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04 April 2019 / Rawdon Crozier
Issue: 7835 / Categories: Features , Property
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Notes on a scandal: freeholders & medieval robber barons (Pt 2)

Summing up his series on the unfairness of escalating ground rent, Rawdon Crozier proposes a way out of the dungeon

  • Could the Housing Act Trap render escalating ground rent a derogation from grant?

Part 1 of this speculative article explained the Housing Act Trap. Part 2 explores whether the trap might render escalating ground rent a derogation from grant and thus, as a matter of law, capable of being struck down.

Rule of law

Megarry & Wade (Law of Real Property, 5th edition) described derogation from grant as a free-standing and independent rule of law, an analysis endorsed by the Court of Appeal in Johnston & Sons Ltd v Holland [1988] 1 EGLR 264. It applies to all forms of grant and, while commonly associated with leases and other contracts relating to land, it is also encountered in contracts concerning:

  • Intellectual property, eg Gloucester Place Music Ltd v Le Bon [2016] EWHC 3091 (Ch) where the serving of notices by members of
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    MOVERS & SHAKERS

    Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

    Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

    Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

    Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

    Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

    Firm announces appointment of next chair

    Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

    Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

    Director joins corporate team from the US

    NEWS
    What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
    Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
    When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
    When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
    NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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