News

VAT – options to tax – the new rules

The Value Added Tax (Buildings and Land) Order 2008 (SI 2008/1146) makes changes to the law on VAT on land and buildings – specifically in relation to the option to tax.. The new regulations substitute a brand new Schedule 10 into the Value Added Tax Act 1994, bringing in a rewritten set of rules relating to the option to tax. The new provisions came into force on 1st June 2008 and apply to supplies made on or after that date.

Co-inciding with the introduction of the new Schedule 10, HMRC has reissued, and republished on its website, VAT Notice […]

June 2008 Update

The June edition of the Commercial Property Information Update has been published on this website.

If you are a subscriber (and you are logged in) you can access the update from CPI Update – June 2008.

The June 2008 issue of the CPI Update contains:

Case law commentary on:

• Barclays Bank plc v Guy – Land Registration; fraud and rectification.
• Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Victoria Street (No 3) Ltd – Landlord and tenant; consent to assign.
• Micro Design Group Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd – Overage; planning triggers.
• Bhambhani v Willowcourt Management Co (1985) Ltd – Service charge; certification of […]

EPCs – failure to supply

Does a failure to supply an EPC in a transaction where one is where legally required to be supplied have any effect on the validity of the contract? We think not. “Today’s generation is dominated by that ever-mounting mass of legislative control. [In] support of that control, numberless offences have been created each with its appropriate penalty, and it is for the courts to see that this does not result in additional forfeitures and injustices which the legislature cannot have intended.” This is not a modern day comment, but one from the Sachs LJ in Shaw v Groom [1970] 1 […]

Further SDLT changes – the £40,000 rule

It seems that the Government has responded to requests from property lawyers, and has adjusted the Revenue’s new £40,000 rule (i.e. the rule that exempts certain minor transactions from SDLT notification requirements) so that a larger number of leasehold transactions will now fall into the exemption. An amendment to the Finance Bill tabled last Thursday will exempt from notification any lease assignment or surrender where the consideration is less than £40,000 – regardless of the level of annual rent at the time. A detailed explanation of this practical effect of this change appears in the June issue of the CPI […]

New content

This week, new content has been added to the website:
Deed of guarantee: http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/118
Deed of release of a guarantor and new guarantee: http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/119
An express tenancy-at-will: http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/56
Environmental boiler plate clauses for a seller: http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/96

Dilapidations Protocol

The Dilapidations Protocol published by the Property Litigation Association has been altered – primarily to remove the requirement for surveyors to give an endorsement that the amounts being claimed by the landlord are “a fair assessment of the landlord’s loss”. This requirement had caused some disquiet amongst surveyors. The revisions to the Protocol can be seen accessed through: http://www.pla.org.uk/about_the_pla/news/latest/new_-_dilapidations_protocol

Compliance with planning application targets

The Government is always keen to meet published targets. On the DCLG website (see web address at the foot of this posting), the Government announces that, last year, 100 per cent of decisions subject to statutory timetables which were made by the Secretary of State (on cases other than appeals under TPOs) were made within the statutory timetables set for them. In addition, 98.4 per cent of Secretary of State decisions on tree preservation order appeals were dealt with in time.

Of concern at present, however, is the growing number of local authorities who appear to be set on hitting […]

New content

This weekend, new content has been added to the website:
Precedent deed of grant of easement – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/40
Key points on break clauses – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/84
Service charge cap clause – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/95
Option to renew – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/95
CPSE.4 – standard replies to Commercial Property Standard Enquiries – see http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/node/103

Display Energy Certificates

Display Energy Certificates are required from 1st October 2008 in larger buildings occupied by public authorities and by institutions providing public services to a large number of people. DCLG has published (on 9th May 2008) a 49 page guidance note on DECs.
See http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/displayenergycertificates

Barclays Bank v Guy

A full report of this Court of Appeal case is not yet available, but it appears to uphold the first instance decision ([2008] EWHC 893 (Ch)) which is, itself, slightly alarming. To put it briefly, Mr Guy was seeking to rectify the register so that an allegedly fraudulently procured transfer of his property could be set aside, and his title could be restored to him. The trouble for Mr Guy was that the transferee had created a charge over the land in favour of Barclays Bank. No modest legal charge, but a charge to the tune of about […]

HIPs rule change

For the marketed sales of homes, the Home Information Pack (HIP) Regulations apply. The initial HIP transitional period was supposed to come to an end on 1st June 2008, so that thereafter, all sales (subject to exceptions) would require a HIP. However, the Government has announced (8th May) an extension of the “temporary first day marketing provision” which allows a property to be marketed without a HIP where the documents required for inclusion in the HIP have been commissioned and paid for, or arrangement for payment been made and are expected to arrive within 28 days. This provision is now […]

Key points on energy efficiency

Key points relating to The Energy Performance & Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 have been posted in the Property PSL infobank. To access this document, click on Energy Efficiency for Commercial Buildings.

VAT – tax law rewrite

The long and (not so) eagerly awaited rewriting of Schedule 10 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 – this is the Schedule of the Act that deals with VAT on land and buildings – is upon us. The Value Added Tax (Buildings and Land) Order 2008 (SI 2008/1146) is published today. Stay tuned for a full consideration of the practical implications of the rewrite before commencement.

VAT – TOGCs – updated guidance

HMRC has substantially rewritten and republished (on 22 April 2008) VAT Notice 700/9: Transfer of a business as a going concern. For those involved in such transactions, the Notice needs to be read. All paragraphs of the previous edition have been amended – either to give additional or amended guidance, or revised style and clarification points. An analysis of the VAT Notice is included in the May issue of the CPI Update.

HMRC confirmation of abolition of self-certificates

HM Revenue and Customs confirms on its website the abolition of SDLT self-certificates for land registration purposes. HMRC is particularly concerned to emphasise the complete nature of the abolition of the SDLT 60.Quoting the HMRC announcement, the Revenue states: “Some people have asked whether there are any circumstances in which a certificate that no SDLT is due (form SDLT 60) is now required. We are happy to confirm that there are now no circumstances in which an SDLT 60 is required in order for documents to be registered. Indeed, the current Finance Bill legislates to remove all reference to this […]

RPI rent increases

A new RPI increase clause has been included in the Property PSL precedents. It enables a landlord to increase rent at a review date to the greater of the passing rent, a market rent or a rent rising in line with RPI increases. To access the clause, see the Property PSL lease of whole (office).

Rights to light – damages

What damages are recoverable for an interference with a landowner’s right to light? Can the claimant take a share of the profit made on an adjacent development site where light is blocked by new construction works? In Forsyth-Grant v Allen (2008) CA (Civ Div) 8th April, the Court of Appeal looks at the circumstances in which an account of profits may be awarded as damages in an action for interference with a property right. In this case, the Court of Appeal rejected a claim for an account of profits where a hotel owner had sued for damages in nuisance for […]

Abolition of SDLT 60s

As was first thought, the effect of this year’s Budget has been to abolish the need to use the Form SDLT 60 self-certificate for the registration of non-notifiable land transactions.The Budget of 2008 introduced a number of changes, effective from 12th March, which intended to reduce the administrative burden relating to SDLT. These included changes to the notification threshold, and the effective abolition of the Form SDLT 60 self-certificate. Now, in response to these changes, H.M. Land Registry has altered its registration practice.

To read in detail, click on SDLT 60 abolition.