Property PSL
The Revenue’s Valuation Office Agency has established an email address for the purposes of emailing any necessary plans or schedules for underleases in connection with SDLT returns. See http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/voa/mailbox.htm
The transitional period applicable to the use of old and new prescribed Land Registry forms under the Land Registration Rules 2003, as amended by the Land Registration (Amendment) Rules 2008 (SI 1919/2008), comes to an end today. For most Land Registry forms, there has been a transitional cross-over period since November 10, 2008, where use in connection with an application for registration of either the new form or the old form has been acceptable. (Of course, forms AP1, FR1 and DS2 were excluded from this transitional rule.)
However, from tomorrow, the new prescribed forms must be used for all registrations. […]
A salutary lesson for all of those involved in the business of providing services to the public is to be found in the Sheffield county court case of Allen v Royal Bank of Scotland plc. (The link provides you with a link through to the Law Centres Federation website, but this contains a further link through to the county court judgment). This case is one of the very few examples we have of a claim being brought against a provider of services for unlawful discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and in particular under the section 21(2) duty […]
Do you act in transactions involving trade-related properties such as public houses, hotels, petrol filling stations, cinemas, restaurants, care homes etc, where it is suggested that, for SDLT purposes, part of an acquisition price is to be apportioned to the goodwill of the business? In the past, HMRC has taken the view that it was unlikely that there would be any free-standing goodwill in such businesses to accommodate an apportionment, as the goodwill would be considered to form an inherent part of the value of the property. However, HMRC is changing its view, and has announced the publication of a […]
In addition to the Short Form Lease of Whole added to the website at the start of this month, there is now added a short form lease of part – click on Short Form Lease of Part. Other recent additions to the site this month are a Scaffolding Licence and a selection of draft letters for use where Contracting-out of the 1954 Act.
Where you take a rent deposit from the tenant, and the lease is VATable, how much VAT are you taking from the tenant? The current rate of VAT is 15%, but it will go back up to 17.5% in 2010 – which may be the very moment when the deed needs to be used. Therefore, instead of asking for rent plus 15% VAT as a deposit, insist on rent plus 17.5% VAT. The landlord can do this, as the current payment of a rent deposit is not one which is made in respect of a VAT supply – it is […]
“Pre-pack” administrations are commonplace where insolvency bites. In the landlord and tenant sector, we have seen the implications of pre-pack administrations in the case of Innovate Logistics Limited (in Administration) v Sunberry Properties Limited [2008] EWCA Civ 1261 – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/197. For an interesting documentary news analysis of pre-packs, you might like to listen to File on 4, a BBC Radio 4 programme broadcast earlier this evening which is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00grqml/File_on_4_20_01_2009/
The Law Society has published a practice note for solicitors who are advising borrowers where mortgage payments are in arrears and residential mortgage possession proceedings are threatened. To view the note, click on Mortgage repossession practice note – 15 January 2009. The practice note gives advice on how to check that a lender’s possession proceedings comply with the new protocol for mortgage possession proceedings (see the Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims based on Mortgage or Home Purchase Plan Arrears in Respect of Residential Property) and how to advise clients where a lender has already appointed a receiver and bypassed the […]
A draft rent variation letter has been posted on the British Retail Consortium website. It is intended to operate as a formal waiver of the requirement to pay rent quarterly, to facilitate a transfer from quarterly to monthly rental payments. Landlords should tread carefully: this draft is prepared on behalf of a tenants’ representative body, and does not take the sensible step of advising landlords that any guarantor of the tenant’s obligations should be asked to signify its consent to the variation in case it operated to release the guarantor. Read more about varying rental payments at http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/228
A slight change in the appearance of the website has been made, with the addition of a new top line button for CPI Updates which, over the next few weeks, will enable subscribers more easily to access (and search for the content of) all Commercial Property Information Updates back to 2003 (when the update was first published).
The DCLG has commissioned an initial research and monitoring project to examine the use, so far, of the Code for Leasing Business Premises. The DCLG will be looking in particular at how far the Code has been disseminated in the commercial property market and the extent of active use of the Code in negotiations, and whether or not this has affected outcomes. It is set to announce its findings later on in 2009. See CLG Monitoring of the Code for Leasing Business Premises. In current market conditions, great use should be made of the Code by tenants’ advisors. Where landlords […]
A contract clause for use by a buyer, where concerns exist about satisfying Land Registry identification requirements in relation to a seller’s outgoing mortgagee, has been added to the site at http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/96
Last week’s post on the Law Society’s updated advice on the banking crisis jumped the gun a little, since the Law Society updated its advice once again last week to include comments on securing reasonable interest rates for clients’ money in the light of tumbling base rates. For the latest updated advice, see Banking crisis practice note – 8 January 2009.
There is a tax law case from November 2008 which has not yet been fully digested in the CPI Update, but which will be at the end of this month. It is R (on the application of Mercury Tax Group Limited) v HMRC [2008] EWHC 2721 (Admin) and it appears to be causing some consternation in the profession; yet it seems to be a wholly correct decision. It involves the validity of a tax avoidance scheme. (In fact, the case itself involves the lawfulness of the issue of warrants to HMRC investigators). But the most striking part of the case […]
The City of London Law Society has published its own form of rent deposit deed; (see City of London deed). It is comforting to see that many of the points of principle adopted in the Property PSL rent deposit deed for the benefit of landlords are mirrored in the document prepared by the City of London Law Society, including:
A (hopefully) very useful short form of lease has been added to the website as a precedent document. See http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/215.
The Law Society has updated its practice note on the banking crisis, giving greater guidance upon the handling of clients’ funds, including guidance where accounts are in foreign banks. See http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/practicenotes/bankingcrisis/1811.article
A slightly wider note on undertakings is provided, although nothing novel is proposed. The Law Society advises solicitors that: “You are free to decide whether to offer or accept an undertaking, so long as to do so is not against the client’s interests. You do not need to give an undertaking simply because it is in the client’s interests to do so. You may also negotiate the terms of […]
Two rejection notices have appeared on the Land Registry’s website: one relating to unpaid fees, and one relating to powers of attorney. As regards unpaid fees, HMLR advises that, where this occurs, it will make contact by telephone to verify that no fee was sent, and to request payment. If a cheque is required, HMLR will hold the application for five business days before rejecting the application. As regards the latter, HMLR advises that applications which should be accompanied by a power of attorney (or a conveyancer’s certificate in Form 1) will be rejected if the necessary power or certificate […]