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England and Wales: section 106 mortgagee exclusion upheld - transferee deriving title from mortgagee exempt from affordable housing obligations despite provider's deregistration (Westminster CC v Gems House)

Published on: 07 August 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Planning expert
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Westminster City Council v Gems House Residences Chiltern Street Ltd and another company [2025] EWHC 1789 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case?

At the outset, it should be noted that the facts were intricate and the clause at the heart of the construction dispute was atypical (see §18, which reproduces clause 10 of the agreement). As the judge remarked at §31, steering a court towards alternative wording that might have eliminated doubt is seldom of real assistance when construing an agreement. By the same token, the result here hinges on the particular language chosen and offers limited guidance where different terminology is used. There is also a real possibility that the decision could be overturned on appeal (the City Council’s application for permission to appeal remains pending). Nonetheless, the judgment offers significant help to practitioners confronting the construction of carve‑outs from planning obligations to deliver affordable housing. In particular:

  • it was common ground that the usual...

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Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

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I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...

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