header-logo header-logo

Time to move on?

29 July 2010 / Richard Castle , John Castle
Issue: 7428 / Categories: Features , Landlord&tenant , Property
printer mail-detail

Richard Castle & John Castle believe it’s time leases moved with the times

“The length and complexity of modern leases is a scandal. Something ought to be done.” So began an article called Leases: time for change which appeared in the legal press on 3 July 1985. Sadly, much the same complaint can be made today. In 25 years, not much improvement has been made in the style, layout, language and design of most leases. Does that matter? We think it does, and that it is still worth investing time and effort in an attempt to bring leases into the 20th century before too much of the 21st goes by.
Advances since 1985

It’s certainly not been all doom and gloom. The Law Commission put its weight behind reform, and the Law Society has published a series of well-written business leases. The Code for Leasing Business Premises (2007) has become known and does a lot to redress the imbalance between landlord and tenant, and to cut down sterile negotiations on lease

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll