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Residential Leasehold Blog

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 A Summary by Brethertons

Roger Hardwick
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Below, you will find a summary of each of the key reforms made by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (“the Act”), in the order that they appear in the Act (or close to it). All but four of the sections will come into force on a date to...

Mark North re-joins the firm from 1st November 2023

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At Brethertons, we are delighted to announce that Mark North re-joins the firm from 1st November 2023 as Business Development Partner working alongside Debbie Phillips . Mark is well known and respected throughout the property management sector and the...

Renters' Reform Bill - An update on the position

Shivani Daudia
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The white paper, “A Fairer Private Rented Sector” has been sparking discussions across England since it was published in June 2022. The proposed amendments are said to be moving The Housing Act 1988 into the 21st century. Will shaking up a power...

Brethertons' Partner, Roger Hardwick, wins Solicitor of the Year award at ERMA Awards 2023

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Brethertons are proud to announce Roger Hardwick, Partner in Residential Leasehold, has won the title of Solicitor of the Year at the ERMA Awards 2023. At a splendid event on 6 th July 2023 in London, the News on the Block ERMA Awards, Roger and our...

No Notice? No Dispute and No Act! Party Wall Act 1996

Abigail Laborero
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Power & Kyson v Shah [2023] EWCA Civ 239 In early March, the Court of Appeal handed down their decision in the case of Power & Kyson v Shah [2023] EWCA Civ 239. This is one of a handful of cases concerning the Party Wall Act 1996 (“the...

Limitation on preventing your neighbour using your drive

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There recently has been a case in which a Judge has given some very interesting guidance on a right of way dispute between neighbours. If your neighbour is restricting your right of way or even obstructing access completely, we would be happy to advise you...

Aviva Investors Ground rent GP Ltd and another v Williams and others [2023] UKSC 6

Emma Bush
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Please Sir, Can I Have Some More? Oliver Case overturned by Supreme Court in Aviva Investors Ground rent GP Ltd and another v Williams and others [2023] UKSC 6… Given the rarity of Supreme Court decisions that radically alter the legal...

Property Disputes and the importance of expert legal advice

David Richards
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You may have seen the recent £200,000 legal battle that saw a dream home become a nightmare when Japanese Knotweed was discovered growing behind the garden shed. Mr Downing had purchased the south-west London home in 2018 for £700,000 with plans...

How we can help with Landlord Clients and Problematic Tenants.

Shivani Daudia
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An introduction from Victoria Lea-Holton and Shivani Daudia on how we can help with Landlord Clients and Problematic Tenants.   "We wanted to make you aware of some of our legal service that may be of interest as we understand that you offer...

Love Thy Neighbour or Pay the Price?

Emma Bush
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Whilst February 14 th is memorable and amorous for some, Valentine's Day 2022 was a lesson in “loving thy neighbour” for the parties involved in Prime London Holdings 11 Limited v Thurloe Lodge Limited [2022] EWHC 303 (Ch) as the first...

There is No (Gala) Unity!

Roger Hardwick
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Landmark RTM Decision on the Extent to Which RTM Applies to External Communal Areas The right to manage was always going to be a difficult concept to translate into legislation. There are few, if any, statutory rights quite like it. Unlike its...

Brethertons' Senior Associate, Dani Green wins Young Professional of the Year award at NOTB Awards 2021

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Brethertons are so proud of our Senior Associate in Residential Leasehold and Enfranchisement, Dani Green, for winning the title of Young Professional of the Year. We are also delighted to be highly commended for Legal Services Provider of the Year...

How To Purchase The Freehold Of Your Building

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In 2017, the issue of ground rent being charged on new build properties caught the media’s attention. The cases involved some developers securing contracts with leaseholders that saw the initial ground rent of £200-£400 charged on their new...

What is a Right to Manage Company and is it right for me?

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A lot of the frustrations we hear about from tenants usually centres around the management of the building and issues with a lack of management or poor management, works not being undertaking in good time and the building not being looked after as well as it...

Help! The Lease on my flat is expiring

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Believe it or not we get consulted by flat owners on a reasonably frequent basis, who are worried about this problem. As a long leaseholder, you should be keeping an eye on the term of your lease.  The Leasehold, Reform Housing and Urban Development...

Stamp Duty Relief - Should I Buy That Leasehold Property?

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SDLT Relief?  Should I Buy that Leasehold Property?  Given the recent new relief on Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”), which is in place until 31 March 2020 on properties up to a value of £500,000, you may think that now is the...

Radical Changes to Home Ownership Proposals

Roger Hardwick
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What else is 2020 going to throw at us? Covid19, Lockdowns, BREXIT…if that is not enough The Law Commission published reports in July which could radically and fundamentally change what we recognise as leasehold ownership. If you did not happen to be...

Did Someone Say Commonhold?

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“Did someone say commonhold?" I heard of that once ... a long time ago. The concept of Commonhold was initially introduced under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.  Although popular and widely used in other countries it did not...

