How The New Property Practitioners Act Affects You
“… a property is an asset to enhance economic activity, growth and development…” (extract from preamble to the Property Practitioners Act) The Property Practitioners Act (“PPA”) finally comes into effect on 1 February 2022. It has major ramifications for everyone involved in the property industry, but in this article we’ll concentrate only on aspects of […]
Can Your Tenant Claim a Lockdown Rental Remission?
“It would thus be prudent that a commercial lease agreement includes a clause dealing with the risk associated with vis maior, casus fortuitus and the impossibility of performance.” (Extract from judgment below) The Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and restrictions have impacted negatively on many businesses, and there has been much uncertainty as to […]
Selling Your Home: How to be Lucky this Holiday Season
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher) History has not recorded whether Seneca himself was “lucky” in the property market of his time (Rome’s land registration records from two millennia ago have unfortunately not survived the ravages of time and Imperial collapse) but his wise words are […]
Noisy Neighbours – Your Rights, and Buyers Beware!
“In common law, everyone is in general permitted to use their property for any purpose they choose, provided that the use of the property should not intrude unreasonably on the use and enjoyment by the neighbours of their properties” (extract from the “gym case” below) Consider this unhappy scenario – you buy your dream home […]
Buying Property from a Company – Should You Buy the Shares or the House?
“There is never a wrong time to buy the right home” (Anon) You find the house of your dreams, agree on the price, and get ready to put pen to paper. The house is in the name of a company, and you are offered a choice – either buy the house out of the company […]
Bodies Corporate: Before You Sequestrate to Recover Arrears…
“Bankruptcy – a fate worse than debt” (Anon) One of a Body Corporate’s fundamental duties is to collect monthly levies from the scheme’s members, and to take robust action to recover any arrears. As with any other creditor/debtor relationship however, trying to recover debt can be an exercise in frustration and delay, and the more […]
Landlord Liable for a Tragic “Freak” Flood Drowning
A recent High Court decision dealing with the tragic drowning of a toddler highlights once again the legal dangers faced by property owners who let out accommodation to the public. This particular case related specifically to a Holiday Let on a guest farm and a natural disaster in the form of a flood, but of […]