Pursuant to section 35 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), in the absence of agreement between the parties, the court is to determine the terms (other than rent or duration) of any new lease. The court does not have the power to grant a new tenancy other than within the security of tenure provisions of LTA 1954. However, the

The Electronic Communications Code (the Code) appears in Schedule 2 of the Telecommunications Act 1984. The Code provides that a right to require the removal of telecoms equipment (such as base stations or masts) cannot be enforced without going through Code procedures. Paragraph 27(2) of the Code prevents parties from contracting out of the certain rights conferred by the Code, ie it provides that with the exception of certain provisions, the operation of the Code can be excluded or, more specifically, states: '(2)The provisions of this code, except paragraphs 8(5)

A lease extension by way of deed of variation takes effect as an implied surrender and re-grant. The landlord is treated for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) purposes as acquiring a chargeable interest on the surrender (section 43(3)(b) of the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003)) and the tenant acquires a chargeable interest on the grant of the lease. FA 2003, Sch 17A, para 16 provides that where a lease is granted in consideration of the surrender of an existing lease between the same parties

The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (LRA 1967) (as amended) gives the owners of leasehold interests in houses the right to buy the freehold, provided that necessary qualifying conditions are met. The lease must be a long lease with an original term of at least 21 years and the leaseholder must have held the lease for a period of at least two years prior to the application for enfranchisement. There are various other exemptions contained within LRA 1967, which might mean that the relevant house does not qualify. Many new-build houses have been sold on 999-year leases,

The first issue to consider is the wording of the repairing covenant. Typically, it might make different provision for different aspects of the demised premises. There will usually be an obligation to keep the interior in repair. If on a true construction of the lease, any external parts of the demised premises (such as walls, roofs and window frames) are to be held by the tenant, provision might also be made for them to be kept in repair. Different considerations might apply though to decoration. This might be limited to a requirement to paint or varnish walls or wood every three years. Different periods might be set for the internal parts of the demise and any external parts. Having established that that tenant

Until there has been an exchange of contracts, the purchaser has no interest in the land. For there to be a conveyance of the legal title, there must be a properly executed deed (section 52(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925). Even then, where the land is registered, the legal title only passes once the purchaser is registered at HM Land Registry as proprietor. See also Brown & Root Technology Ltd v Sun Alliance & London Assurance Co Ltd. Until the purchaser has been registered as proprietor, they will only hold

The procedure for contracting out of the security of tenure provisions in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) is found in the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003 (RRO 2003), SI 2003/3096. Essentially, there are three key steps which need to be considered and followed. These are: • the landlord’s warning notice • the tenant’s declaration, and • the endorsement of the lease If the warning notice pursuant to LTA 1954, s 38A is served upon the tenant less than 14 days before the lease is to be completed, then the landlord will need to obtain a signed statutory declaration. Where there is more than 14 days prior to the completion of the lease, a simple declaration will suffice. The

Old lease Where there is a transfer of the reversionary interest in an old lease (ie one entered into before 1 January 1996), in respect of the benefit of the tenant’s covenants, the obligation to pay rent and the benefit of other covenants and provisions in a lease that have reference to the subject matter of the lease run with the reversion (section 141 of the Law of Property Act 1925). Accordingly, an incoming landlord (assignee of the reversion) is entitled to enforce the benefit of all tenant’s covenants. As a consequence of these statutory provisions, an assignee of the reversion is entitled to sue in respect not only of rent due and breaches of covenant which occur after the

A reversionary interest may be assigned prior to the termination of the prior interest. Once the sole prior interest has come to an end, the reversionary

For the purposes of the Q&A, we have assumed the life interest trust was established by Will. We have also assumed that the remainderman has a vested interest, and that the interest is not contingent on the satisfaction of any condition. It will be important to check the precise terms of the trust as this may have a bearing on the disclaimer and tax treatment. This Q&A does not cover any tax consequences other than inheritance tax consequences. Use of life interest trusts The remainderman of a life interest trust is the term used to describe the beneficiary who receives the assets of a trust after the death of the life tenant. Life interest trusts are commonly created by Will, and are used to create and to protect specified rights. Commonly, a spouse who owns the family home may leave the property to the children, but will wish to ensure that the

This Q&A considers whether the remaindermen of a life interest trust can vary their entitlement so that it goes into a discretionary trust on the dead of the life tenant and the tax implications of doing this. It has been assumed for the purposes of this Q&A that: • the life tenant holds a qualifying interest in possession in the trust in question • the trustees, life tenant and remaindermen are all resident and domiciled in the UK for tax purposes • the

For information on redundancy as a potentially fair reason for redundancy generally, see Practice Notes: Reason for dismissal—redundancy and Definition of redundancy. For information on the right to a statutory redundancy payment, see Practice Note: Entitlement to statutory redundancy payment. Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal under section 98(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). However, as with other potentially fair reasons, the fairness of a redundancy dismissal is to be determined by the test of whether an employer's decision to dismiss for that reason falls within the band of reasonable responses of a reasonable employer in those circumstances and in that line of business (ERA 1996, s 98(4)). Failure to follow a fair procedure when dismissing an employee for redundancy will normally render the dismissal unfair. See Practice Note: Reason for dismissal—redundancy. In answering this query, it is necessary to consider the distinction between: • the reason for dismissal, which may or may not