Where a vendor or purchaser has failed to complete contract for sale of land it is usual for the other party to seek an order for specific performance of the contract. Specific performance is the only remedy that ensures completion of the transaction. See our Practice Note: Specific performance of property agreements for more information. The remedy of specific performance is purely equitable. As a matter of principle the court should not order specific performance where damages are an adequate remedy. That is usually seen as a significant hurdle to specific performance. Where the claimant is a buyer it is highly likely that this hurdle will fall away easily. The English law and courts recognise that any particular parcel of land is unique. See AMEC

The first instance decision in Infiniteland Limited v Artisan Contracting Limited suggested that there is no general rule that a buyer cannot make a warranty claim in respect of a matter which the buyer actually knew about when the warranty was given. The matter will be determined by the terms of the contract that the parties have made. In that case, the buyer’s claim failed because (among other factors) the agreement in question was held expressly to exclude claims of this kind. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal was less clear on this point. Concerns over the uncertain effects of the buyer’s knowledge thus remain. In particular, the above judgment contains obiter comments speculating that prior knowledge may impact

This Q&A relates to commercial property and all services referred to is assumed to be the usual main utilities (such as drainage and water, electricity, gas and oil). It is best practice to take meter readings for all relevant utilities on completion and if there is any concern that the seller may fail to pay any utility bills incurred pre-completion, include an obligation in the contract for the seller to indemnify the buyer specifically. If there is a concern that the seller won’t have any cash (eg

For the purpose of answering this Q&A, we assume that the seller, X and Y are all individuals, and that none of them are corporate entities. Transactions at an undervalue Where an individual is adjudged bankrupt, their trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) can seek to challenge any transaction entered into by that individual in the five-year period prior to the presentation of the bankruptcy petition or making of the bankruptcy application for which the individual receives no or insufficient consideration—see sections 339 and 341 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). Other conditions also apply. A ‘transaction’ is not exhaustively defined in IA

For the purpose of answering this Q&A, it is assumed that the sellers, X and Y are all individuals, and that none of them are corporate entities. Transactions at an undervalue Where an individual is adjudged bankrupt, their trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) can seek to challenge any transaction entered into by that individual in the five-year period prior to the presentation of the bankruptcy petition or making of the bankruptcy application for which the individual receives no or insufficient consideration—see sections 339 and 341 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). Other conditions also apply. A 'transaction' is not exhaustively defined

Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) introduced a new system for the enforcement of local housing standards. This framework was based on an assessment of hazard in homes and provided local authorities with a new set of enforcement powers including to serve improvement notices (HA 2004, ss 11–12). The parameters of the housing health and safety rating systems (HHSRS) are set out in HA 2004, s 1. It is framed as a system to assess the condition of ‘residential premises’, and for the enforcement of housing standards in relation to such accommodation (HA 2004, s 1(1)). ‘Residential premises’ is defined as covering a dwelling, a house in multiple occupation (HMO), an occupied HMO and any common parts of a building containing one or more flats (HA 2004, s 1(4)). ‘Dwelling’ is in turn defined as meaning a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied

Since 11 March 2024 it has not been possible for a person to apply for entry clearance or permission to stay as the dependant partner of a person applying for permission in the Skilled Worker route in either of SOC 2020 occupation codes 6135 (Care workers and home carers) or 6136 (Senior care workers), unless the main applicant: • was (or is being) granted entry clearance or permission to stay as a Skilled Worker, sponsored in those SOC 2020 occupation codes or their predecessor SOC 2010 codes 6145 or 6146, under the Rules in force before 11 March 2024, and • since that grant, has continuously had permission as a Skilled Worker, sponsored in one or more of these SOC 2020 occupation codes or their predecessor SOC 2010 codes (except that where

A family member of the donee of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) is prohibited from acting as certificate provider under the Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian Regulations 2007 (the 2007 Regulations), SI 2007/1253, reg 8(3). ‘Family member’ is not defined in

The legal form of the charity will be relevant to if, and how, a trustee can be removed. Where the charity is a trust, a trustee may be removed against their will in any of the following ways: • under an express power in the trust instrument • under

Whether a charge relating to one partner’s personal finances can be secured over partnership assets will depend upon: • the terms of any partnership agreement • whether the assets in question are partnership property or if they belong to the partner in question and are leased or loaned to, or otherwise shared with, the partnership, and • the partner’s common law duties The partnership agreement The partnership agreement will usually set out and clarify what assets and property form part of the partnership property. If any property or assets used by the partnership belong to an individual partner, it may also clarify the terms upon which the partnership is permitted to use such property or assets. Partners are commonly contractually restricted from assigning, mortgaging or charging any asset or property of the partnership. A common clause containing such a restriction can be seen in Precedent: Partnership agreement, clause 8.2.14. If there is a partnership agreement in place, it should be reviewed to see if it identifies

We have assumed that the reference to ‘chargeholder’ in the context of this query is to a legal mortgagee, and as such they have an interest in the land. For further information in respect of mortgages and charges more generally, see: Enforcing mortgages and charges—overview. A mortgagee in possession can sue a third party in trespass—and since, after entry, their right to possession relates back to the time when their legal right to enter accrued, a claim can be brought for a trespass

The Charging Orders Act 1979 (COA 1979) specifically relates to the enforcement of a judgment or order of the court. COA 1979, s 1 states that the court may make an order imposing a charge on property of the debtor, securing payment of money due, or to become due under a judgment or