Legal Practice Notes

This Practice Note explores the different categories of lease covenants that either bar alterations outright or make them conditional upon the landlord’s consent. It also considers when withholding consent could be reasonable, the granting of consent on conditions, and practical points to bear in mind. Without explicit or implicit permission, a tenant is not allowed to carry out alterations beyond the demised premises; any such access or works will amount to trespass—see Practice Note: Alterations outside the demise. The guidance that follows applies only to works within the demised premises. For help on negotiating an alterations clause in a commercial lease, see Practice Note: Negotiation guide—alterations clause—commercial leases. For guidance on granting a licence for alterations, see Practice Note: A practical guide to dealing with licences for alterations. See also: Licence for...

A landlord’s right to forfeit a long residential lease A landlord’s power to forfeit a long residential lease for arrears of rent, service charges or administrative charges, and for other breaches of covenant or condition, is constrained by statute, namely sections 166–169 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and section 81 of the Housing Act 1996. This Practice Note explains when a landlord may forfeit a long residential lease, and the steps required beforehand, which can include seeking a determination from the First-tier Tribunal ( Property Chamber) (or a court or other tribunal, as appropriate) of the sum due or the existence of the breach, together with the possible legal consequences of wrongful forfeiture of a residential lease. Statutory provisions restrict a landlord’s ability to serve a s 146 notice or forfeit a long residential lease for: ...

Once a duty of care is confirmed (see Practice Note: Negligence—when does a duty of care arise?), the next step is to assess whether that duty has been breached. The answer turns on several factors outlined below and is judged against the objective baseline of reasonableness, taken from an impersonal standpoint and the general background against which reasonableness is assessed. Breach of duty of care—reasonableness To decide if there has been a breach, the law applies the artificial, objective measure of the ‘reasonable person’, setting aside the realities of the defendant’s position insofar as their abilities diverge from that norm, notwithstanding any inexperience or personal shortcomings ( Glasgow Corpn v Muir, per Lord Macmillan). Breach of duty of care—objectivity This objective demand for a reasonable level of competence covers skills attainable only through training and effort, as well as ordinary attributes most people are expected to have....

This Practice Note examines harm caused by tree roots, covering the neighbourly duty, issues of foreseeability and causation, practicable steps to avoid or reduce damage, and available remedies. Liability The leading authority on property damage from intruding tree roots is Delaware Mansions v Westminster City Council. The House of Lords held that responsibility is assessed by applying nuisance principles: reasonableness between neighbours—both literal and figurative—and reasonable foreseeability. The court stressed that attaching the label ‘nuisance’ or ‘negligence’ is of little significance; the common law instead concentrates on working out the fair and just content, and incidents, of a neighbour’s duty, rather than fixing a label and inferring the scope of the duty from it. In practice, liability turns on these questions: What obligations exist between neighbours in relation to trees? Did the tree’s roots cause damage to the adjoining property? Was that harm reasonably to be...

General A rent deposit is a sum lodged by a tenant on taking a lease, serving as security against unpaid rent and other breaches of the lease. It is commonly required where a lease is granted or assigned and the incoming tenant cannot demonstrate adequate financial standing to the landlord. A deposit might be provided instead of, or alongside, a guarantee to bolster the tenant’s covenant strength. In commercial leasing, it is routine for a rent deposit to be held either by the landlord or by an independent stakeholder. For broader guidance on commercial rent deposits, see Practice Note: Rent Deposit Deeds— Commercial Leases. That Practice Note examines how a landlord may deal with rent deposits when a corporate tenant enters an insolvency procedure (with a principal focus on administration). The landlord’s position is largely determined by the manner in which the deposit is...

This Practice Note examines when interference with a right of light becomes actionable, the remedies available (injunction or damages), and the route to injunctive relief, including the appropriate court, procedural steps, and required documentation... Is there an interference with the right to light? Where a right of light has been acquired (see Practice Note: Establishing and maintaining rights of light) and interference is alleged, you should consider: In what way is the defendant causing the interference? What level of obstruction to light is necessary before action can be taken? The following principles have been established: The interference must amount to a nuisance; simply interfering with light, or having less light than before, is insufficient. The test is whether the loss of light caused by the obstruction makes the building, to a sensible degree, less suitable than it was for business or...

Reversionary leases (also called future leases) commence in possession at a later date. This Practice Note covers: when a reversionary lease is used (including to avoid surrender and regrant) statutory rules on granting reversionary leases (including term and registration) key transactional and drafting points to consider on granting a reversionary lease When is a reversionary lease used? Typically, a reversionary lease is granted to the current tenant rather than to an unrelated third party. In practice, it lets the parties prolong the duration of the tenant’s existing lease while avoiding an accidental surrender and regrant. Most commonly, it records a negotiated lease renewal instead of proceeding under statutory machinery (eg the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954—see LTA 1954 procedure—overview). The grant frequently features within a lease re-gear arrangement (see Practice Note: Lease re-gears—what, when and how?). Key risk—avoiding surrender and regrant A...

