Please find below the latest blog posts from our Landlord and Tenant team.
Common Land is the term used to refer to land on which there is a general right to roam by the general public. The restrictions on what you are and what you are not permitted to carry out on common land are onerous on owners of common land, with the most...
On 4th July 2024, the UK saw a change of government to the Labour Party. This means we will see changes in policy and legislation across multiple sectors, not least within the Welsh rental market. The Welsh Assembly Government’s Labour-led Senedd will...
Whether you are a tenant farmer or a landowner with a tenant farmer in occupation, planning for the future is the key to making sure that you are prepared for when family members retire or pass away. At JCP Solicitors we act for both landlords and...
Amongst the numerous changes introduced by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (“RHWA”) when it came into force on 1 December 2022, was the inclusion of a term in all periodic or short-term (under 7 years) fixed Standard Occupation Contracts,...
Land disputes commonly imply a dispute between neighbours of the boundary line between their properties and can be a very common source of contention between neighbours. However, in practice land disputes can encompass various matters, including...
As the Renting Homes (Wales) Act has updated the law on tenancies in Wales, Ben Davies , a Director in our Property Litigation team, explains how some of the changes will impact landlords and tenants in Wales. Welsh housing law underwent a seismic change...
Fly-tipping, the illegal dumping of waste on land or water, not only spoils our enjoyment of our towns and countryside but can also affect the environment, harming wildlife and potentially our own health. Repeated instances can also affect property...
The new Renting Homes (Wales) Act (2016) (“the Act”) was implemented on 1 December 2022 and introduced considerable changes of which private residential landlords must be aware. These changes are effective immediately. A key change under the Act...
As landlords know, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (“the Act”) was due to be brought into force on 15 July 2022. However, yesterday (30 May 2022) the Welsh Government announced that they have decided to postpone the implementation of the Act...
Following the outbreak of coronavirus, the government has enacted legislation with the aim to help those that have been affected. The most recent piece of legislation is the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 (the “Act”) which was passed on...
"The recent storms have broken the fence at the bottom of my garden, but who is responsible for replacing it?" Fences can be a source of major disagreement between neighbours, especially when those fences become damaged and there is a need (and...
Private landlords will be aware of the forthcoming sizeable changes to Housing Law in Wales. The new Act will be implemented from 15 July 2022, but what does this mean? Tenants and licences will be called ‘contract holders’ and their tenancy or...
The Welsh Government announced on 17 December 2021 that they are extending the use of the current notice periods for residential properties (which were lengthened due to the pandemic) until 24 March 2022. These temporary notice periods were due to expire on...
JCP Solicitors is pleased to welcome a new Director to work across its Rural and Property Litigation Teams, reinforcing the firm’s very strong specialisms in these areas. Rhys Evans joins the practice to head up the teams in the South East offices....
The High Court has recently awarded judgment in favour of a commercial landlord in a claim for rent arrears which accrued since (and largely due to) the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In London Trocadero (2015) LLP v Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd [2021], the...
The Government has now announced (on Wednesday 16 June 2021) that it will be taking further action to introduce yet another extension to the protections from forfeiture for non-payment of rent. The Government’s announcement confirms that the...
Most commercial leases enable a landlord to terminate a lease by forfeiture if the tenant breaches its obligations. Once the right to forfeit the lease has arisen, if the landlord acts in such a way so as to treat the lease as continuing it will have waived...
The Welsh Government has recently taken action to introduce a further extension to the protections from forfeiture for non-payment of rent for business tenancies in Wales. The 3 month extension is being introduced by way of the Business Tenancies...
The Welsh Government has taken steps to make permanent a number of changes originally introduced to assist tenants during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill was passed on 23 February 2021 and will amend the Renting Homes...
Social distancing has become part of our life now, but distance between neighbours has always been a potential flashpoint, when it comes to boundary disputes. If you think your neighbour has overstepped their boundary, or is encroaching on your territory,...
It isn’t uncommon for a struggling commercial tenant to think that they can simply hand back the keys to a property in a bid to escape their obligations under their lease. This, clearly, leaves a landlord in a bind, and our highly experienced Property...
We regularly act for those seeking to pursue and defend claims for private nuisance. This generally involves someone doing something on their land which substantially and unreasonably interferes with neighbouring land. In these cases, a claimant can seek...
The Welsh Government has taken action to introduce regulations to suspend evictions from social and private rented accommodation over the Christmas and New Year period. The restrictions have been given legal force in Wales by the Public Health...
On 9 December 2020 the Government published regulations to extend the restrictions on forfeiture of commercial tenancies for non-payment of rent in England and Wales to 31 March 2021 . The extension to these protections means commercial tenants will have...
The Coronavirus Act 2020 (CVA 2020) came into force on 26 March 2020 and introduced emergency measures to temporarily deny landlords the right to forfeit (bring to an end) relevant business tenancies for the non-payment of rent. Under section 82 of the CVA...
For assured shorthold tenancies, a landlord has two routes by which he may recover possession of his property by way of serving notice. A landlord can serve notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (“the HA 1988”). Alternatively, a...
