified period, make a suspended possession order, or may stay the proceedings, to allow the tenant an opportunity to remedy the breach of
Where a landlord serves a hostile section 25 notice specifying both compensatory and non-compensatory grounds of opposition following which the tenant vacates without issuing proceedings, can the tenant subsequently seek a declaration regarding the validity of the non-compensatory grounds of opposition and its entitlement to statutory compensation?
Q&As
Under section 37 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), the tenant is entitled to statutory financial compensation for the disturbance to their rights of security of tenure where: • the landlord relies on one or more ‘no fault/compensation grounds’; and • one of the three compensation cases under LTA 1954, s 37(1A)–(1C) applies For a detailed guidance regarding the three compensation cases, see entitled Practice Note: Statutory compensation under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 under sections The first compensation case, The second compensation case, and The third compensation case. In the event
Where a landlord serves a hostile section 25 notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, and then makes an invalid attempt to forfeit, does the section 25 notice remain effective?
Q&As
The question does not explain the basis on which the forfeiture in this scenario is considered invalid. However, if there has been no forfeiture, there would be no reason why a landlord could not serve notice under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 opposing the grant of a new lease (or continue to rely on a notice already served).
Where a landlord serves a notice and further notice under section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 seeking rent arrears from a former tenant / guarantor, can the landlord issue a claim or serve a statutory demand after the lease has been forfeited? If so, does the landlord need to act within a certain time period?
Q&As
In order to recover rent arrears (and certain other sums) from a former tenant or their guarantor it is necessary to serve a notice under section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995). The notice must be served within six months of the date on which the sums became due. Where the landlord has given notice that the fixed charge may increase (for example in respect of a balancing service charge which is yet to be determined), the landlord must serve a further notice within three months of determination of the varied amount, informing the former tenant or guarantor that the landlord intends to recover that