Key Points
- Reaffirms the importance of considering whether an applicant’s position would be improved by the making a vesting order
- Useful guidance on the extent of the court’s powers when granting a vesting order.
The Facts
You will have previously seen a landlord's consent is usually required to enable a pharmacist to assign or sell their lease to a third party.
It is usual for the landlord's consent to be specified not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
On a lease assignment a landlord will want to ensure that the tenant is of sufficient financial strength to be able to comply with the lease covenants (including payment of the rent).
- On 29th September 2004 the Trustees of the Ashtead United Charity allocated Mrs Janet Watts accommodation in an almshouse, in fact one of 14 residential flats the Charity owned at Ashstead in Surrey. In May 2015 they issued proceedings for possession based on the allegations that Mrs Watts had acted in an anti-social manner, swearing, spitting, and aggression. This was a breach of the terms of the Appointments Letter under which she was allocated the property.
Legislation soon to take force creates a new special administration regime for private providers of social housing, introducing changes that will transform restructuring in the sector.
Summary
This is the latest case in the long running saga of attempts to make Mr Maud bankrupt.
Facts
The saga centres around a high value property complex in Spain. Mr Maud and objecting creditors contended on his appeal against a bankruptcy order made by the Registrar against him that the reason why the petitioners sought a bankruptcy order was for the ulterior motive of taking control of the property structure and that the order should be overturned.
The Housing and Planning Act changes what happens to insolvent housing associations, says Séamas Gray in an article for Inside Housing.
Traditionally, when a company becomes insolvent, it enters one of several types of insolvency processes and its assets are typically sold to the highest bidder to raise as much money as possible to distribute to the company’s creditors.
In relation to a housing association, this might well mean a sale outside the regulated sector with the knock-on effect of an immediate reduction in available social housing.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the “Act”) introduces special administration procedures for social housing associations which aim to protect the level of social housing in the UK. The new housing administration orders (“HAOs”) create an additional objective for insolvency practitioners to try to keep social housing in the regulated housing sector to maintain levels of social housing.
Facts
This case related to the leasehold ownership of hotel rooms. The applicants were the leaseholders of the hotel rooms and the respondent companies the lessors.
When someone is made bankrupt, their interest in the family home vests automatically in their Trustee in Bankruptcy, upon his or her appointment. The Trustee has 3 years from the date of the bankruptcy order to realise this interest. The Trustee will first of all ask if a third party is willing and able to purchase the Trustee’s share, usually 50% of the available equity. If that is not possible, then the Trustee will request that the property is put on the market for sale. As a last resort, the Trustee can apply to the Court for an order for possession and sale of the property.