When a company or an individual is served with a statutory demand, alarm bells should ring, because not dealing with that demand within 21 days (for debtors situated within the jurisdiction of England and Wales) can trigger winding-up and bankruptcy proceedings being brought against the company or the individual, respectively. Where a debt is genuinely owed by the debtor to the creditor, steps ought to be taken to pay the liability, or to reach arrangements with the creditor to settle it, failing which insolvency proceedings might be commenced. However, there are occasions when a statutory demand is served on a debtor when it should not have been—for instance, where the debt is not due, or the debtor has a counter or cross-claim that equals or exceeds the creditor’s claims, or there is some other substantial reason. When that situation arises, the debtor must...

This Practice Note explains how damages for dilapidations are addressed once a lease has come to an end, covering the common law approach, the statutory ceiling under both limbs of section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 ( LTA 1927), the principle of supersession, and procedural matters such as the Dilapidations Protocol. After the lease ends, the landlord cannot forfeit or depend on a Jervis v Harris clause. At that point, damages are the only remedy available and the recoverable amount is determined by: common law principles for assessing damages for breach of a repairing covenant; and section 18(1) of the LTA 1927, which restricts, and in some instances removes, the sum otherwise recoverable for disrepair (‘the statutory cap’) Damages—common law At common law, the measure of damages for disrepair is the reasonable cost of restoring the premises to the...

Conditions for making a bankruptcy order When the court considers a bankruptcy petition and whether to make an order, it must be satisfied that the conditions in section 271(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986) are fulfilled. The essentials are: an unsecured debt forming the basis of the petition is owed to the creditor; and the debtor has no reasonable prospect of paying that debt. In Day v Refulgent (an appeal from the making of a bankruptcy order), it was decided that the fact a creditor has obtained a freezing order against the debtor does not render the debt secured, and therefore does not prevent that creditor from seeking a bankruptcy order. For further reading on Day v Refulgent, see News Analysis: Seeking adjournments at bankruptcy hearings......

This Practice Note explores the availability of proprietary remedies (that is, remedies attaching to specific property, as opposed to a personal remedy, for example a damages claim) in the wake of rescission and rectification. Where a contract (or a gift) has been rescinded, or a contract has been rectified, one party may find themselves having incurred some loss as a consequence of the rescission or rectification. For example, when a contract is unwound the purpose is to restore the parties to the position they would have occupied as if the contract had never been made; yet, before rescission, property may have moved from one party to another, or to someone else. In that way, a claim in restitution may become available to deliver an appropriate form of relief. Such relief focuses on the property itself alone. What is...

BSA 2022, Pt 4 The Building Safety Act 2022 ( BSA 2022) delivered far-reaching reforms to the legal framework and regulation of building safety, intended to ‘secure the safety of people in or about buildings and improve the standard of buildings’. Parts 3 and 4 of BSA 2022 establish the architecture for a new regulatory system governing ‘higher-risk buildings’ ( HRBs). Under Pt 3, a strict building control regime was introduced for the design and construction stages of HRBs. Pt 4 imposes duties on those responsible for occupied HRBs, covering risk management and reporting. Collectively, these requirements are known as the ‘ HRB regime’. This Practice Note examines BSA 2022, Pt 4, which sets out the arrangements for managing building safety risks in occupied HRBs in England. BSA 2022, Pt 4 does not extend to HRBs in Wales. For analysis of the Welsh...

Scope of Practice Note This Practice Note addressing breach of contract explores what can constitute a contractual breach, and the judicial approach to assessing it by carefully construing the parties’ obligations—embracing both the ‘principle of futility’ and the ‘prevention principle’. It also sets out, in particular, the available responses to breach, namely an express contractual power to terminate for breach, or termination at common law for repudiatory breach, together with contractual damages and any various statutory constraints upon the remedies and liabilities arising from breach of contract. Note: a breach of contract may (though not invariably) lead to the agreement being terminated or brought to an end. Yet there are numerous other mechanisms by which a contract may end besides breach, and other circumstances in which a contract can be treated as void or rescinded. For guidance on these topics, see the...

