News
Welcome to our news page. Here you will find out what we’re up to and what we think about recent events and future possibilities.
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Cryptocurrency fraud is rising and so is litigation
Cryptocurrency fraud is rising and becoming increasingly more sophisticated, risking the loss of potentially huge gains and triggering litigation claims.
IT’S THE LAW: EU Public Procurement Regulations
EU Public Procurement Regulations: ‘what?’, ‘when?’ and ‘oh dear God, why?’
Poor hospital discharge process puts patients ‘at risk’
As reported by the BBC, patients are being put at risk because of a lack of staff awareness about discharging them from hospital.
Garden Communities Programme Launched
The government is seeking well-designed, well-planned, locally led garden communities meeting housing needs to take the form of new Garden Cities (to deliver more than 10,000 homes) and Garden Villages (1,500-10,000 homes).
Your Easy-read guide to the Social Housing Green paper
2. Resident views already submitted to Government have resulted in five core principles being identified by MHCLG as the basis for improvements to social housing.
Nuts & Bolts: Variation of Leases
Residential Leases are typically granted for long periods of time, such as 99 or 125 years. As the obligations and duties under a Lease are set when it is granted, the terms of long residential Leases can become outdated or irrelevant throughout such an extended period of time.
Recovery of costs of interim fire safety measures
Two recent decisions of the First Tier Tribunal ("FTT") have explored the issues surrounding a Landlord’s ability to recover service charges in relation to the provision of a ‘waking watch’ service.
Q&A: How to extend a lease where the landlord cannot be located or their identity ascertained
Under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 qualifying leaseholders have the right to extend their lease for a further 90 years at a peppercorn ground rent. The tenant will have to pay a premium for the new lease and can propose that the new lease is on different terms to the existing lease.
Replacing Front Doors of Leasehold Properties
A number of issues need to be considered where a landlord intends to replace the front doors of leaseholders’ flats. The need to replace doors often arises as a result of the requirement to meet recommendations following fire safety assessments.
Ask the Expert: Recovery of Historic Service Charge Arrears
Question: A leaseholder has a 125 year lease for a flat but has allowed service arrears to build up. Unfortunately, the debt dates back many years. The landlord has approached the leaseholder for payment but they have said that the debt is over 6 years old so no legal action can be taken against them
Government Building Safety Programme: advice for building owners on assurance and replacing of flat entrance fire doors
Fire doors from five out of six suppliers have been identified as failing to meet requisite fire performance standards following an investigation by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Proposal for longer tenancies should be welcomed
The Government’s proposal to set a minimum three-year term for private rental agreements could benefit tenants and landlords, and trigger investment in the Build-to-Rent sector.
