Possession of site meaning

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Trespass and adverse possession Electronic communications Disputes and remedies Rent and rates Additional Property Disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Key developments and horizon scanning BPF director warns of commercial impact from Devolution Bill's rent review ban Policy lead at the British Property Federation (BPF), Ion Fletcher, has voiced reservations about the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill’s proposed prohibition on upward-only rent reviews (UORRs) in commercial leases. Whilst recognising the Bill’s broader aim to devolve powers to regional authorities and enhance local development outcomes, Fletcher cautions that the late addition of the UORR ban—without consultation—could weaken investor confidence. UORRs are widely used in longer commercial leases, providing income certainty that can de-risk development and refurbishment activity. Fletcher maintains that discarding this device breeds uncertainty at a moment when the sector is already...

AP Wireless II (UK) Ltd v On Tower UK Ltd [2024] UKUT 263 (LC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling provides vital guidance on handling telecommunications arrangements when reviewing those already in place. Identifying whether a subsisting arrangement is controlled by the LTA 1954 or by the Electronic Communications Code determines the form of notice required for termination or renewal. When advising for either Operators or Site Providers who intend to initiate the renewal or bring to an end their existing telecommunications arrangements, it is essential to determine whether the arrangement is a lease or a licence. A licence is one caught by the Code and demands service of the prescribed notice in accordance with the Code. Examining the duration and whether there is exclusive possession will indicate the probable route and procedure for renewing or ending arrangements. A fixed, certain term will commonly suggest that a lease has been granted, in which circumstance Part 5 of the Code may not be engaged...

In this issue: Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Contractual issues Service charges Trespass and adverse possession Property Disputes in Scotland Additional Property Disputes updates LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&As Residential tenancies MHCLG publishes guidance on electrical safety standards for rented sectors The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has issued guidance clarifying how the electrical safety standards regime applies to landlords, tenants and local authorities across England’s private and social rented sectors. It addresses the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/312, which were extended in 2025 to cover the social rented sector by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/978. Under these rules, landlords must arrange for electrical installations in let...

Trespass Trespass describes the unauthorised presence of a person upon land in another’s possession. Ownership of land extends to the airspace above it, so any incursion into that airspace will, in principle, amount to a trespass. In Baron Bernstein, an aeroplane passing overhead to take photographs was held not to trespass, on the footing that the landowner’s rights over airspace reach only the height needed for the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land and its structures. However, in Kelsen, a sign projecting just eight inches into the airspace above the land was found to be a trespass. In Anchor Brewhouse, the High Court confirmed that the problems created by aircraft, etc., are wholly distinct from an invasion of airspace by a structure erected on adjoining land, where the legal position is more certain and settled. The latter is a trespass in law. Remedies The adjoining landowner may claim damages and obtain an injunction where appropriate. As trespass is actionable per se in law, an injunction and...

Wayleave and the Electronic Communications Code Over the past ten years, the telecommunications sector has expanded at a remarkable rate, driven by the pressure to deliver reliable, far-reaching communications networks. Operators such as BT, Vodafone and Sky cannot roll out these networks without access to install equipment on privately owned sites. They also need the freedom to modernise apparatus to match rapid technological progress, and to share kit so they can satisfy rising demand and preserve consumer choice. While enabling operators to work efficiently is essential, site providers will equally want robust safeguards for their own interests. This Practice Note highlights provisions that can be built into a telecommunications wayleave to strengthen the site provider’s position... A telecommunications wayleave agreement A wayleave is a consent or licence through which a person with an interest in land permits another party to exercise a right over that land. It is distinct from an easement or a lease. A wayleave does not create an interest in the land, does not...

Vacant possession Vacant possession is a central concept in property law, arising on both the sale of land and at lease expiry under the covenant to yield up at the end of the term. It is often especially significant in conditional lease break options. This Practice Note explains what vacant possession involves in practice, and the steps a tenant or seller must take to deliver possession to a landlord or buyer. For guidance on bringing to an end the range of interests a developer may face when seeking vacant possession of a potential development site—including commercial leases with protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), residential tenants (including security of tenure under the Housing Act 1988), licensees and telecoms operators—and how those interests may be terminated and vacant possession recovered, see Practice Note: strategy for redevelopment and Precedent: strategy—schedule. Vacant possession means the property should be free of: people—the buyer must be able to take up and exercise...

