Fire Safety update
Many of you will be familiar with the Hackitt Report, the final version of which was published in May of this year, which made various recommendations following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
Read moreMany of you will be familiar with the Hackitt Report, the final version of which was published in May of this year, which made various recommendations following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
Read moreOpening the UN’s recent climate change summit in Katowice, Poland, Sir David Attenborough described climate change as “our greatest threat in thousands of years”. His message, at least in part, was no doubt directed at the real estate industry, where the sector purportedly accounts for over 25% of global carbon emissions.
Read moreWe understand from media reports today that the Migration Policy team at the Home Office has indicated that the Tier 1 (Investor) visa “is not currently suspended”. The team apparently also explains that “the Government remains committed to reforming the route. A further announcement will be made in due course. Any suspension would be implemented through changes to the Immigration Rules.”
Read moreThe ailing state of the British high street has dominated the headlines in 2018, as household names crash into CVAs and stalwarts such as M&S close stores up and down the country.
Read moreThis is the new "acid test" outlined in the Supreme Court's eagerly awaited decision in the case of S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Limited.
Read moreRICS research published earlier this year highlighted a number of concerns local authorities have over the use of office to residential permitted development rights.
Read moreGood Divorce Week aims to raise awareness of how separating or divorcing parents can limit the impact of conflict on their children. This year members of our Family team have contributed their own top tips for achieving a Good Divorce.
Read moreOn Thursday 22 November 2018, BPF Futures and Young Professionals in Real Estate Finance collaborated to facilitate intriguing panel discussions on retail and the high street.
Hosted by Aviva Investors at 1 Undershaft, the educational morning kicked off with a spirited update on the global economy by keynote speaker James Knightley (Chief International Economist, ING).
Read moreOn Thursday 15th November, White City Place was the venue for Cushman & Wakefield’s latest i-Suite event. A prestigious panel treated a large number of young professionals to a wide ranging and, at times, particularly thought provoking discussion on “Placemaking: Embracing Change in Tomorrow’s World”.
Read more“Part of a development site I am acquiring is Common Land. What does this mean and how could it impact on my plans for redevelopment?”
Read moreUnlike the 1954 Act, the commercial leasing market is constantly evolving and the extent to which the Court takes into account market practice is often uncertain.
Read moreThe fourth annual Palmer Capital Poker Tournament kicked off last Thursday at the Haymarket Hotel in London’s fashionable West End.
Read moreArmistice Day and Remembrance Day on 11 November 2018 not only prompts us to remember and honour those who sacrificed their lives in war but also provides us with an opportunity to look back on the impact that the end of the war had on the laws that were subsequently passed and which fundamentally changed the way that England and Wales were governed thereafter.
Read moreApproximately 85% of land in England and Wales has been registered at HM Land Registry (the "Land Registry"), amounting to 25 million titles.
Read moreOn Thursday 8th November, members of the Forsters’ Property Litigation team (plus one ringer) attended the Property Litigation Association’s Autumn Training Day. Held at the Royal Society of Medicine, there was a good turnout of the country’s finest property litigators gathered to hear talks on a wide range of topics.
Read moreThe advent of short-term letting arrangements through online platforms such as Airbnb has presented a challenge to landlords of residential buildings with concerns about the impact of such lettings.
Read moreOn the 1st of December 2013, Amazon.com CEO, Jeff Bezos revealed his plans for Amazon Prime Air – an unmanned drone delivery service - in an interview on CBS news programme, 60 Minutes. The scoffs from the sceptical would surely have been audible, even among the most forward thinking in Silicon Valley’s coffee shops and break-out spaces.
Read morePermitted development rights (or “PD rights”, for short) have long been seen as extremely advantageous in expediting certain developments; even more so following the extension of these rights to permit the conversion of underutilised office and agricultural buildings to residential dwellings; a move thought to be key in solving the current “housing crisis”.
Read moreIt has long been accepted that a freeholder (in theory) owns the subsoil beneath their land down to the centre of the earth and the airspace above their land up to the sky.
Read moreThe NHBC Buildmark Warranty is one of a number of New Home Warranties available on the UK market.
Read moreIn a previous blog entry, we discussed the likelihood of further regulatory change around energy efficiency. In turn, we can now report that the government has launched a consultation on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC).
Read moreJapanese knotweed has long been regarded as something of a nuisance and not a species that you would welcome as being identified on your property.
Read moreFollowing the Court of Appeal's decision last week in North Midland Building Limited v Cyden Homes Limited, we thought it would be helpful to briefly summarise the position.
Read moreThe gig economy is categorised by individuals receiving payment for the “gigs” they do. Those working in the, gig economy do not have fixed shifts and have the flexibility to work as much or as little as they like.
Read moreOn Thursday 28 June, the eyes of the sporting world briefly turned from Kaliningrad to Kew for the annual Forsters CRE cricket day.
With temperatures just shy of 30C, we were joined by client teams from BA Pensions, Caisson, La Salle and the Crown Estate for what always proves to be one of the highlights of the firm’s BD calendar.
Read moreFor those not lucky enough to attend the Urban Land Institute UK Annual Conference on 5 June, here are 3 take-away observations.
Read moreA new beneficial ownership register for overseas companies and other legal entities owning UK properties has been on the cards for some years.
Read moreOn 23 May Forsters' six-strong Banking & Finance team as well as a plucky second year trainee, Heather McDonald, were transported back to the world of nineties game-showing.
Read moreA group of retirement housing developers are celebrating after their successful judicial review challenge which determined that the viability re-appraisal requirements in the Mayoral Affordable Housing and Viability SPG are unlawful for short-term schemes.
Read moreThis article looks at the current fire safety regulations in respect of residential property in England. There is no single item of legislation that applies but rather a myriad of regulations which have arisen over the years. Some apply to all dwellings where as others will apply only to certain parts of buildings or to certain types of occupation.
Read moreAfter a hugely successful inaugural year, Forsters partner Emily Exton recently co-produced the second annual "Fresh Perspectives" contentious trusts conference, held at the W Hotel in Barcelona.
Read more"It is not a ground for divorce that you find yourself in a wretchedly unhappy marriage, though some people say that it should be."
Read moreMinimum energy efficiency standards (“MEES”) are now in force.
Read moreAny landlord or agent worth their salt will be only too aware of potential pitfalls when serving Section 21 notices to end Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in a post-Deregulation Act age.
Read moreOn Thursday, 26 April, Montagu Evans hosted the “Next Episode” in the series of Forsters LLP/ Montagu Evans knowledge sharing events. Previously, Josh Myerson and Mark Higgin had shared their business rates insight and experience with Forsters’ real estate departments and it was Forsters’ turn to return the favour.
Read moreOn 12 April 2018, the consultation on the 1st edition of the RICS professional statement: Code for leasing business premises (the “Revised Code”) closed. The Revised Code is set to replace the current voluntary 2007 Code for Leasing Business Premises in England and Wales (the “2007 Code”).
Read moreIn their Business Strategy report, 2017-2022, the Land Registry say that it is their ambition to become the world's leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
Read more"Best endeavours", "reasonable endeavours" and "all reasonable endeavours" are terms often used in contracts but perhaps not fully understood. Whilst most contractual obligations are expressed to be absolute, an endeavour is an agreement to try to fulfil an obligation. They will be used where a party is unwilling to agree to something absolutely.
Read moreOn Thursday 1 March circa 40 associates and senior associates from across Forsters came together to host the launch event for "FLIP" (Future Leaders in Property).
Read moreThis year marks the 11th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW 2018) and Forsters are proud to be part of this fantastic initiative. In September last year, the firm introduced its very first Apprenticeship Scheme.
Read moreHousing and the need to build more homes is the name of the game for 2018. If the Department for Communities and Local Government’s recent name change to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not enough of a clue, then there was the Chancellor’s 50% increase in annual housing targets in the Autumn Budget.
Read moreThe existence of a private right of way over a development site can have a major impact on the site's potential and value.
The developer may have no legal right to terminate the right or vary its route. This can cause problems where, for either financial or practical reasons, a developer is not able or willing to design a scheme which will accommodate it.
Read moreOn 1 April 2018, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is set to launch a new professional statement on best practice in the management of service charges in commercial property. The statement will supersede the existing edition of the RICS Code of Practice: Service charges in commercial property (3rd Edition).
Read moreIn the recent case of Holyoake v Candy the billionaire property developers Nick and Christian Candy were cleared of claims that they extorted money out of a former business associate, Mark Holyoake.
Read moreLeasehold tenure is currently in the spotlight. In some cases over the years leasehold tenure has strayed away from the purpose for which it was first introduced, being the sensible use of buildings with a shared fabric and infrastructure, and become a real means of deriving additional investment value from an asset for developers.
Read moreI was enormously privileged to be invited by Janders Dean to join their group for 2018’s LawWithoutWalls programme.
LawWithoutWalls (LWOW) teams 100 students from 30+ law and business schools around the world with academic, business, entrepreneur, and legal mentors.
Read moreAs 2018 kicks off, Megan Wade provides a reminder of some of the key legislative developments in recent years which are set to impact the UK commercial property industry this year.
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