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21 March 2014 / John Sharples
Issue: 7599 / Categories: Features , Property
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Nothin’ goin’ on but the rent

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Commercial rent arrears recovery: John Sharples asks are you ready?

Commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) has had a long gestation. The outline of the scheme is set out in Pt 3 and Sch 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA 2007). Its implementation however was delayed to allow consultation with interested groups. This has now happened and the result is the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1894) (TCGR 2013). They bring CRAR into effect and set out the procedure that landlords must follow.

Modernisation

CRAR is meant to modernise and codify a difficult and ancient body of law. Distress, although quick and cheap, was thought to give landlords an unfair advantage over non-secured creditors and cause potentially unnecessary disruption to tenants’ businesses. It was however (and partly for that reason) relatively effective.

CRAR introduces more checks and balances, but as a result will be a slower and more costly process. More seriously the need to serve advance notice, which gives tenants time to remove goods before

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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