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15/09/2021
The CMA has issued an update in connection with their ongoing investigation into leasehold abuses. Countryside, one of the four developers originally investigated, has now reached an agreement with the CMA to address various concerns. The full update can be found here togther with the terms of the undertaking given by Countryside.
31/08/2021
Following Brexit, the H M Treasury has launched a public consultation on Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and proposed changes which must be implemented before June 2022 when the current AML arrangement with the EU ends. Mari has been invited to join a roundtable meeting for the Law Society's "Small Firm" division to discuss these changes and to provide input into the Law Society's reponse to the Treasury's consultation. Mari very much looks forward to the meeting on such an important issue for all law firms.
19/08/2021
Mari Knowles was joined by respected barrister, Rebecca Cattermole of Tanfield Chambers, to run a special webinar for legal publishers, LexisNexis. The webinar took a detailed look at commonhold and what the future may hold in a post-reformed world. The webinar also included a helpful analysis of the differences between the commonhold and leasehold systems. Rebecca also gave some fascinating insights into the problems with the leasehold system. The webinar can be viewed here.
16/08/2021
Following an exceptionally busy 18 months for our team, we have decided to take a well-earned break from 23 to 30 August. Our offices will be closed during these dates but we will have emergency procedures in place. We have been delighted by the postive feedback and support given by our clients so far for our proposed firm-wide summer break. We look forward to coming back refreshed and ready for the Autumn!
09/08/2021
We are absolutely delighted to confirm that Dona has been re-appointed to the Law Society's Conveyancing and Land Law Committee as their commonhold and leasehold specialist. Dona previously held the post before accepting a contract to work at MHCLG. Dona is very much looking forward to working with the Committee again, especially on the various reforms. Dona will continue to work with CLE alongside her new appointment.
15/07/2021
Mari was invited to speak to post-graduate students at the London Metropolitan University yesterday. The talk was followed by a lively debate on whether commonhold or leasehold was a better tenure, and whether commonhold might work for communal spaces and buildings beyond residential premises. The discussion also explored build-quality and design if commonhold became the dominant tenure as developres will no longer have long-term interests in the buildings. The lecture and debate is available online on request.
05/07/2021
MHCLG has issued a press release following confirmation that the building safety bill will be released today. The press release contains some of the details of what will be in the draft bill, including, importantly, a new obligation for building owners to explore alternative ways to meet remediation costs before passing them onto leaseholders. There will also be a new building regulator to keep residents safe. The full press release can be found here.
23/06/2021
The CMA has published an update in relation to their ground rent investigation. It has confirmed that it has secured undertakings from two key developers to recitfy onerous lease terms. The terms of the undertakings are significant and could have far-reaching consequences for others. The full press release can be found here.
21/05/2021
Following the Government's previous commitment to ban ground rents for new leases, the Ground Rent bill was mentioned during the Queen's Speech today. It reconfirmed the commitment to the ban and we now await sight of the bill to see what has and has not been included within it.
14/05/2021
Following the announcement in January 2021 of the creation of a new specialist commonhold committee, the Government has now released further information. The update includes a list of the members, the terms of reference and an overview. The announcement shows the Government's keen commitment to make commonhold work as a viable alternative to leasehold going forward. The wide range of expertise on the committee is also indicative of this dedication. The full press release and documents can be found here.
13/05/2021
In 2018, the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research at the University of Cambridge was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to prepare an independent report on leasehold and freehold charges. The report has now been published in full and includes various statistics provided by a wide range of stakeholders. We are delighted that Mari Knowles was invited to assist with this research project. The full report can be found here.
12/05/2021
We are pleased to see the swift release of the full Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill on the Parliamentary website following reference to it in the Queen's Speech yesterday. On a quick glance, it confirms that ground rents will be banned for new leases and also for the extended term of any informal lease extension. Proposed new penalties will be introduced to tackle any ground rents unlawfully demanded. The definition of a ground rent appears widely drafted to capture any less obvious ground rent. We will update our website once we have reviewed the Bill in full. In the meantime, the Bill can be found here.
19/04/2021
Matthew Lewis chats to Block Management about commonhold - what is it, why is it better than leasehold, what do the reforms man? In an insightful interview, Matthew unpicks the thorny questions surrounding commonhold. Commonhold may become more popular in future years thanks to the reforms and this podcast is a great way to find out more about it. If you would like to listen to the podcast, it can be found on Spotify or Apple here.
05/04/2021
In 2006, the Law Commission undertook work to review forfeiture in their "Termination of Tenancies" project. Various recommendations were made within their report including a look at the recovery of costs and a new streamlined process called the "statutory termination scheme" to replace forfeiture. The Law Commission has now launched a consultation on viable areas of law which ought to be included in their Fourteen Programme of Works. The Law Commission has provided a list of possible projects, one of which includes a review of commercial leasehold. Within this, there is scope fo the Termination of Tenancies project to be revived with a view to implementing the revised recommendations into law. If you would like to have your say on forfeiture, the Law Commission consultation is open until 31 July 2021. The link to the Law Commission can be found here.