What is a Breach of the Lease?

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A residential long lease can be quite a long and confusing document.  So much so that many leaseholders confess to not having actually read their own lease in full.  Even if you have read your lease fully, can you remember everything you can and...

Can I Carry Out Alterations To My Flat?

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The lockdown has been a great opportunity for most people to finally get around to that bit of DIY, decorating or, in some cases, complete overhaul of their properties that they’ve been wanting to do for a while.  However, if you are a long...

New Senior Associate Joins our Dispute Resolution & Residential Leasehold Team at Brethertons

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This week, Brethertons is delighted to welcome Senior Associate, Dani Green into our experienced Dispute Resolution, Residential Leasehold and Enfranchisement team. Dani rejoins Brethertons from Bolt Burdon where she was a Senior Enfranchisement...

Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2019

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Brethertons Solicitors Highly Commended at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2019 Brethertons are delighted to announce that we have been awarded highly commended Solicitor Firm of the Year – Outside London at the Enfranchisement and...

How much notice? The proposed changes for the "no-fault eviction" procedure

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For those that work within the Housing Sector it has become apparent that there is increasing pressure on Local Authorities and Housing Associations to provide housing for tenants that are no longer able to remain in privately rented accommodation. There...

Brethertons recognises Residential Leasehold specialist

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Top 200 law firm, Brethertons Solicitors is delighted to announce the promotion of Chartered Legal Executive Linda Ball. Linda Ball, a member Residential Leasehold team has now become one of only 22 Associates in the firm. Linda’s workload focuses...

The removal and replacement of the cladding on your building

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Who is going to pay for the removal and replacement of the cladding on your building? In the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, on 14 June 2017, the Department for Communities and Local Government (“DCLG”) issued initial written...

The Homes Act 2018 - The Grenfell Effect?

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The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (the “Act”) is a prime example of a piece of legislation which has been in the pipeline for some time however, it would appear that the tragic circumstances of the Grenfell Tower disaster has...

Proud platinum sponsor of the 2019 IRPM Annual Seminar

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Brethertons is the proud platinum sponsor of the 2019 IRPM Annual Seminar Brethertons is delighted to confirm it is the platinum sponsor of this year’s Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) Annual Seminar , taking place on Thursday 13...

News on the Block's Hot 100

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We are delighted to announce that three Brethertonians have again been named in the News on the Block Hot 100 list! News on the Block is a leading publication within the property management sector and its opinion holds great sway throughout the industry. ...

Winners at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards

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We are delighted to announce that Roger Hardwick , Partner in Residential Leasehold, has won both the Solicitor of the Year Award and the Regional Professional of the Year Award at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards . We were also highly...

Finalists for the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards

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We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for three awards at the upcoming Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards . The firm has been nominated for Solicitors Firm of the Year and Roger Hardwick , Partner Residential Leasehold , has...

Oxfordshire Solicitor Triumphs at Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards (ERMAs) 2017

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It gives us great pleasure to announce that Roger Hardwick , Partner in the  Residential Leasehold team at Brethertons LLP has won two awards at the prestigious News on the Block Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards (ERMAs) 2017. At the...

Fantastic Four - Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2017

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We are delighted to announce our specialist Residential Leasehold Law team has been shortlisted as finalists at News on the Block’s prestigious Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards! The awards celebrate professional excellence in the...

Case study: The Brunswick Centre - Landmark Case - Upper Tribunal

Roger Hardwick
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Case study: The Brunswick Centre, Landmark Case in Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)  Summary The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) held that the statutory obligation to comply with section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“the 1985...

Brethertons wins Landmark Case in Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)

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Admiralty Park Management Company Ltd v Ojo [2016] UKUT 0421 (LC) Brethertons were instructed by Admiralty Park Management Company Limited, in connection with an appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), from the First-tier Tribunal (Property...

LEASE 'Confusions'

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What do I own? What area am I supposed to maintain? Is that my balcony? Should I be paying for repairs to that? Who is paying for the windows to be cleaned? I have a bill for £1000’s for repairs – what should I do as I can’t afford...

Service charges: following the contractual process for recovery

Roger Hardwick
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My colleagues, my clients, and possibly even my family are, I expect, tired of me repeating the phrase “read the lease”.  That does not make it any less correct. In a very recent decision: Clacy v Sanchez [2015] UKUT 0387 (LC), the Upper...

Rent-a-room tax relief

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Blog b y James Attew,  Commercial Recoveries  Solicitor Coverage of George Osborne ’s Summer Budget of 2015 was largely dominated by the £12 billion of cuts made to the UK’s welfare budget. The Chancellor has...

An end to leaseholders relying on "restrictive" interpretation of residential leases

Roger Hardwick
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An end to leaseholders relying on "restrictive" interpretation of residential leases as Supreme Court hands down Arnold v Britton? The Supreme Court has handed down its long awaited judgment in the case of Arnold v Britton [2015] UKSC 36 where the...