September 2020 - Lawson West

Coronavirus: 31 Dec extension to stop Landlords forfeiting leases

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Mike

GOVERNEMENT EXTENDS MORATORIUM ON LANDLORDS ENFORCING THEIR RIGHTS TO RECOVER POSSESSION UNDER FORFEITURE RIGHTS

The Coronavirus pandemic has serious consequences for landlords in enforcing the rights under their leases.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 has taken away the ability of landlords to forfeit their leases.

The original statutory instrument extended the moratorium from June to September 2020 and now this has been extended to 31^st December 2020. This of course gives greater protection to tenants to stay in their premises whilst not paying rent, however, BE AWARE, a landlord can take alternative actions to recover rent.

Some tenants are taking advantage of the moratorium period, believing that they have a right to remain in the premises without payment but this is not the case, the commercial tenant is still liable to pay the rent.
The government is asking that tenants and landlords to enter negotiations to minimise the impact when we are back to normality.
In areas of local lockdown, the courts are being more sympathetic with tenants when deciding to allow Landlords to enforce their rights.

Landlord and Tenant – the right advice

What else can landlords do to recover rent? Although the current circumstances are unprecedented, at Lawson West Solicitors we have a team of legal experts in commercial property matters who can provide support and advice on your leases and contractual obligations, document any agreements that you have reached and give you sensible and commercially-minded advice.

What sets the Lawson West commercial property team apart is the personal and professional touch and empathetic approach provided in the provision of legal advice and services within commercial property transactions and client communications. The team understand clients’ needs and works tirelessly to meet specific deadlines with an informed and proactive guiding hand.

Contact Us

Rebecca Beswick rbeswick@lawson-west.co.uk Tel: 0116 212 1021

Beverley Heys bheys@lawson-west.co.uk Tel: 0116 212 1058

David Heys dheys@lawson-west.co.uk Tel: 0116 212 1027

I want my pension age 60 – the important Pensions Appeal case is lost !

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Mike

15 September 2020

The important, landmark case of Delve and Glynn, which started at the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) on 21 July 2020, has been lost.

The Court of Appeal has found against the case and the disappointing judgment was handed down this morning.

In 2019, Julie Delve, 61, and Karen Glynn, 63 – supported by campaign group Backto60 – took the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to court for discrimination, arguing that raising their pension age unlawfully discriminated against them on the grounds of age and sex, and that they were not given adequate notice of the changes. Since 2019, the two brave women have been fighting the injustice of a higher pension retirement age following its unplanned introduction between 1995 and 2014. The appeal court hearing has been heard and found against them. See our earlier article in full…

This important appeal case surrounds the discrimination and unfairness to women of the series of government Pensions Acts between 1995 and 2014 which equalised the state pension age for women with that of men, by raising the state pension age for women from 60 to 65 (and then raised the age at which both men and women can claim their state pension). See the case: Delve and another -v- The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

The introduction of this series of Pensions Acts has left many women born in the 1950s with:

An inadequate pension to live on (they had planned that the government would be paying their state pension allowance from age 60 which hasn’t happened); or
The need to continue to work past the age of 60 to compensate for the loss of state pension.

Lawson West’s employment lawyer, Carrie-Ann Randall said of the judgment:

“This is a real blow to women who were born in the 1950s and whilst attempting to equalise State Pension Age (SPA) and make a level-playing field for both men and women, the government has made it very hard for a group of women in the UK to manage without their state pension for a number of years. The legislation’s attempt to be equal has in fact created inequality in certain age groups of women.

Women have been fighting discrimination for over 100 years and any misalignment and discrimination has to be questioned, and although the courts have not found in their favour in this particular judgment, it remains that many women are affected by the new pensions legislation and many have unfairly lost-out because of it.”

The Judgment found:

“The Court unanimously dismisses the appeal, holding that adopting the same state pension age for men and women does not amount to unlawful discrimination under either EU law or the Human Rights Convention. The Court considers whether there is any legal obligation on the Respondent to notify people of the change to their pension age and holds that in any event the Divisional Court was entitled to conclude on the evidence that the publicity campaign implemented by the DWP had been adequate and reasonable.”

