Landlord and Tenant Flashcards
At Park Lane, please can you outline 5 of the Heads of Terms which you agreed?
Rent, rent review mechanism and timescale, break clause, lift and shift. redevelopment break clause and fees
At Park Lane, what Rent review mechanism was agreed and why that was appropriate?
5 yearly RPI review and appropriate as the rent would increase inline with inflation
At Park Lane, how did agreeing to a 5-yearly RPI review put your client in a better place than another type of review?
It ensured the rent would only increase in line with inflation opposed to an Open Market Review
Under the lease renewal at Beaumont House, you provided some valuation advice. What was the approach to valuation?
The code was introduced at the end of 2017 and since then there has been a number of legal disputes since then. A number of disputes have related to valuation and the courts have made awards on different site types; rural greenfield, residential rooftops, commercial rooftops. They summarised all these decisions in the Affinity Water vs EE decision and thereafter has been referred to as the Affinity Water Table which summarises those rent awards.
At Beaumont House, you have referenced it is a renewal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 but gone on to say it was a Paragraph 33 notice, why is that?
Initially my advice was based on the lease being protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act but as the instruction transpired it was a Paragraph 33 notice served correctly under the Digital Economy Act. Therefore, this was an accidental typo.
Regarding the rent review at London Kings Cross, you provided advice based on the best rent the site could achieve. How did you formulate that advice?
I used comparable evidence and advised my client on the rent that the site could likely achieve at the rent review
What guidance or practice statements are available from the RICS in respect of comparable evidence?
Comparable evidence in real estate valuation 2019 and referencing to the Red Book Global Standards 2022
At Castle Quay Close, why did you advise to restrict pets?
This was my clients request to ensure they maintained control of the property
What is being implemented which has changed rights for Tenants to keep pets?
Renters (Reform) Bill 2022/23
What rights does a Tenant have to keep pets under the Renters (Reform) Bill 2022/23?
The landlord has 42 days to accept or refuse request for pets
What protections are given to the Landlord regarding pets under the Renters (Reform) Bill 2022/23?
The Tenant must provide in writing confirmation they have acquired insurance for their pet, or they are willing to pay Landlord reasonable costs to cover the Landlord’s insurance in case of pet damage.
What other changes have been brought in under the Renters (Reform) Bill 2022/23?
Section 21, no fault evictions have been abolished. A single system of periodic tenancies, whereby tenancies are a rolling one-month tenancy without a end date. Tenants need to give 2 months notice to a Landlord. Landlords need to give 2 months notice on an AST for an increase in rent opposed to 1 month.
What was the purpose of the Renters (Reform) Bill 2022/23?
Aims to deliver ‘safer, fairer and higher quality homes’
You have given advise to renew the terms at Park Lane, what were you renewing here?
It was a renewal for an electricity sub-station
What was your clients position at Park Lane?
The lease had expired and my client wanted to renew the agreement
Could you have renewed the agreement in any other way given it was a substation?
The renewal could have fallen under the electricity act but as it was a Landlord and Tenant protected agreement, it had to be renewed under the act.
At Park Lane, what advise did you give on the clauses?
I advised on the rent, rent reviews, lift and shift and break clause
At London Kings X, you advised on a rent review - how did you use comparable evidence to build a case for the rent review?
Using our internal comparable database to gather the comparable evidence and referring to the RICS Guidance Note on Comparable Evidence in Real Estate Valuations
Please can you talk me through some of the basic terms you would find in a Heads of Terms?
Landlord, Tenant, Landlord/Tenant solicitors, Landlord/Tenants agents, site name, demise, rent, incentive payments, rent review, rights, termination clauses, forfeiture, lift and shift, alienation, start date/end date and fees
What is the difference between a lease and a license?
A lease grants exclusive possession for a term of years, in exchange for a rent. A license grants the right to do something which would otherwise be trespass.
What are the different characteristics of a lease and a license?
A license has no fee/rent, no exclusive possession and can’t be terminated
- How did you assess the various comparable evidence that you had for your rent review at Kings Cross? What is the definition of realistic rent? How did you arrive at realistic rent from maximum increase?
I referred to the hierachy of comparable evidence and used our comparison database to give me an idea of the maximum rent that could be achieved. A realistic rent is a rent that could look to be agreed at renewal
- What was the significance of paragraph 33 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 at Beaumont House? How did you determine what an appropriate rent is? What is the definition of market rent?
It gave 6 months to agree terms. An appropriate rent was based on the Upper Tribunal CTIL vs London and Quadrant Housing case
- What type of lease did you agree at Heaton Road? How did you exercise it? Any pre-notices?
A commercial lease, executed via a signed lease agreement and no notices
- What information did you provide to the tenant when completing the AST at Castle Quay? What legislation governs at AST? What is the default legislative position on allowing pets?
Gas safety cert., electricity safety cert., how to rent guide, tenancy agreement, EPC and deposit prescribed information
What must you do with a deposit for a residential letting?
must be registered and protected in a tenancy deposit scheme
What is included in an EPC?
The address, letter of which the property is now, potential EPC rating, recommendations for improvements with costs bands and savings
What concerns did you have with the lights not working in the property?
The power in the building not working, potential issues with the electrics themselves but there was an up-to-date electricity safety certificate which indicated the electrics were in good working order
How long is an electricity safety certificate valid?
5 years
How long is an gas safety certificate valid?
1 year
What did you include in Heads of Terms?
Landlord, Tenant, Solicitor details, Agent details, property, demise, term, rent, rent reviews, use of land, rights, break clauses, indemnity and insurance, fees, ADR
What are the differences between arbitration and mediation?
Arbitration is legally binding, they can only rely on the evidence presented to them, they can be sued for negligence. Mediators are instructed by both parties and do not make a decision but instead try and help parties come to a decision.
You negotiated terms at Beaumont House, please can you tell me what you advised in regards to valuation?
I advised my client that the rent being offered by the Tenant fell below the market value and that it was worth negotiating based on the case law in the CTIL vs M&S case, I advised a figure of closer to £3,850 pa was more in line with the market rent and negotiated the terms based on this level.
You mentioned use of comparable evidence in your rent review, what was the purpose of comparable evidence?
To present the market evidence to obtain the highest rental increase
How did you determine the best comparable evidence?
I had note of the hierarchy of comparable evidence and weighted the comps based on the location, type of transaction, timing and general rights the Tenant had in each comparable to formulate my evidence.
Please can you summarise the hierarchy of comparable evidence?
Direct transactional evidence is the strongest weight, publicly available information, published databases, asking prices, historic evidence
E1: Talk me through your advice with regards to the telecoms rent review
I had reference to the hierachy of comparable evidence and advised my client based on completed transactions for sites within a similar area and at a similar time to the review.
E1: How often can you review the rent?
As per the lease agreement but in a commercial lease either every 3 or 5 years
E1: Do you need to serve notice? If so, is there a timescale?
Yes, a trigger notice and unless the lease states time is of the essence then there is no timeframe
E1: How did you calculate the new rent?
I used comparable evidence
E1: How did you agree and document the rent increase?
Through a rent review memorandum
E2: Explain your advice for drafting HOT for the 1954 Act tenancy whilst considering the Digital Economy Act 2017
I advised that as the lease is being renewed under the code, as soon as the lease is renewed it will no longer be LL and Tenant protected but will have similar protections to that act