The last two months have seen two key appeals in which the court was required to decide whether the tenant of a particular type of building should enjoy the statutory right to acquire the freehold of a house. This right is enshrined in the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.
The properties, and the questions for the court in each case, were quite different. What the judgments had in common was a purposive approach to interpretation of the Act.
Long awaited insolvency reforms in the UK, plus the government’s COVID-19 proposals on the use of statutory demands – and much more
What’s the latest?
In Re Fivestar Properties Ltd, the High Court has decided that a dissolved company which is subsequently restored to the register could have its freehold property re-vested in it, even though the property had passed to the Crown bona vacantia and the Crown had subsequently disclaimed it.
Hogan Lovells Publications | 06 May 2020
Five things retailers should consider in the COVID-19 era
In recent years it appears to have become a common trend for distressed homeowners to publish voluntary surrender notices as a stratagem to stay execution proceedings instituted by creditors. We have also witnessed an increase in institutions approaching distressed homeowners following publication of a notice of sale in execution, purporting to be in the business of assisting distressed homeowners by guarding their homes from sales in execution by the sheriffs of the high courts.
Hogan Lovells Publications | 07 April 2020
Introduction of financial measures in support of businesses facing the Covid-19 crisis
Faced with the impact of the Covid-19 health crisis on the local and European economy, the President of the French Republic and the government announced several emergency measures in order to support businesses in difficulty.
It has been understood since the Hindcastle case in 1997 that a guarantor’s payment obligations under a lease survive disclaimer by an insolvent tenant’s liquidator. What has been less clear is how that works, given that the tenant’s obligation to pay rent dies when the lease is disclaimed.
As we head towards the last part of 2020 in the midst of a recession and some of the most challenging business conditions many have ever faced, it is worthwhile considering the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. Then, in the real estate funds space, there was a shift away from pooled investments through funds and an uptick in real estate joint ventures, as investors sought to take greater control over their investments.
In a decision to be welcomed by ratepayers, the Court of Appeal in Rossendale Borough Council and others v. Hurstwood Properties (A) Limited and others [2019] EWCA Civ 364 has confirmed that certain types of mitigation schemes are not sufficient to pierce the corporate veil and transfer liability for business rates to the beneficiaries of those schemes.
Liability for business rates
The Great Brexit Debate dentons.com Introduction The UK is now counting down to the 23 June 2016 referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union. Dentons summarises the background to this momentous choice, and takes a deeper look at some of the legal issues involved in some key areas that would be impacted by a vote to leave the EU.