28/03/2021
Continuing with our popular monthly webinar series, we have now finalised our schedule for April. We have included our ever-popular service charge triology on 20th and 21st April (including a dedicated major works session), a session on lease extension basics and pitfalls on 20th April and our cladding basics session on 27th April. We are delighted that Amanda Gourlay will be running a dedicated litigation costs session too. If you would like to join us for our sessions, please contact us on advice@commonlease.co.uk.
19/03/2021
The Competition and Markets Authority has today confirmed that it requires Countryside and Taylor Wimpey to remove the onerous ground rent review provisions in affected leases. The announcement does not contain sufficient detail to establish whether Countryside and Taylor Wimpey can replace the onerous terms with alternative ground rent provisions or if the ground rent must be expunged entirely. We await further detail. The full statement from the CMA can be found here.
17/03/2021
The Welsh Government has released a statement today to confirm their commitment to mirror various reforms ongoing in England. The statement references zero ground rents, together with a pledge to enact various recommendations made by the Law Commission relating to enfranchisement, commonhold and right to manage. The news is very much welcomed in Wales where leaseholders have faced similar difficulties as those in England. The full statement from the Welsh Government can be found here.
25/02/2021
"When should agents call in lawyers" - Matt Lewis sets out his views on the difficult line between management and legal. In an evolving leasehold landscape, knowing who is responsbile for what with ever-changing laws can be difficult. Matt writes a useful article based on his experiences working with various managing agents on the South Coast.
08/02/2021
Dona was invited to speak to the Radio 4 show "You and Yours" on the subject of leasehold retirement properties today. The subject has caught the attention of the press in recent times following various Government announcements on leasehold reforms. More recently, in the context of retirement properties, this includes the ground rent ban which will now apply to retirement properties (previous plans having excluded the retirement sector from the ban) and right to manage of retirement properties. The full programme can be found here.
06/02/2021
On 07 January 2021, the Government confirmed the creation of a "Commonhold Council". The purpose of the Council will be to prepare the industry for commonhold. There has been no announcement as to whether commonhold may become mandatory in future, but the creation of this council seems to suggest that this may well be the direction of travel. This month we will be hosting a dedicated session on commonhold as part of our webinar series, at which we will discuss whether commonhold ought to be mandatory and how it will affect existing leaseholders. For more information about this session, please contact us on advice@commonlease.co.uk.
31/01/2021
Following our ongoing webinar series, we are delighted to confirm that eminent barrister Amanda Gourlay will be running a session via her blog, Law and Lease. Amanda's session will look at essential lease clauses, where to find them and the basics with a specific emphasis on service charges. Having worked and spoken with Amanda at various events over the years, we have no doubt that this session will be a success. The session will be run on Wednesday 10 February at 6pm and the booking form can be found here.
28/01/2021
The Government has today announced a new "standard tenancy agreement" for rental properties which assumes pets will be permitted. Landlords will no longer be able to issue a blanket ban on pets. A landlord will only be able to object to a request to keep a pet where there is a good reason. Whilst this is positive news for renters, one wonders where this will leave those who rent flats from leaseholders. Many long leases expressly ban pets which we assume will fall within the "good reason" exemption. Legally it may seem straightforward but we question whether it will be that straightforward in practice. We have a full article available on request. The Government's full announcement can be found here.
20/01/2021
We are delighted that our Dona was invited to speak as a guest on BBC Moneybox to discuss the reforms announcement. The BBC dedicated the programme to the announcements made by the Government on 07 January 2021. Dona was invited as a leasehold reform specialist to discuss what this meant for leaseholders and answered various questions from listeners. If you would like to listen to the programme, details can be found here.
07/01/2021
Almost one year after the Law Commission's valuation report was published, the Government has now confirmed that it intends to adopt the most radical valuation proposal - Scheme 1. The valuation announcement today includes removal of marriage value, prescription of rates and an online calculator to name but a few. The announcement also confirms 990-year lease extensions and reversal of the retirement sector exemption from the ground rent ban. The Government's full announcement can be found here.
31/12/2020
It has been a busy year for leasehold reform and for our team this year. We have had numerous updates from Government on a range of leasehold and commonhold reform agendas, which will no doubt pave the way for a busy 2021. On our part, we are pleased to have assisted over 300 leaseholders via our free webinar series and pro bono scheme. Our team has also expanded to meet the growning need for reform lawyers and we have welcomed Dona Awano, Matthew Lewis and Elin Dukes. Mari and Emily both continue their Government work on the reforms. We take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support given during what has been a rather unprecedented year.
