Featured documents
This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
Most recent Practice notes
Scottish Property case tracker The Scottish Property case tracker compiles notable 2026 judgments we regard as relevant to Scottish property lawyers. Entries are presented in reverse chronological order. See also the Scottish property key developments tracker—2026, which follows the progress of appeal cases and, once determined, incorporates them into this document together with other decisions we consider pertinent to Scottish property lawyers. Abbreviations FTS — First Tier Tribunal for Scotland LTS — Lands Tribunal Scotland UTS — Upper Tribunal for Scotland April 2026 Simon Pelosi v Lanarkshire Housing Association Ltd [2026] CSIH 21 Court of Session holds that contamination must present a genuine health risk with proven causation Judgement date: 30 April 2026 The Inner House of the Court of Session dismissed the tenants’ appeal, confirming that to breach the statutory duties under the Housing ( Scotland) Act 1987 and Housing ( Scotland) Act...
The Property key future developments tracker monitors forthcoming developments relevant to property lawyers. When a development occurs, it is moved to the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events in 2025. Appeal cases What’s happening? When? Find out more Sale of mortgaged property — defaulting mortgagor vs receiver Fairmont Property Developers UK v Venus Bridging Ltd and others [2025] EWCA Civ 1513 The Court of Appeal gave judgment on 26 November 2025. The Court of Appeal rejected an appeal against a refusal to exercise the discretion in section 91 LPA 1925 to allow a mortgagor to control the sale, confirming that only exceptional circumstances justify interfering with mortgagees’ contractual rights when they are actively exercising a power of sale, and that applicants must show a real likelihood of sale at an undervalue, not a mere possibility. The mortgagor appellant had defaulted on borrowing secured by a second...
Property key future developments tracker This tracker highlights significant forthcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. When a development materialises, it is transferred to the archive for the appropriate year. This entry records events that took place in 2023. Appeal cases Service charge — costs of litigation Dell and another v 89 Holland Park ( Management) Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1460 The Court of Appeal issued its judgment on 8 December 2023. The appeal addressed whether the landlord appellants could recover £430,411.00 in service charges from the respondent lessees, being part of £2,763,521.00 incurred during disputes with an adjoining landowner. At first instance, the First-tier Tribunal ( Property Chamber) decided the sums were recoverable, but the Upper Tribunal allowed an appeal and overturned that decision. In the Court of Appeal, Lady Justice Falk, with Lord Justice Arnold and Lord Justice Philips concurring, held that Judge Cooke was right to find that the...
Property key future developments tracker The Property key future developments tracker monitors notable forthcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. When a development materialises, it is transferred to the archive for the appropriate year. This is the archive of matters that took place in 2022. Appeal cases Residential ground rent notices Stampfer v Avon Ground Rents Ltd [2022] UKUT 68 ( LC) What’s happening? The Court of Appeal concluded that a landlord could not recover a ground rent collection fee for the cost of preparing the formal rent demand required by section 166 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 ( CLRA 2002). Although the lease expressly permitted recovery of costs relating to ‘the collection of rents’, the court held that, under CLRA 2002, s 166, rent is not collectable until it is due—that is, until the statutory section 166 notice has been served....
Licence due diligence When advising the purchaser of a hotel, there are a range of potential licensing matters connected to food, drink and entertainment that may arise, which will depend on the activities undertaken at the property. These can include: supplying alcohol to guests in a bar, dining room, lounge, via room-service or through in-room mini-bars playing music in shared hotel areas, the restaurant, dining room and bar providing food throughout the night, whether by vending machines or room service installing gaming machines or offering gambling facilities on site dancing performed to guests or opportunities for guests to take part showing films other than within a community premises hosting weddings It will be necessary to assess whether the trading activities of the target hotel require licences and, if so, whether those licences can be transferred to the buyer. This Practice Note addresses licences under the Licensing Act 2003 ( LA 2003), Live Music Act 2012 (...
Japanese knotweed Japanese knotweed was brought to the UK in the 19th century as an ornamental garden plant. In Japan it had been used to stabilise sand banks, and it has been suggested it served a similar role in the UK on embankments. Free from the competitors, diseases and animals that restrain it in its native range, its unchecked, invasive habit soon made it a pest here. Because only female plants were introduced, there was no pollen from male plants, so fertile seeds failed to form. Consequently, virtually all knotweed in the UK has spread from tiny fragments of plant material, mainly roots, carried to new places within knotweed-contaminated soil. The plant expands rapidly below ground and sends up annual shoots each spring. Roots and shoots alike can exploit cracks in buildings and hard surfaces such as concrete and tarmac, gradually causing...