Crane oversail licence Permitting a tower crane to be used in relation to the Works at [ insert ] This Deed is dated [ date ] and made between: Parties [ insert name of adjoining owner ] (company registration number [ insert ]), with its registered office at [ insert ] (' Adjoining Owner '); [ insert name of adjoining tenant ] (company registration number [ insert ]), whose registered office is at [ insert ] (' Adjoining Tenant '); [ insert name of contractor ] (company registration number [ insert ]), whose registered office is at [ insert ] (' Contractor '); and [ insert name of developer ] (company registration number [ insert ]), whose registered office is at [ insert ] (' Developer '). Recitals The Developer has appointed the Contractor to undertake and complete the Works at the Site. The Adjoining Owner holds the legal title to the Adjoining Property [...

3 Agreement to surrender Summary of the Agreement between the Landlord, Tenant [and Guarantor] dated [date] for the Lease of the [Property or Surrendered Property]. It adopts the Standard Commercial Property Conditions (Third Edition—2018 Revision) with modifications. Key defined terms include Actual Completion Date, Surrender Date, Premium, Rent, Interest and VAT. On the Surrender Date, the Tenant surrenders its interest with [full or limited] title guarantee by executing the Deed of Surrender or Transfer, settling Rent to date, and yielding possession [and keys]. The Landlord accepts by executing the counterpart, taking possession [and paying any agreed Premium/Chattels Price]. Deposits, apportionments and any Rent Deposit follow the Agreement and Standard Conditions. Subject to stated carve-outs, mutual releases apply from the Actual Completion Date; any outstanding Insurance Rent and Service Charge are payable on demand. Completion mechanics, Interest on delay, and any Guarantor’s consent are as set out. Costs, Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 matters, entire agreement, severance, continuation for any Remainder, governing...

SCAFFOLD licence—Long form Permitting scaffold to be erected in relation to the Works at [ insert ] This Deed is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ insert name of licensee ] (company registration number [ insert ]) with its registered office at [ insert ] (' Licensee '); [ and ] [ insert name of licensor ] (company registration number [ insert ]) with its registered office at [ insert ] (‘ Licensor ') [ ; and OR . ] [ [ insert name of developer ] (company registration number [ insert ]) with its registered office at [ insert ] (' Developer ') [ ; and OR . ] ] [ [ insert name of tenant ] (company registration number [ insert ]) with its registered office at [ insert ] (' Tenant '). ] Recitals (A) The Developer has appointed the Licensee to undertake the Works at the Site. (B) The Licensor is...

Paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 4 to the Electricity Act 1989 (EA 1989) states that: When a right granted by a wayleave is exercised and damage is caused to land or moveables, any person with an interest in that land or those moveables may claim compensation from the licence holder for the damage. Likewise, where using such a right disrupts someone’s enjoyment of any land or moveables, that individual may recover compensation from the licence holder for the disturbance. The EA 1989 empowers entities permitted to generate, transport or supply electricity to obtain a wayleave to place an electric line on, under or over private land, together with access rights for inspection, maintenance and replacement...

Electronic Communications Code (the Code) It is taken that a headlease has been forfeited, with any sub-leases granted under it likewise brought to an end. The Electronic Communications Code (the Code) referenced is the version produced by the Law Commission in 2013. As the Q&A observes, the operator’s lease was terminated by forfeiture and, thereafter, it is assumed the freeholder required the equipment to be removed, so a paragraph 21 notice had to be served. Paragraph 21 of the Code states that, where no agreement is in place or it is shortly to come to an end, the freeholder requires an order authorising removal of the telecommunications apparatus located on the roof of the freeholder’s property...

Adverse possession When a person has exercised factual control over land owned by someone else for a defined period, intends to possess it, and does so without the landowner’s consent, he may have grounds to seek to be registered formally as the owner of that land on the register as such owner. This situation is described as adverse possession (also labelled ‘squatter’s rights’) and, from 13 October 2003, has been regulated by the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002). Before the LRA 2002 came into force, the doctrine operated under the common law, with the leading modern authority being the decision in J A Pye (Oxford) Ltd v Graham...