Public sector union, UNISON’s assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said today,

“It’s now time MPs intervened to give them the financial help many so desperately need.”

Useful Links

Find out more about this case:

The Appeal Case Report

The Judgment from the Court of Appeal

Women Against State Pension Age (WASPI)

Backto60 – full restitution

The October 2019 Ruling – Michael Mansfield QC

Judicial Review hearing is granted

Homebuying: Property market activity highest it’s been for 10 years

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Mike

UK Housing Market

According to Rightmove this week, the government’s new stamp duty tax breaks have seen a rollercoaster of activity in the UK housing market – with ‘more homes selling within a week than at any point over the past decade.’

It’s true the property market is booming and conveyancers and estate agents are flat out trying to manage the increased demand from people seeking to move home before the end of the 31 March 2021 when the temporary stamp duty reductions will cease.

Sharon Sangha, Associate Director &
Head of Conveyancing, Lawson West Solicitors, Leicester

“It’s been a frantic market ever since Rishi Sunak’s announcement to temporarily reduce stamp duty.” says Sharon Sangha, Head of Lawson West Solicitor’s conveyancing team in Leicester.

“We’ve bolstered our conveyancing staffing levels to cope with demand. There hasn’t been a moment to draw breath. We haven’t seen this level of activity for many years.”

It’s not surprising regional law firm Lawson West Solicitors has seen an increase, our location in Leicestershire – a rural heartland – is one of the best kept secrets for handsome properties being sold at reasonable prices, especially outside London.

Working from home – seeking a countryside idyll

The coronavirus impact of commuters seeking an improved lifestyle was previously reported by The Guardian: “Estate agents are reporting a surge in the numbers of would-be homebuyers plotting a move out of the city to a rural area or smaller town as people conclude that home working is here to stay.”

Speed of housing market

Rightmove confirmed that house moves were fast: “Between 8th July and 31st August, one in seven properties sold by agents did so within a week of being listed on the Rightmove website, up from one in ten in 2019. Just under one third (30%) of homes sold within the first two weeks of being put up for sale, compared with one in five (21%) in 2019.”

Sharon Sangha comments:

“In previous years, homes on the market would have multiple viewings over a period of months before finding a buyer, purchasers now have to make an offer quickly, often on the same day as the first viewing and have their mortgage offer ready to go. Inevitably cash-buyers are in the best position to grab the best properties. In addition, exchange and completions are, more often than not, happening on the same day which increases the need to have all the legal requirements completed quickly.”

Chief economist, Robert Gardner, of UK mortgage provider Nationwide also confirmed this week that house prices were “at an all-time high”. According to Nationwide’s figures, house prices rose by 2% in the month of August, and goes on to say that forecasters expect a drop in prices again when the economic impact of the virus is felt on jobs (Halifax also mentions the likely influence of the changing employment market on future mortgage offers). Nationwide commented that the recovery in housing market activity had been “unexpectedly rapid”.

Sharon offers her predictions:

“The UK property market is really busy right now, but this heightened activity will not last. There will no doubt be a surge in interest heading into Christmas and New Year but after March it will drop off very fast and during the months of February and March purchasers will have either channelled their hopes into a fast completion, or lost out completely on the coronavirus reduced stamp duty opportunity.”

Rightmove’s headline figures:

Rightmove analysed over 200,000 properties that sold between 8th July and 31st August to reveal the impact of the temporary stamp duty holiday.
The number of homes selling within a week of coming to market is up 125% compared to the same period last year, and is the highest number recorded over the past ten years
Across Great Britain the hottest market is in Scotland where a third of all three-bedroom semi-detached homes sold by agents took a week or under to sell (32%), compared to 20% in 2019
The slowest market is in London where one in nine homes sold within the first week, though this is up from one in 20 in 2019.

Useful links:

BBC News & Nationwide

Rightmove news

The Guardian – 10-year high

The Guardian – house prices soar

Month: September 2020