Statutory nuisance meaning

In this issue: Enforcing security and property insolvency Service charges Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Residential tenancies Rent and rates Contractual issues Additional Property Disputes updates LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Latest Q&As Enforcing security and property insolvency Applications for possession and sale of the family home in bankruptcy (Armstrong v Temblett) The matter involved an application by Mr Armstrong, acting as trustee in bankruptcy (the trustee), seeking an order for possession and sale of Mrs Vanessa Temblett’s London property, jointly owned with her husband (the London property). The court determined that, under section 335A of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), the trustee was entitled to possession and sale, as no exceptional circumstances were identified to rebut the statutory presumption that creditors’ interests prevail over other factors. The judgment highlights the need for practitioners...

In this issue: Business tenancies Disputes and remedies Property Disputes in Scotland LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional Property disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary New and updated content Trackers Latest Q&A Business tenancies Competing approaches to a tenant’s ‘holding’ in claims for renewal of business tenancies (Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Medley Assets Ltd) In Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Medley Assets Ltd [2024] Lexis Citation 358, a contested application to renew a business tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) was examined. The landlord relied on ground (f), asserting a reasonable need to recover possession to undertake substantial works. A key ancillary question concerned the scope of the tenant’s ‘holding’, hinging on how that term is construed in LTA 1954, s 30, and whether it aligns with or differs from ‘holding’ in LTA 1954, s 32 (the property to be included in any new tenancy)....

The surge in this field arises from several converging factors: the expansion of the funding market, shifts within the legal system of England and Wales, and the influence of US ‘class action’ style litigation. Group actions are expected to keep growing in England and Wales and to span a broad range of legal areas. The rising appetite for product liability actions highlights the scope for numerous claims that have not yet been pursued. This is a welcome development for individuals harmed by large corporations, who can utilise collective actions to obtain justice and compensation more readily. Causes of action in product liability Product liability is the area of law holding organisations involved in supplying products—often to members of the public—responsible for harm or loss caused by those products. The three principal bases that commonly support a product liability claim are: negligence breach of contract breach of statutory duty (often under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987)) Negligence In...

Highway authorities have a statutory obligation to act to prevent, so far as practicable, the stopping up or obstruction of highways within their areas. This Practice Note sets out guidance on obstructions under the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980) arising from placing building works, scaffolding or skips on the highway. For broader coverage of highway obstruction, see Practice Note: Obstruction of highways. For details of the tools available to local authorities to address highway obstructions, see Practice Notes: Local authority powers to manage highway obstructions—criminal offences and Local authority powers to manage highway obstructions—civil remedies. Licences for building works, scaffolding and skips Positioning scaffolding, hoardings or skips on the highway (including pavements) constitutes an obstruction and may amount to a nuisance. Under HiA 1980, s 137(1), a person who, without lawful authority or excuse, wilfully obstructs free passage along a highway commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine, or both. See Practice Note: Obstruction of highways. That...

Actions against regulators/authorities Beyond judicial review of decisions, claimants may pursue civil proceedings where loss or damage is caused by breaches of duty and negligence by public bodies; the Corby litigation is a case in point, ending with an out-of-court settlement in April 2010. Corby dispute arose from remediation of a former steelworks, a site used for steel production for six decades and for disposal of steelmaking wastes long predating waste regulation. The local authority, Corby DC, holding enterprise zone status and benefiting from derelict land grant and EU regional development funding, acquired the 270ha site from British Steel in stages, reclaiming it in several phases over fifteen years...

Public nuisance The common law offence of public nuisance was abolished by section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSCA 2022) and supplanted by a statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the public. That said, the common law offence still technically applies to conduct committed before PCSCA 2002, s 78 took effect, or which began prior to PCSCA 2022, s 78 coming into force and continued thereafter. It is, however, highly unlikely that prosecutions will proceed under the common law. See: Public nuisance under common law. Common law public nuisance endures as a tort in civil law, and PCSCA 2022, s 78(8) states the statutory offence does not affect liability for that tort. Statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance Although PCSCA 2022 does not expressly use the term ‘public nuisance’ in its wording, it nevertheless places the offence into statute. The section’s sub-heading is: ‘Intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance’. A person commits...

Before the [ insert name ] Magistrates' Court on [ insert date ] Defendant: [ insert name of the individual liable for the statutory nuisance OR, where appropriate, the owner of the premises from which the nuisance originates ] Address: [ insert address ] Matter of complaint That, on [ insert date ], a statutory nuisance, within meaning of Environmental Protection Act 1990, s 79(1) [ specify paragraph ], was present at [ specify the premises and its address ] and still persists now, and that [ name of person responsible for the statutory nuisance ] remains responsible for the statutory nuisance...

To: [ name ] of [ address ] Please note that: The [ name ] [ District ] [ Borough ] [ City ] Council (the Council) is satisfied that a statutory nuisance [ exists OR is likely to [ occur OR recur ] ] under section 79(1) [ specify which subsection ] of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990), originating from [ the premises at ] [ specify the address of the source of the nuisance ] and resulting from [ describe the matters which are causing the nuisance ]. This abatement notice is issued to you as you are [ the person responsible for the statutory nuisance OR [ the owner OR the occupier of ] the premises ]. What you are required to do [ You are required to abate...

[ insert address of claimant's instructing solicitor ] [ insert date ] To: [ insert name of person or local authority responsible; and address ] [ insert name ], Existence of a statutory nuisance Notice under section 82(6) of environmental protection act 1990 We act for our client, [ insert name ], and hereby give you notice of [ his OR her OR its ] intention to commence proceedings against [ you OR your authority ] under the provisions of Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990...