Merger A lease can be determined by merger when the lease and the reversion are brought together in a single person who holds both in the same capacity. That said, merger does not follow automatically from such vesting. It is a question of intention, and where there is no direct evidence, the default presumption is that no merger was intended. Signs of a contrary intention have been found where: the tenant has not asked HM Land Registry to merge its freehold and leasehold titles; and merger would strip the tenant of the benefit of valuable easements. Where no merger occurs, the reversion and the lease continue as separate estates and can be dealt with independently (e.g. assigned or charged) by their common owner(s). All rights and burdens attaching to each estate pass to any successor in title of that estate. Charge over...
Trusts commonly arise in commercial transactions in two principal scenarios: express trusts, namely a trust intentionally established as the vehicle or structure by which individuals can take part in a transaction or arrangement imposed trusts (for example, a resulting trust or a remedial constructive trust) that arise by operation of law to provide a participant in a transaction with a remedy after a trustee’s breach of duty or the misconduct of a third party, or to prevent injustice General issues Where an express trust is deployed to give effect to a commercial transaction, it is crucial to establish: who the current trustees are (which requires reviewing the trust instrument and any deeds of retirement, removal, or appointment of trustees) the scope of their express and statutory powers (in addition to the trust instrument, you will need to consider the...
Houses in multiple occupation ( HMO) licensing Responsibility for licensing HMOs rests with the local housing authority ( LHA) for the area where the HMO is situated. This Practice Note sets out who must apply for a licence, identifies the relevant persons for service of notice, explains who counts as a fit and proper person, and outlines the procedure on application, grant, refusal or renewal. It also details the conditions to be met by the proposed licence holder, the licence fee, and how long the licence will last. Licensing by the LHA is mandatory under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004 ( HA 2004) for HMOs that fall within the prescribed description. Discretionary schemes are available through additional licensing of HMOs under Part 2, and selective licensing of other privately rented housing under Part 3, in areas designated by the LHA. In England, new...
Exemption from SDLT can be claimed for land transactions between bodies corporate which are members of the same group for SDLT purposes at the effective date (generally, completion) of their intra-group land transaction. For more information, see the following Practice Notes: SDLT group relief SDLT—meaning of group With effect from 1 April 2015, SDLT stopped applying to land transactions that concern any interests in or over land in Scotland. From that day, such transactions are within land and buildings transaction tax ( LBTT), subject to transitional rules. Accordingly, any references in this Practice Note to ‘ UK land’, or similar wording in the context of SDLT, should be read as excluding interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. For further details, see the LBTT subtopic. SDLT also ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interest in or over land in Wales from 1...
The most frequent delicts arising in property disputes are negligence, nuisance and trespass; see Practice Notes: Property disputes in Scotland (delictual and statutory) and Property disputes in Scotland—negligence and trespass. Nuisance describes any use of land that interferes with a neighbour’s enjoyment of their property. Situations where a nuisance remedy may apply include uses that: generate offensive smells or odours produce noise cause flooding to a neighbour’s property In Scotland, nuisance is classified as either common law or statutory nuisance. Common law nuisance—invasion of interest in the use and enjoyment of private land At common law, nuisance is broadly characterised as ‘an invasion of an interest in land’. Liability is assessed by the ‘reasonable tolerability’ test, which is context‑dependent and may vary with factors such as locality, impact, frequency, and the utility of the conduct in question; see The nature of the test for determining liability for...
Statutory Powers To assist in resolving disputes, the LTS exercises a range of powers granted by statute in relation to: modifying or extinguishing title conditions, see: Powers as respects title conditions: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [224] public sector tenants’ rights to buy their homes, see: House sales to public sector tenants: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [226] challenged compensation for compulsory purchase of land, or diminution in land value arising from public works, see, eg: Compulsory purchase of land: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [666] appeals against specified decisions of the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, see: Questions relating to the accuracy of the Land Register: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [225] appeals concerning valuation of land for pre-emptive purchase by community bodies, see Practice Notes: Rights to buy affecting land in Scotland—snapshot, Part 2 community right to buy and asset transfer requests in...
