The Importance of Keeping Your Land Registry Up to Date

Posted on September 19th, 2023 by admin

Legal Clarity and Ownership Protection: One of the primary reasons for maintaining an up-to-date land registry is to ensure legal clarity and protect your ownership rights. The land registry serves as an official record of property ownership, defining the boundaries and details of your property. By registering your property with the Land Registry, you create a clear and indisputable record of ownership, reducing the risk of potential disputes with neighbours or other parties.

Facilitating Property Transactions: When it comes to buying or selling a property, a current land registry entry is essential. Prospective buyers will rely on this information to verify your ownership and any existing charges or encumbrances on the property. An accurate and up-to-date land registry can significantly streamline the selling process and inspire confidence in potential buyers, potentially leading to faster and smoother property transactions.

Securing Mortgages and Financing: If you plan to obtain a mortgage or seek significant financing against your property, lenders will almost certainly require a land registry search. An accurate registry assures lenders that the property’s ownership status is clear and that the property’s value aligns with their financing requirements. Ensuring your land registry is up to date can facilitate the mortgage approval process and secure favourable financing terms.

Preventing Property Fraud: Maintaining a well-maintained land registry is a proactive measure to prevent property fraud. Unfortunately, property fraud can happen, and fraudulent attempts to transfer ownership, secure unauthorized mortgages, or sell properties that do not belong to the fraudster can be financially devastating. By keeping your land registry current, you minimize the risk of falling victim to such fraudulent activities.

Supporting Planning and Development: Local authorities rely on land registry data to plan for infrastructure, housing developments, and community projects. By keeping your land registry up to date, you contribute to efficient planning and decision-making processes, which can benefit the community and potentially increase the value of your property.

Access to Government Services: Accurate land registry information is essential for government agencies to conduct tax assessments, property valuations, and other public services. Keeping your land registry updated ensures that these services are administered fairly and efficiently, benefiting both you as a landlord and the wider community.

In summary, maintaining an up-to-date land registry is an essential responsibility. By doing so, you safeguard your ownership rights, facilitate property transactions, and protect yourself against potential fraud.

Green light for Canada Water commercial scheme

Posted on September 14th, 2023 by admin

Southwark Council has resolved to grant permission for detailed designs for a 1.5 million sq ft commercially-led scheme in Canada Water.

Developer Art-Invest Real Estate is looking to transform the 4.5-acre site into Canada Water Dockside – a new workspace hub offering Grade A, sustainability-led buildings with new places to eat, drink and relax fronting the water’s edge, surrounded by 130 acres of open green space.

The reserved matters applications approved by Southwark include the detailed plans for two commercially-led buildings designed by architects, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and HWKN Architecture and new public realm from Townshend Landscape Architects.

Canada Water Dockside will offer flexible and future-focussed workspace for up to 10,000 people marking a departure from the traditional office.

Designed by HWKN, A2 will be the first building brought forward comprising 240, 000 sq ft of space across 11 storeys.

Designed by the scheme’s masterplanner, BIG and located on the waterfront, A1 at 24 storeys with its distinctive tiered form will become a landmark building at Canada Water.

Ali Abbas, Managing Director, Art-Invest Real Estate UK, said: “Canada Water Dockside is an incredibly special project for us. Our vision for the scheme always went beyond delivering world class office buildings; we wanted to create a commercial hub rooted in health, wellness and community to complement our location at the heart of the new town centre.

“Canada Water Dockside being so well connected to the City, east London, and central London with Bond Street just ten minutes away will shift the focus of London’s workspace offer.

“We look forward to continuing to work with all our partners to bring forward this new and exciting place to work, relax and play beside the revitalised historic dock.”

Go-ahead for 35-storey London Old Street tower

Posted on September 12th, 2023 by admin

Developer Endurance Land has got the planning green light to retrofit and extend an outdated 1990s office at Old Street roundabout on the City Fringe in London.

The landmark transformation project has been designed Kohn Pedersen Fox for 99 City Road and will provide 700,000 sq ft of space for tech clients.

New building will also offer a 3,000 sq ft great room for conferences and public use.

The site is presently the headquarters of satellite communications group Inmarsat, which is planning to vacate the existing 1980s office building at the site.

Existing 10-storey Inmarsat HQ office building

This building will be partially demolished with around 60% of the existing building structure retained to reduce concrete use and shorten the construction programme.

A new core will be inserted and additional floors added to create a hybrid old/new structure.

The planned replacement tower will rise to around 160m and widen the pedestrian area around the site. It will also introduce green terraces and a winter garden at street level.

New tower will have a terracotta and glazed facade

Jonathan Fletcher, CEO, Endurance Land, said: “The redevelopment will deliver a landmark, Net Zero scheme that’s tailored to Islington and Old Street, drastically improve the building’s sustainability credentials, offer generous community benefits, and unlock the potential of the site.

“It’s an incredible achievement to design a tower of this calibre. We are delighted to have been granted a resolution for planning approval.”

The plans significantly improve the public realm through the provision of a generous new public square and widening of pedestrian pinch points.

John Bushell, Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates: “From the earliest stages of the design process we were looking for the best way to retain as much of the existing structure as possible, to improve the public realm, and to create a landmark building for London’s Tech City on this important site.

“The project delivers much-needed office space to suit different occupiers’ budgets, alongside many benefits to the wider community.”

Section 18 Distress for Rent Act 1737

Posted on September 11th, 2023 by admin

Section 18 entitles the landlord to double the passing rent where the tenant has given a notice that he will quit the premises at a specified time but subsequently continues to occupy the premises in contravention of the notice.

The failure of the tenant to vacate on the expiry of its notice to quit triggers the landlord’s entitlement to double rent under the 1737 Act. The double rent becomes chargeable for the period of “holding over” by the tenant, i.e. from the expiry of the notice until the day the tenant actually vacates.

For section 18 to apply, the landlord must treat the former tenant as a trespasser in unlawful occupation and must not do or say anything which would treat the lease as continuing.

It is therefore essential that the landlord does not accept rent at the old level once the notice to quit has expired otherwise he will be held to have waived his right to claim double rent.

The object of the 1737 Act is to compensate the landlord for potential loss of rent when the tenant held over against the landlord’s insistence that the tenant should comply with his notice to quit. Therefore, similarly to the 1730 Act, the right to double rent arises only when the tenant holds over after he has served a notice to quit and, therefore, is in fact a trespasser and the landlord treats him as such.

Regal London lodges Wembley 640 student rooms plan

Posted on September 8th, 2023 by admin

Developer Regal London has submitted plans for a near 640-bed student scheme near Wembley Stadium in London.

Wembley Greenaway student scheme designed by architect JTP

The Wembley Greenaway 20-storey tower will open up the railway lands parallel to High Road, Wembley for the first time, and will provide safe and inclusive green space in the area.

The proposed scheme has been designed by architect JTP.

Planned high-rise schemes along Wembley High Road with Wembley Greenaway towers (pictured centre)

It is Regal London’s second PBSA development in the borough, and its fifth in London, following The Society – also on High Road Wembley, Devonshire Place in Southwark (currently in planning) and proposed developments on Chalk Farm Road in Camden and Orchard Wharf opposite the 02 Arena in Greenwich.

Subject to successful planning, work could start on the Wembley project in summer 2024.

Paul Eden, co-founder of Regal London said: “There is clear demand for high quality purpose-built student accommodation in London – well located, with good sustainability credentials and a thoughtful approach to design and wellbeing.

“We hope to be able to deliver this for High Road, Wembley and to continue working closely with our local neighbours in the area.”