In the case of residential properties, under section 19(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) a service charge must be reasonable, to the extent that it must be reasonably incurred (but not necessarily reasonable in amount) and the works or services must be of a reasonable standard, and the amount payable shall be limited accordingly. Under LTA 1985, s 27A an application may be made to the appropriate tribunal (in this scenario the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) (FTT)) for a determination whether a service charge is payable and, if it is, the amount which is payable. The procedure of the FTT is governed by the Tribunal Procedure (Firsttier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (Property Chamber Rules 2013), SI 2013/1169 (as amended). Under the Property Chamber Rules, SI 2013/1169, r 9, there are various scenarios in which the FTT can or must strike out a parties’

The purpose of a notice under the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) is to protect the priority of the interest to which it relates; it does not guarantee that the interest to which it relates is valid. LRA 2002 provides for three types of notice: • unilateral • agreed, and • notices entered by the registrar where the registrar has the power and a duty to enter such a notice Notices in respect of leases may fall into any of these categories. A lease which is a registrable disposition by virtue of LRA 2002, s 27 will not meet the registration requirements set out in LRA 2002, Sch 2 unless a notice in respect of the lease is entered in the register and the grantee (or assignee)

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) provides tenants of commercial property with security of tenure, entitling them to a new lease, at the expiry of term, on the same or similar terms as their existing lease, subject to market rent. To give balance to the landlord’s position, LTA 1954 provides for seven grounds on which the landlord can oppose the grant to the tenant of a new lease. Those grounds are set out in LTA 1954, s 30(1). LTA 1954, s 30(1)(g) grants to the landlord the right, subject to the other provisions of the section, to oppose the grant of a new lease on the grounds that on termination of the current tenancy, the landlord intends to occupy the holding for the purposes, or partly for the purposes, of a business

Section 30 of the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980) allows for an agreement to be reached between the council of a parish or community and the owner of land dedicating that land to the public for the purpose of a highway. The dedication does not usually amount to a transfer of the land from the landowner but rather means that the land becomes a highway and maintainable at public expense. HiA 1980, s 72 contains a similar provision in respect of the widening of existing highways, and HiA 1980,

Section 117(b) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) provides that agricultural property relief (APR) does not apply to agricultural property unless ‘…it was owned by [the transferor] throughout the period of seven years ending with that date and was throughout that period occupied (by him or another) for the purposes of agriculture’. The requirement for occupation throughout the seven-year period appears to mean that any breaks in the periods of occupation for the purposes of agriculture will reset the seven-year period. HMRC confirm that this is their interpretation in IHTM24070. Where land is occupied by virtue of a grazing agreement, then the

If it can be ascertained that the group of squatters are the same people or if there is a nexus between the act of the first trespassers and of the subsequent trespassers (see Wiltshire County Council v Frazer) then the original possession order can be relied on, and a warrant of restitution can be sought under CPR 83.26(8). This will authorise the balliffs to re-eject the trespassers. An application for a warrant has to be made to the court

In practice, the splitting of one title into two, or three, or more is possible but it will be a matter for the Land Registry to handle. A request should be made in writing with the necessary information provided in form AP1, accompanied by the following documentation: • the relevant application fee (this should be confirmed with the Land Registry) • the written consent of any registered chargee/mortgagee • a plan of sufficient quality to ensure clarity re the 'split' (for guidance on plans, see Land Registry Guidance: Preparing plans for Land Registry applications (PG40s2)) However,

Electricity companies, in common with other utility suppliers, are under statutory obligations to provide continuity of supply. This may mean that, for example, an electricity company requires the siting of a substation on land, but for the sole benefit of adjoining land. In such circumstances, the electricity company will secure its equipment on private land either by way of a wayleave (a contractual right), a deed or a lease. Permission is required from the landlord to site the equipment, and as a result, negotiations will take place. If those negotiations are not successful, an application can be made under Schedule 4 to the Electricity Act 1989 (EA 1989) to the relevant government department

The Environment Agency, in their guidance Living on the Edge, explains the situation as follows (emphasis added): 'If your land boundary is next to a watercourse it is assumed you own the land up to the centre of the watercourse, unless it is owned by someone else. If a watercourse runs alongside your garden wall or hedge you should check your property deeds to see if the wall or hedge marks your boundary. If the watercourse marks the boundary, it is assumed you own the land up to the centre of the watercourse.' Therefore, property deeds should detail whether the boundaries of the property are marked by the watercourse or a

Pressure to get a party into occupation of premises, particularly where the period of proposed occupation is short, often leads to the suggestion of using a licence or a tenancy at will. The principal risk of this approach is that the courts will look to the substance of the agreement, not to the label that the parties have given to it. In particular: • a document described

When the donor has stated in section 5 of the lasting power of attorney (LPA) form that their attorney is able to make decisions on their behalf only when the donor does not have mental capacity, this means that the attorney can only start acting under the LPA: (a) once the LPA has been registered, and (b) once the donor lacks capacity to make the decision in question. Some

Under the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, SI 1987/2024, r 41(1), a district judge or registrar is able to revoke a grant of probate if they are satisfied that the circumstances require such a remedy. However, in the vast majority of cases, this right will only be exercised with the permission of the current grantee (who, in this example, would be the executor of W1). The key grounds for revocation of a grant of probate are: • it was obtained on an incorrect or false statement • since the grant of probate was obtained, the grantee is now unable or unwilling to act, and • the grant of probate contains a significant error (such as stating an incorrect name) In these circumstances, the relevant ground