Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) applies to chargeable land transactions. A land transaction is an acquisition of a chargeable interest. For the purposes of SDLT, residential property means (among other things) ‘a building or a part of a building that is used or suitable for use as a dwelling, or is in the process of being constructed or adapted for such use’. Certain types of building are excluded from this, including halls of residence for students, care homes and hospices. It is assumed that none of these exclusions apply. Where six or more separate dwellings are the subject of a single transaction involving the transfer of a major interest in, or the grant of a lease over, them, the SDLT rules treat those dwellings, for the purposes of that transaction alone, as not being residential property. This rule applies automatically. MDR can be claimed in respect

This will depend on whether the tenant had complained about the state of the property before the section 21 notice was served. By section 33(2) of the Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015): ‘A section 21 notice given in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy of a dwelling-house in England is invalid where— (a) before the section 21 notice was given, the tenant made a complaint in writing to the landlord regarding the condition of the dwelling-house at the time of the complaint, (b) the landlord— (i) did not provide a response to the

Where a landlord forfeits a lease for non-payment of rent, and the forfeiture is by proceedings, both the High Court and County Court have jurisdiction to grant relief within six months of the date on which the landlord takes possession. See Practice Note: Relief from forfeiture for rent arrears (under ‘Forfeiture by proceedings’). There are circumstances in which the tenant may obtain relief automatically, by paying into court the arrears plus the costs of the action: see Practice Note: Relief from forfeiture for rent arrears (under

Possessory title is granted where the land owner claims to have acquired the land by adverse possession or where they cannot produce documentary evidence of title for some reason. It will be granted if the applicant is: • in actual possession of the land, or • in receipt of the rents and profits of the land and it cannot be registered with any other title. Registration with possessory title has the same effect as registration with absolute title except that any adverse rights are excepted from the effect of registration, and their priority is protected on the registration of a registrable disposition. Therefore, the title is not guaranteed

A licence is a right granted by a person, usually a landowner, to another person, to do something on the land which would otherwise amount to a trespass or other interference with the land. An example is a personal right to access the land, or to utilise it for grazing of livestock. A licence therefore permits the licensee to enter onto the land and carry out acts that would otherwise not be permissible, as a result of the grant of a licence

Life insurance trusts A life insurance trust is often created so that the policy proceeds do not form part of the deceased's estate, or so that the proceeds can be obtained ahead of the grant of representation to the life assured's estate. See Practice Note: Creation of trusts—life insurance trusts. Creation of a life insurance trusts can involve either an assignment of an insurance policy together with a declaration of trust or the creation of a settlement containing an express assignment of the policy. Where a settlement is created containing an express assignment of the policy, the usual structure is: • the insurance policy is assigned to a trust • the terms on which the trustees are to hold the trust property are set out • the trustees are given overriding powers • there

The lift and shift clause is essentially a landlord’s break for redevelopment (albeit with an obligation for the landlord to grant a new lease of alternative premises). If the lease is validly contracted out the break is valid provided, of course, that the landlord complies sufficiently with the terms of the clause, including the notice provisions. The break is not void if the lease is not contracted out. However, if the tenant has protection under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), service of a contractual notice to exercise a break clause will (if it meets the contractual conditions) end the contractual term of the lease, but not the tenancy. The tenancy

The higher rates of 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 £40,000 or more and is not subject to a lease which has more

Given that the AFL’s completion is conditional on several landlord obligations, will the lender be bound by the AFL and the associated restriction, and prevented from overreaching? Under section 28 of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002), the general rule is that where more than one interest affects a registered estate, the priority of those interests is determined

Case study A piece of development land has a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) registered on the local land charges register which will not be fully paid when a buyer completes the purchase of a new build property located on the affected land. The buyer will be purchasing the land with funding from its bank, who wish to take a legal charge over the property. The Community Infrastructure Levy The CIL is the creature of Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008) and the Community Infrastructure levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948. In broad terms, it applies to development where the gross internal area of the new build on the land exceeds 100 square metres. There are numerous reliefs and exemptions which are available where the development is used for social housing or where a person builds a home and occupies it as a sole or main residence. Liability to pay the levy arises when development

A periodic tenancy may be created by express agreement or by inference from the actions of the parties (Ladies' Hosiery and Underwear Ltd v Parker). It is a question of fact as to whether the terms of a periodic tenancy of a tenant holding over are the same as those of the expired lease (Wedd v Porter). The answer to this Q&A may therefore depend both upon the circumstances under which the periodic tenancy arose, and also upon any other evidence of agreement between the parties as to the intended nature of the periodic arrangement, either before or during the course of the periodic tenancy. General principles In the absence of any express agreement between the parties, the period of the tenancy is taken to be the period by reference to which the rent has been calculated. In the case where

The applicable pre-action protocol will depend upon the nature of the case against the beautician to be pursued. If the claimant is an employee of the beautician, or a member of the public simply visiting the beautician’s premises, then (if it has a value of less than £25,000) the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers' Liability and Public Liability (EL/PL)) Claims (the EL/PL Protocol) will apply to the claim. For more information on this protocol, see Practice Note: The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers' Liability and Public Liability) Claims. Matters become less clear, however, if the proposed claim is for treatment provided by the beautician. Such would, it is suggested, be a claim for professional negligence, as this would be a claim based upon the alleged failure of the beautician to discharge their duties with the skill and care