This Practice Note considers circumstances where a tenant seeks to expand the footprint it occupies within a building or across the same scheme or estate. It covers: the danger of an unintended surrender and regrant if the parties attempt to vary the tenant’s current lease to capture the extra premises when it is preferable to grant a fresh lease of the additional premises principal transactional and drafting considerations on granting a lease of more space (including whether, and in what manner, it should be tied to the tenant’s existing lease) Key risk—avoiding surrender and regrant When granting extra accommodation to an incumbent tenant, it is vital to avert an accidental surrender and regrant of the existing term. Where a tenant wants further space in the same building or development, the parties might be inclined to amend the lease to fold in the extra area. Yet any...
Capacity to sell Trustees of land possess, in relation to the land comprised in the trust, all the powers that an absolute owner would enjoy as if they held the title outright. A purchaser from trustees does not need to be concerned with whether the trustees have complied with their obligations under the Trustees of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ( TOLATA 1996). In the case of registered land, the trustees’ power to sell can be qualified by the registration of a standard Form A restriction. Such an entry may appear to limit their ability to dispose; however, where the beneficiaries’ interests are overreached, this will ordinarily be sufficient for HM Land Registry to remove the restriction, without any further action required from the buyer. Overreaching A purchaser of land from trustees will not be affected by the trusts on which the land is held if the...
This Practice Note is one of four on adverse possession. The others are: 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 and leases Introduction Adverse possession of land arises where occupation of land conflicts with the title of the true owner. The person in adverse possession (described in this Practice Note as ‘the squatter’) must demonstrate factual possession (see Factual possession below) together with an intention to possess (see Intention to possess below). The squatter’s adverse possession must continue, without interruption, for the required period (see Required period of adverse possession below). Although factual possession and intention to possess are separate elements, one piece of conduct can prove both. For example, putting up a fence that excludes everyone except the...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 ( PSTIA 2022) is only partly in effect. Additional measures will commence on dates to be set by regulations. PSTIA 2022 updates elements of the Code and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954), mainly on rights to share apparatus, valuation on an LTA 1954 renewal, and dealing with unresponsive occupiers. Both the current and anticipated adjustments are highlighted in the Practice Note below... The Code The Electronic Communications Code (the ‘ Code’) appears in sections 106–119 and Schedule 3A Part 1 of the Communications Act 2003 ( CA 2003). It superseded the earlier Electronic Communications Code formerly in Schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act 1984 ( TA 1984), as amended by CA 2003. This Practice Note explains the scope of Code rights, how they are created (by agreement between the parties or by court...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 secured Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, refer to Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Practice Note examines obligations implied by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ( LTA 1985) into dwelling tenancies, addressing fitness for human habitation and repair. LTA 1985, s 9A (inserted by the Homes ( Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 ( H( FHH) A 2018)) provides for certain English dwelling leases to include implied landlord covenants concerning fitness for human habitation. LTA 1985, s 11 stipulates that specified dwelling leases contain implied covenants by the landlord relating to repair. LTA 1985, s 11 does not apply to dwellings let under occupation contracts governed by the Renting Homes ( Wales) Act 2016 ( RH( W) A 2016). RH( W) A...
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...
Stop Press : Finance Act 2026 ( FA 2026) makes two changes to the non-resident capital gains tax rules. FA 2026, s 40 clarifies that, for TCGA 1992, Sch 1AA purposes-namely whether an asset derives at least 75% of its value from UK land and whether the disposer has a substantial indirect interest in UK land-every cell within a protected cell company ( PCC) is to be treated as a standalone company. This applies to disposals occurring on and after 26 November 2025. FA 2026, s 41 provides that where (i) a company or individual disposes of an asset deriving at least 75% of its value from UK land, (ii) the disposal has an ‘appropriate connection’ to a collective investment vehicle ( CIV) (as defined in TCGA 1992, Sch 5AAA, para 6), and (iii) the gain is exempt under a double taxation treaty, the company or...
This Practice Note examines the Economic Crime ( Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 ( EC( TE) A 2022) as it applies to property transactions. For a broader summary of EC( TE) A 2022, see Practice Note: Register of overseas entities that hold UK property-fundamentals. The provisions establishing a register of overseas entities and requiring their registration at Companies House commenced on 1 August 2022, while the land ownership and registration measures took effect on 5 September 2022. Additional regulations under EC( TE) A 2022-such as those defining an ‘exempt’ overseas entity-are still awaited. Overseas entities and qualifying estates Overseas entities that own a qualifying estate in land in England and Wales must observe EC( TE) A 2022. An overseas entity, for these purposes, is any non- UK body corporate, partnership or other entity that is a legal person under the law that governs it. This may...
Popular documents
When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
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 ...
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 ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
