Case Law Flashcards
What is the main case law for the hierarchy of evidence and what is the hierarchy?
Lotus and Delta v Culverwell and Leicester City Council
Concerned a shop requesting values in line with comparables in the area
1) Rent on the property is the starting point (more weight if it falls in line with the definition)
2) Rents on other comparable properties in the area
3) Comparables in the rating list (more weight attached if the assessment is more established)
Which case considered timing of evidence, most weight closest to AVD.
Specialeyes v. Felgate (1992)
Which case considered tone settlement. Preferred settlement evidence than passing rent as nothing else able to test passing rent. 5 year after = list well established.
Futures London v. Stratford (2005)
Which case considered repair and describe the issue
Newbigin (VO) v Monk [2017]
VO argued that a property must be in an uneconomic state of repair in order to be zero rated as shown in schedule 6 para 2(1)(b) of the LGFA’s assumptions. However it was found that this assumption did not extend to items that have been removed and therefore if found to be unable of beneficial occupation then the property must be removed from the rating list
Which case defined rateable occupation
John Laing and Sons v Kingswood Assessment Committee
Actual
Beneficial
Exclusive
Transience
What legislation defines the merger of units and when can 2 hereditaments be merged
Property in Common Occupation act
properties can be merged when contiguous e.g. boundaries touching and both units are not used for completely different purposes
Which case covered mode and category of occupation and what were the 2 limbs
Scottish and Newcastle v Williams
Wine bar that the VO wanted to be valued in line with shop. Found that alterations under the use limb would offend the rebus sic stantibus ruling.
1) Physical limb, property must be valued as it stands, cant consider serious physical alteration
2) Use class, can only be considered in current mode and category of occupation
What are the recent MCC cases and what do they show
Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd v Cox
4 tests:
1) Does the matter concern an intrinsic characteristic of the hereditament or locality? If it concerns the way the party conducts their business then it is not an MCC
2) Does the matter concern a characteristic of the hereditament?
3) Does it matter characteristics of the locality
4) Is the matter physically manifest in the locality
Cases found that the decline in business was due to the manner in which the occupier operated their business
What was the recent court ruling regarding ATM’s
Cardtronics v Sykes
Supreme court ruled that ATM’s capable of separate hereditaments however due to general control they are in rateable occupation of the host
What is the leading case on air conditioning and what does it explain
Dorothy Perkins v Casey (VO) LT 1994 RA 391.
1) Is the air conditioning reflected in the rent
2) If so analyse to see the effect of A/C on the rental market being considered
3) Identify if there is any comparable rental evidence
4) Where there is no comparable evidence typically a cost of providing the A/C will be reflected and adjusted into an annual equivalent
5) A back-stop approach at £4.00/m² is provided for use in the absence of any more reliable evidence of value to the area benefitting from the AC.
What’s the leading case on market demand
Telereal Trillium v Hewitt
Office block occupied at the AVD but vacant at the start of the rating list. Proposed £1 RV as no demand for the site and couldn’t be occupied. Supreme Court found that property was to be valued at a reduced rate. Occupation of other similar properties in the area indicated a general demand
What happened in the Scottish and Newcastle Case
2 Public houses in Milton Keynes that were valued in line with shops in the area. Ratepayer had contested that they should be valued in line with their use. Held that the property should be valued as a public house.
What were the findings in the Scottish and Newcastle Case
- What has to be determined is the value to the occupier
2 limbs considered when valuing things as they stand (rebus sic stantibus)
1) Physical limb: only minor alterations can be considered. Works must be taken in the context of the hereditament
2) Mode and category: property can only be used for purposes within the same mode and category of occupation. However this did not disregard rental evidence from properties with different uses
What were the findings in the Fir Mill case
Fir Mill identified 2 rules
1) The property is vacant to let
2) property is valued in the current mode or category of occupation
‘shop as a shop but not any particular kind of shop’
What were the findings in Midland Bank
All competitive bids in the real world could be taken into account even those of different modes and categories as the current occupier would have to compete with this demand
The case wrongly stated that the mode and category included any use that the market would bid for. For example if a retail occupier was to bid for an art gallery then they would be in the same mode and category of occupation
