Build to Rent – The Mayor’s New Planning Pathway
The Mayor of London has revealed his plans for his “shake up” of affordable housing and viability. He has published his draft guidance on the topic, which is open for consultation until 28 February...
View ArticleTop Hats and Baseball Caps: Old vs New Estates in the Battle for London
Hogan Lovells hosted the Reading Real Estate Foundation Breakfast Forum (RREF) on 8 December 2016. RREF is a registered charity that provides support for real estate and planning education at the...
View ArticleDon’t sweep CIS under the carpet
Many a switched-on landlord will already be familiar with the perils of the Construction Industry Scheme. The Scheme, designed rather like PAYE to place the burden of tax collection on those employing...
View ArticleI’m Dreaming of a White Paper…
With an unusually warm 25th December forecast this year, the prospect of a white Christmas looks slim, but with the government’s Housing White Paper due in early 2017, The Year of the Rooster, we’re...
View ArticleOur Top Ten Planning Changes for 2017
Last year was full of surprises (and not just in planning!), so we thought that we would share our thoughts on some of the big planning changes that are due to take place this year. We were expecting...
View ArticleHS2: chugging towards its final destination
The government has now issued its formal response to the House of Lords’ special report on the hybrid bill for HS2, issued in December. Whilst much of this relates to specific petitioners it also...
View ArticleFalling Foul of Flying Freeholds
A mental image of a building sprouting wings and taking to the sky is one way to picture a flying freehold, but mention the phrase to most property lawyers and their hearts will sink. Discovering a...
View ArticleDraft Airports NPS takes off…
On 2 February 2017 the Government published its highly anticipated draft Airports National Policy Statement (“NPS”) alongside a consultation on the contents of the draft NPS. The draft NPS The draft...
View ArticleNew Law on Revenge Evictions Goes Cold
The BBC reported this week that fewer than half of the local authorities in England have been called upon to prevent so-called “revenge evictions” since new laws came into force on 1 October 2015. The...
View ArticleIPF Launches Template Non-Disclosure Agreement and Exclusivity Agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, is typically entered into between parties who need to share confidential information with each other in order to evaluate...
View ArticleThe Construction Industry Scheme: Change in the air?
What does real estate investment have to do with the problem of tax evasion made possible by cash-in-hand payments in the building industry? Very little, one might suspect, but that has not prevented...
View ArticleRevolution or Evolution – Protect & Survive
The annual Hogan Lovells CBRE Hotel Conference 2017 The threat from terrorism will continue well into the next decade and every country and major organisation needs a counter-terrorism plan. This was...
View ArticleSupreme Court decision slashes empty rates bills for developers
The rateable value of commercial premises is generally equal to the rent payable under a hypothetical letting on the relevant assessment date. There are some express statutory assumptions for this – it...
View ArticleQuit (Illicit) Smoking – new proposals will affect landlords
Landlords could potentially find themselves hit with new lease requirements, periodic checking obligations and even financial penalties following the publication of the ‘Sanctions to tackle tobacco...
View ArticleHELP AT LAST! GOVERNMENT PUBLISHES GUIDANCE ON MINIMUM ENERGY EFFICIENCY...
The Government has published its long-awaited guidance on the minimum energy efficiency standards regulations that will start to apply to non-domestic properties in April 2018. We previously blogged...
View ArticleBusiness rates revaluation 2017: an explanation
On 1 April 2017 the business rates payable in respect of properties in England and Wales will be changing. Business rates are the tax that businesses pay on the retail, office and industrial premises...
View ArticleTerrorist Attacks: The importance of adequate security measures at hotels
Hotels are targets for terrorists due to the likely presence of foreign tourists and the consequent possibility of impacting multiple nations with one attack. We blogged...
View ArticleTenant insolvency – Is there merit in a further moratorium?
The recent spate of high-profile company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), including those of BHS, Store 21 and more recently Love Coffee, The Food Retailer Group and Blue Inc, has placed this corporate...
View ArticleSquatting in mansions: The risk to residential as well as commercial premises
Since the beginning of this year, the so called Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians has occupied a number of multimillion pound residential properties in and around Belgravia. Autonomous...
View ArticleHogan Lovells wins Real Estate Team of the Year at Legal Business Awards 2017
Hogan Lovells is delighted to have won Real Estate Team of the Year, jointly with Gowling WLG, for its work on the £3bn redevelopment of Brent Cross South. The scheme has been described as one of the...
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