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note sets out the position as at 1 April 2013 on implementing the Jackson Reforms. It is not maintained and is provided solely for background purposes. In addition, some links may no longer direct you to the provisions as they appeared when this guidance was published. For further information on earlier and/or later amendments to the CPR, see: Practice Note: Jackson Reforms—one year on [ Archived] CPR updates—overview Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview New costs rules and practice directions A comprehensive review of the costs rules and practice directions was carried out by a subcommittee of the CPR Committee. The removal of rules concerning funding agreements required renumbering, so from 1 April 2013 costs are addressed in Parts 44–47 rather than Parts 43–48 as before. The costs practice direction has also been reorganised so there is now a separate...

This Practice Note sets out an overview of the powers exercised by the courts of England and Wales ( England and English are used for convenience) in connection with arbitral proceedings under English law and the Arbitration Act 1996 ( AA 1996), as amended by the Arbitration Act 2025 ( AA 2025), which received Royal Assent on 24 February 2025 and will be in force on the day of the statutory instrument. Further guidance can be found in Practice Note: A guide to the Arbitration Act 1996 ( AA 1996) and the ‘ Related documents’... The general principle—minimal interference by the courts in the arbitral process The AA 1996 is founded on three core principles, one of which safeguards party autonomy in arbitration while keeping court involvement to a minimum. That said, the English courts do possess certain powers to bolster the arbitral process. Many of these...

This is one of four Practice Notes on adverse possession. The others are: Establishing adverse possession of land Claiming title by adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1980 or the Land Registration Act 1925 Adverse possession and leases Introduction The Land Registration Act 2002 ( LRA 2002) took effect on 13 October 2003. It repeals the Land Registration Act 1925 ( LRA 1925) in its entirety, albeit with transitional provisions. Those transitional measures retain the previous approach to acquiring title by adverse possession where the case concerns: unregistered land, and registered land where the entitlement to registration arose before 13 October 2003 For details of the earlier regime, see Practice Note: Claiming title by adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1980 or the Land Registration Act 1925. Overview of the new regime under LRA 2002 LRA 2002 introduces a...

This is one of four Practice Notes on adverse possession. The others are: Establishing adverse possession of land Claiming title by adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1980 or the Land Registration Act 1925 Claiming title by adverse possession under the Land Registration Act 2002 Adverse possession of the demised premises by a squatter The tenant’s position A squatter will defeat and extinguish the tenant’s title to the demised premises if they can demonstrate continuous adverse possession for at least twelve years: at any time (if the lease is unregistered), or before 13 October 2003 (if the lease is registered) Consequently, the squatter will be entitled to apply to be registered as the proprietor. For additional guidance, with specific reference to unregistered leases, see HM Land Registry Practice Guide 5, para 7.1. For more detail, see Practice Notes:...

The Renting Homes ( Wales) Act 2016 ( RH( W) A 2016) The RH( W) A 2016 gained Royal Assent on 18 January 2016 and commenced on 1 December 2022. It significantly overhauled the manner in which properties are let in Wales across both public and private sectors. Multiple, complex statutes were consolidated into a single legal framework, intended to simplify the process and enhance flexibility and transparency. Guidance on renting homes has been issued by the Welsh Government and is available here. This Practice Note is chiefly directed at private sector landlords and tenants (who would formerly have entered into assured or assured shorthold tenancies), though many of the RH( W) A 2016 provisions discussed here apply to lettings in both the public and private sectors. For further material on public sector lettings, see the Practice Notes: Renting Homes ( Wales) Act...

The Property case tracker This tracker sets out notable 2023 judgments that we regard as relevant to property lawyers, presented with the newest first. It uses the following definitions: AST: assured shorthold tenancy CVA: company voluntary arrangement FTT: First-tier Tribunal HMO: house in multiple occupation LPA: local planning authority NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework RRO: rent repayment order RTM: right to manage TCC: Technology and Construction Court UT: Upper Tribunal ( Lands Chamber) VTE: Valuation Tribunal for England See also the Property key future developments tracker, which monitors the progress and outcome of appeal cases, while this document summarises all matters we consider relevant to property lawyers. See further: Property case tracker—2022 [ Archived] Property case tracker—2021 [ Archived] Property case tracker—2020 [...

This Practice Note examines when obligations in a property contract fuse on completion and what remedies might still be available once completion has taken place. For remedies relating to property contracts in general, see the following Practice Notes: Specific performance of property agreements Notice to complete Termination for breach of property contract Repudiation of property sale contracts Return or forfeiture of a deposit Misrepresentation, misstatement and non-disclosure in property matters Rectification—mutual mistake, and Rectification—unilateral mistake The general rule At common law, the same subject matter cannot be governed by two concurrent agreements. Where a contract is completed by deed, any contractual provisions that overlap with the deed are absorbed into the executed instrument and the contractual terms are extinguished. For instance, a sale contract for land merges into the transfer or conveyance, and an agreement for lease merges into the...