Timothy Norman
Tim has specialised in real estate law ever since qualifying as a solicitor in 1988. He is now a consultant professional support lawyer, focusing on writing and updating real estate precedents for a small portfolio of law firms. Tim also lectures at the University of Law.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 1988
Qualification
- MA (1984)
Education
- Oxford University
3 Contributions by Timothy Norman
PRACTICE NOTES
Certificates of title: purpose, standard forms, drafting and advising recipients in property and secured lending transactions
Certificate of title
A certificate of title (sometimes referred to as a certificate on title) is a distinct form of report on title. When solicitors are engaged to examine the title to land—for example, where land is being acquired or offered as security—they prepare a report on title for their client, setting out the results of that investigation.
Details of rights benefiting the land
Any charges, easements, or other third-party interests or potential interests that burden the land
The process of investigating title is also known as legal due diligence. See Real estate in corporate transactions—overview for further information.
Sometimes, a client will instruct its solicitors to produce a report on title for someone other than the client, for instance a mortgage lender or a purchaser of shares in a company owning the land, or in relation to a company flotation or a tender process with multiple bidders. A report addressed to a third party is usually described as a certificate of title. This is more formal terminology suitable for the more formal circumstances that give rise to the...
Property
PRACTICE NOTES
Upward extension of let buildings: leasehold risks, tenants’ rights and statutory hurdles (England and Wales)
Practice Note
This Practice Note considers situations in which a landlord of a multi-occupied property (or its development partner) seeks to add an extra lettable storey on top of the building. A range of legal pitfalls could frustrate the scheme. This Practice Note does not tackle the common development hazards-for example, the requirement for planning permission and other consents, the risk of infringing easements (such as rights of light) or restrictive covenants benefitting neighbouring land (but note that in 2020 the government created new permitted development rights enabling two further storeys to be added to existing blocks of flats and allowing extra storeys on freestanding blocks or mixed-use terraces to create additional homes). Consider whether the proposed works would trespass on property already demised to one or more existing tenants. If the roof or the airspace your client intends to develop forms part of a tenant’s demise, any building activity by the landlord will constitute a trespass. You should interpret the lease provisions with care (applying the usual principles of construction) to ascertain the precise boundaries of the tenant’s ownership. Case law suggests...
Property
PRECEDENTS
TP1 Transfer of Part of Registered Lease: Apportionment, Landlord Consent, Old/New Lease Liability, Forfeiture and Drafting Guidance (England and Wales)
Precedent transfer
This precedent provides suggested wording for Form TP1 in the rare circumstances where only part of a leasehold is assigned. Assignments of part are widely disliked by landlords, since the resulting fragmentation of the tenant covenants inevitably makes it harder and costlier for the landlord to collect rent, enforce covenants and otherwise manage the property. See Practice Note: Assignment of part of the demised premises. Form TP1 must be used where the assignment is of part of a registered lease, or of part of an unregistered lease that has more than seven years left to run. An adaptable Word version of the TP1 precedent can be downloaded, saved or printed from this link:
Apportionments
On an assignment of part, the tenant and assignee should agree to apportion:
the rent payable under the lease;
any other amounts payable under the lease (insurance, service charge etc); and
the responsibility for any other covenants that are non-attributable to the various parts of the premises.
The landlord (and any mortgagee of the landlord) should be asked to consent to the apportionments...
Property
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