Welcome to the latest edition of E:gen, Winckworth Sherwood’s Regeneration and Development Newsletter.
In this edition we look at the Social Housing White Paper, the new Use Classes Order and much more.
If you have any questions please get in touch with the authors who are happy to discuss these topics further.
Articles:
- Modifying Restrictive Covenants: Not Always in the Public Interest?
The recent Supreme Court decision in Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd provides yet more useful guidance for developers on how Section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 will be applied to future Section 84 applications to the Upper Tribunal, particularly in relation to the public interest test. - The new Use Classes Order – More Changes and Challenges
In summer 2020 the Government introduced wide-ranging planning reforms which overhauled many use classes following concerns over failing high streets and the COVID-19 pandemic. Use classes determine how the use of a building is classified for planning purposes and on 1 September several new use classes came into effect. In particular, the reforms introduced the broad new “high street” Commercial, Business and Services use class (Class E) which encompasses shops, restaurants and cafés, offices and gyms. - Social Housing White Paper
In November 2020, the Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper (“White Paper”) was published. The White Paper sets out a new regulatory system which aims to protect and give a stronger voice to social housing tenants, with a view to ‘provide greater redress, better regulation and improve the quality of social housing’ in England. - Impact of the Brexit Deal on Existing Contracts
Four years after the 2016 Brexit referendum vote and following months of negotiation, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was announced by leaders of the European Union and the United Kingdom on 24 December 2020. The TCA averted the uncertainty of a “no-deal” Brexit and marks an important change in the UK’s relationship with the EU, which has provoked a mass review of operating procedures for businesses on both sides of the English Channel. - When Vacant Possession of a Property Is Just Too Vacant
A break clause can be included in a fixed term lease allowing either the landlord or the tenant to terminate the lease early. The right to break may arise on one or more specified dates or it may be exercisable at any time during the term on a rolling basis. - Shared Ownership leaseholders can qualify for enfranchisement rights without staircasing
There have been conflicting authorities as to whether a shared ownership leaseholder has the right to claim an extended lease or participate in a right to manage or freehold claim.
- Government’s Announcement of Reforms to Make it Easier and Cheaper for Leaseholders to Buy Their Homes – What Can We Expect Next?
The Government has disclosed its position on a few of the potential reforms it has been consulting around in recent years as regards the relationship between leaseholders and their landlords