The Coronavirus Act 2020 (CVA 2020) has now come into force bringing with it emergency measures for commercial tenancies. Commercial landlords will no doubt be anxious to know how these measures will impact them and will want to know what, if any, action...
New regulations which came into effect on 24 July 2020 has meant that landlords wanting to serve a notice to end their tenant’s occupation of their Welsh property will now have to provide 6 months as opposed to 3 months (except under certain grounds in...
Legislation has been passed in the form of the Business Tenancies (Extension and Protection from Forfeiture) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 which come in to force on 30th June 2020, further preventing Landlords from ending business tenancies for non-payment...
The stay (pause) on possession proceedings has been extended until 23 August 2020, giving those who rent property in England and Wales further protection from eviction. Previously the stay was due to come to an end on 25 June 2020. The stay affects...
In response to the outbreak of covid-19 new rules were introduced in March this year that affect landlords’ powers to obtain possession of their properties. We have been contacted by many residential landlords and tenants during this difficult...
In March this year new rules were introduced that, effectively, halted property owners’ powers to obtain possession of residential and commercial property by way of Court proceedings. This Practice Direction (Practice Direction 51Z) was put in...
Living in an apartment block suits many people but it can bring its own challenges – not least the fact that you will be living very close to your neighbours. Friction can arise even among good neighbours and occasionally these issues can lead to legal...
The Taking Control of Goods and Certification of Enforcement Agents (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 has introduced temporary legislation to restrict commercial Landlords exercising their rights to seize and take their Tenants’ goods when...
Most commercial leases enable a landlord to terminate a lease by forfeiture if the tenant breaches its obligations. Once the right to forfeit the lease has arisen, if the landlord acts in such a way so as to treat the lease as continuing it can lose the...
The Coronavirus has had a major impact on civil court proceedings, whilst some urgent hearings are taking place most are delayed for the time being. It is not just hearings which are delayed but there has been a suspension of new possession proceedings...
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has now come into force, it brings with it emergency measures concerning commercial tenancies. Commercial landlords and tenants will be anxious to know how these measures will impact them and what action they should be taking during...
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has now come into force, bringing emergency measures that affect residential tenancies. Schedule 29 of the Act introduces important statutory amendments that affect notice periods for residential tenancies in England and...
The Government has published the Coronavirus Bill 2019-21, outlining new measures coming into force for both residential and commercial landlords and tenants, in these unusual times. The effect of the measures for residential tenancies appears to be less...
Under proposed emergency legislation recently announced by the Housing Secretary, evictions from social and private rented accommodation for any tenant affected by the Coronavirus outbreak will be suspended for a period of three months. The Housing...
Sarah Davies, JCP Director and Head of Property Litigation, shares some advice on commercial property leases. If you are planning to set up a business or to expand from a home-based business to having a dedicated office or shop front, you should...
Interim Possession Order –A Quicker Procedure To Remove Squatters Applying for an Interim Possession Order (‘IPO’) from the Court is an option available to a landlord (both individually and commercially) who finds anybody occupying their...
If you are a Letting Agent and want an update and overview on the most effective way to remove tenants from rented residential property, Sarah Davies, Director and Head of Property Litigation at JCP Solicitors, has a short presentation that she is...
You may have seen in the Press that the Government’s Autumn Statement announced that from 1 April this year, there is to be a 3% increase in stamp duty for second property purchases, such as second homes and buy to let properties. The higher rates...
As the Welsh Government's Rent Smart Wales scheme goes live, we look at recent developments, revisit the key changes and outline how to ensure compliance with the new laws: In this, our third article this year on the significant new legal changes...
The most useful summary of the hedge and ditch rule can be found in the ruling of Judge Lawrence in Vowles v Miller (1810). “The rule about ditching is this. No man, making a ditch, can cut into his neighbour’s soil, but usually he cuts it to...
A snapshot of the new Welsh Government legislation set to affect landlords and agents in Wales. Designed to improve the standards of letting and management practice in the private rental sector in Wales, important new laws set to be introduced in autumn...
The Welsh Government has published two consultations which seeks views on the Regulation of Private Housing and a Code of Practice for landlords and agents in connection with the private rented sector. The consultation closes on 7 May 2015. For those...
In this week’s Ask The Legal Expert blog, we get the latest specialist advice from our Property team: I want to sell my house, but where are my deeds? When you originally bought your house, after successfully being registered as the new owner of...
H M Land Registry has set up an alert system to help property owners protect themselves against property fraud. Property fraud can happen by fraudsters impersonating the registered owner or, the fraudsters can use forged documents to attempt to acquire...
Are you ready to comply with the new Welsh Government regulations to ensure that you are not held liable for your tenants’ water bills? Effective from 1 January 2015, under new regulations introduced by the Welsh Government, if you own a residential...
What is a Business Lease? The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“the Act”) provides that leases of a fixed term of over 6 months or where the tenant has been in occupation for 12 months can gain protection from the Act. In order to gain protection...
