Further lease guarantees from the same guarantor are unenforceable
15/02/10
The recent High Court decision in Good Harvest Partnership LLP v Centaur Services Limited has established that, for "new" leases (generally those granted from 1996 onwards), a guarantor of the tenant's interest cannot be required to give any further guarantee in respect of any assignees of the lease. Furthermore, even if the guarantor willingly offers a guarantee of the assignee's obligations, such guarantee will be unenforceable.
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Stamp duty land tax and 1954 Act lease renewals
04/01/10
A tenant with a business lease which has the protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 may hold over and then have a renewal lease granted to him. The rules about what Stamp Duty Land Tax you need to pay during the renewal process can be rather confusing. This note has been prepared to help you understand these rules.
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Land agreements to lose exemption under anti-competition rules
11/01/10
Under UK competition law anti-competitive provisions in an agreement may be held to be void but there is currently an exemption in place for all land agreements. However, with effect from 6 April 2011, the exemption will be repealed and land agreements will be subject to self-assessment in the same way as other types of agreement. This note summarises the background to the exemption, the reasons for the repeal and the implications of this.
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Rent is payable as an administration expense
04/01/10
A recent High Court decision has established that where a tenant is in administration and the administrator continues to use any part of the leasehold property for the purposes of the administration, the full rent is payable as an expense of the administration. This means that rent is payable ahead of most other debts, which is good news for landlords.
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Abolition of the rule against perpetuities for property transactions
22/02/10
The "rule against perpetuities", which currently restricts the creation of future interests in land, is being abolished in respect of all property transactions from 6 April 2010.
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