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New lease of life

21 February 2014 / James Driscoll
Issue: 7595 / Categories: Features , Property
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James Driscoll summarises the key developments in the law relating to residential long leases in the past year

For the two million or so households who own leasehold flats, disputes over service charges and other criticisms of the general quality of management of a block of flats are all too common. These days, almost all such disputes are resolved in what is commonly known as the leasehold valuation tribunal. A key development this year was the merger of the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT), the rent assessment committee, the residential property tribunal, the Adjudicator for the Land Registry and the Agricultural Tribunal into a new First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) with new procedural rules, the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (with appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)).

 

Service charges

As always, there have been several decisions of the courts and the tribunal to consider. The most significant decision this year was that of the Supreme Court in Daejan Investments v Benson [2013] UKSC 14, [2013] 2 All ER 375. In a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

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From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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