EXAM READY Distinction level ACP elective notes. These cover all the SGSs and everything you need to know to get a distinction in the exam.
I got Distinctions in all my modules across the LPC/LLM taken in 2020 at BPP.
Index page included.
Statutory references are highlighted in yellow, making...
,1. Initial Considerations
2. Planning and Environmental Law
3. Option Agreements and Conditional Contracts
4. Construction Issues
5. Agreements for a Lease
6. Remedies and Lease Termination
7. Tax
8. Alienation
9. Alterations
10. Rent Review
11. Repair, Insurance and Service Charge
, 1.INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Restrictive covenants
Has the seller ever had any issues with the RC?
Need consent from PWB
Dependent on scale/nature of development, RC indemnity insurance may not be available at a
commercially acceptable cost
Application to Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber – time-consuming, expensive, no guarantee of
success
Mines and minerals
A previous seller may have reserved the right to extract mines and minerals from the ground
under the property
If Property Register includes a reservation, a SIM search should be carried out to identify the
owner.
Ask seller if anyone sought to extract mines/minerals in the past?
Buyer should carry out a survey to establish the scope and extent of any mines or minerals
below ground and see if its proposals would interfere with these.
If the buyer interferes with the mines/minerals in third party ownership this could amount to a
trespass and lead to a liability for damages or an injunction to stop work
Purchase the rights from the owner - expensive and time consuming.
Seek RC indemnity insurance (cannot tip off owner)
Access issues
Seller has benefit of right of way
o Get seller to enter into deed of release
Public highway
o Adoption pursuant to S38 Highways Act 1980
o Dedication pursuant to S31 Highways Act 1980 – use of a road as a highway for 20
years without interruption means it’s a highway, unless evidence to show that that
there was no intention to dedicate it as a highway. So developer should erect a sign
stating there is no intention of the landowner to dedicate the land as a public
highway.
Adoption of any roads within the site
o Agreement under S38 Highways Act 1980 – developer constructs roads to an
adoptable standard and LA adopts them on completion
o If the roads are sub-standard, cost of bringing road up to adoptable standard will be
charged to the frontagers
o A Tenant would want to make sure that a bond (deposit given by developer) is in
place so that if LL failed to meet the costs of making the road up to an adoptable
standard, the local highway authority would be able to use the bond for those costs
and would not seek to recover the costs directly from the tenants.
Stopping up order - adopted highways
o If site contains a public adopted highway, the public has a right of way so cannot re-
configure the road unless a stopping up order has been obtained.
o CON29 search – see if road is adopted
o Highways search – see exact location of public highway
, o S116 Highways Act 1980 – apply to Magistrates Court
o Part X TCPA 1990 – apply to SoS for a stopping-up order
o Both time consuming and costly
o Notices need to be displayed and served, objections/challenges could be raised which
could result in further delay
o Make contract conditional on stopping up order being obtained with time limits for
challenge period having expired
Diversion order - public rights of way
o If site contains road which is subject to a public right of way – but not adopted
highway
o CON29 search
o S119 Highways Act 1980 - Procedure for public path diversion
o Time-consuming and costly. Developer must pay all costs for works required,
compensation due for loss caused, LA’s costs for the order, maintenance agreement
with LA
o Notices need to be displayed and served, objections/challenges could be raised which
could result in further delay
o Make contract conditional on diversion order being obtained with time limits for
challenge having expired
Services (pipes, wires, water, electricity, telephone, drains)
Access to services
o Analyse title documents to verify existence of rights – identify PWB?
o Carry out searches to establish the routes of existing services
o Have the rights been exercised whilst the seller has owned the property?
o Negotiate deed of release from benefitting landowner
o To get access:
o Obtain new easements for services crossing private land – incurs payment
o Statutory undertakers (gas/water/electricity companies) have rights to construct new
infrastructure/remove/repair under public roads. If property abuts public highway,
developer may be able to secure direct access to mains services.
Relocation of services
o Negotiate and pay for relocation of services with the associated statutory
undertakers/private individuals if needed to facilitate the development
Airspace – Crane oversail
Bernstein v Skyviews: Landowner retains control of the airspace to a height necessary for
ordinary use and enjoyment of the land.
Ownership of airspace may be asserted through an action in trespass or nuisance. There is no
need to prove loss to establish a trespass and it may be possible to obtain an injunction to
prohibit such trespass.
Obtain consent from adjoining landowners in the form of a crane oversail licence, if the jib of
the crane will swing over adjoining land.
If the crane will over sail a tenanted building then, then the consent of the tenants who have
leased the roofspace will be needed.
Obtain consent from highway authority (& person who owns subsoil) in the form of a crane
oversail licence, if crane will oversail public highway
, Need to negotiate oversailing licences before works commences, but this has the potential to
cause delay to the project
Rights to light
Easement entitling landowner to receive enough natural light passing over a neighbour’s land
to enable the ordinary use of a building. Consider impact of the new building on rights to light
which may have been acquired by neighbouring properties over the site.
Law only recognises right to light to windows/apertures, but not over vacant land
Acquisition by deed
o Check official copies property register of land which is suspected to benefit
o Check official copies charges register of land to be acquired
Acquisition by prescription (common law/lost modern grant/(Prescription Act 1832)
o Common law: Right continuously enjoyed since 1189
o Lost modern grant: Light enjoyed by specific aperture of building continuously for 20
years (any period in the past), presumption that there is an express grant of right to
light. Can be rebutted by evidence that the grant could not have been made.
o Prescription Act: Right can be acquired by 20 years continuous light to a specific
aperture in a building. 20 years counted back from date on which asserting the right
is begun
o How long has the building been there?
o Negotiate deed of release
Prevention of acquisition by prescription
o If there is no evidence of a deed granting a right to light, advise client to cause an
interruption to flow of light for 1 year via virtual obstruction using Light Obstruction
Notice procedure (Rights of Light Act 1959)(does not affect light granted by deed).
o Serve notice in prescribed form on landowner affected. Apply to UTLC for certificate
of registration. Obstruction commences on date of registration in Local Land Charges
Register.
o LON should be registered at latest when land has enjoyed 19 years and 1 day of
continuous exposure to light. If it is registered any later, the right to light will be
acquired by prescription during the year the LON is in place.
o Landowner can object to LON on the grounds of an actionable interference with its
right to light. If no objection to LON after a year, right to light acquired by
prescription is extinguished because landowner cannot show that it has enjoyed the
light without interruption for 20 years counted back from the date on which the
action began (but have to wait a year so this would delay development).
o However, this would not prevent a claim based on acquisition under lost modern
grant because this does not require the light to have been enjoyed for a period of 20
years immediately before.
Remedies:
o Regan v Paul Properties: Landowner whose rights are infringed is entitled to an
injunction, and damages should be awarded in lieu only in cases where the injury is
small, where payment would be adequate recompense, and where it would be
oppressive to the developer to grant an injunction.
o HKRUK II: Injunction ordered which required developer to remover two floors of an
office block, even though one had already been let to a tenant.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller fionasnotes. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £15.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
