Virtual Conference: Current Property Issues 2021

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KEY SUBJECTS

• LANDLORD AND TENANT CASE LAW UPDATE
• PROPERTY VALUATION POST COVID: MARKET CHANGE AND VALUATION MODELLING
• ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES: ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH
• DEALING WITH PROPERTY INSOLVENCY IN 2021 –  MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
• THE MEES REGULATIONS – WORKED EXAMPLES OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ISSUES
• THE TOP 10 MISCONCEPTIONS HELD ABOUT LANDLORD AND TENANT LAW

SPEAKERS

Sarah Thompson-Copsey, Non-Practising Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer

Nick French, Real Estate Valuation Theurgy, Property Education

Lesley Webber OBE HonRICS FCIArb, Consultant, Fieldfisher LLP with Jamie Mangan, Senior Associate, Fieldfisher LLP.

Stephen Allinson, Solicitor and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, Non Executive Chairman of the Board of The Insolvency Service.

Ben Strange MRICS, Director, Mobius Building Consultancy Ltd

Miriam Seitler, Barrister, Landmark Chambers

PROGRAMME

9.30am CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

LANDLORD AND TENANT CASE LAW UPDATE

A practical review of recent commercial property and landlord and tenant cases, which will include:

• Developers beware! Harsh lessons from the Supreme Court: Alexander Devine
• Break clauses & reinstatement: Capitol v Global Radio
• “Final and conclusive” service charge certificates – help for landlords: Sara and Hossein v Blacks
• Peaceable re-entry – getting it right and relief Keshwala v Bhalsod
• Proposed review of “outdated landlord and tenant legislation” – what will that mean?

Sarah Thompson-Copsey, Non-Practising Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer

PROPERTY VALUATION POST COVID: MARKET CHANGE AND VALUATION MODELLING

As we have all observed, one of the unforeseen consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic has been the acceleration of market change. Retailing and office markets have experienced 10 years of change in consumer/occupier behaviour almost overnight. This will have a substantial effect on the valuation models and the valuation inputs used in all markets. Indeed, in the case of shopping centres, the business model needed to survive will change the relationship between retailer and owner to a much more symbiotic existence. There have been winners and losers and values will change to reflect the new demand drivers.

The talk will also be highlighting issues, such as MEES, which have taken a back-seat during 2020 but which will have a significant impact on valuation practice going forward.

• Comparables and Market Sentiment – a more balanced viewpoint
• High Street Retail – long term assumptions in an uncertain world
• Shopping Centres – a move toward shared risk and shared reward – turnover rents
• MEES and Commercial Property Values
• Valuation models, inputs and risk adjustment

Nick French, Real Estate Valuation Theurgy, Property Education

ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES: ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH

As a result of the emergency legislation introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, landlords have spent much of the past year with one hand tied behind their backs when faced with the breach of tenant obligations in leases. However, the moratorium on numerous enforcement actions will (eventually) expire, and landlords will then have the full range of options available to them once again. This session will cover the methods of enforcement and remedies available, looked at from the perspective of both landlord and tenants, including:

• Forfeiture
• The recovery of arrears, whether through CRAR or debt claims
• The position of guarantors, former tenants and undertenants
• Rent deposits
• Damages claims and other tenant remedies
• Alternative dispute resolution (including the new RICS independent evaluation service)

Lesley Webber OBE HonRICS FCIArb, Consultant, Fieldfisher LLP

Jamie Mangan, Senior Associate, Fieldfisher LLP

DEALING WITH PROPERTY INSOLVENCY IN 2021 –  MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

2020 was a very challenging year for the economy and, sadly, 2021 seems set to follow in the same vein. Corporate failures make the business news very regularly and particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors. To seek to counter this, in 2020, the Government introduced the most comprehensive changes in insolvency law since 1986. Battle lines continue to be drawn between landlords and tenants and a number of commercial landlords have strongly criticised the actions of their tenants in seeking rent reductions through the utilisation of insolvency procedures.

Against this backdrop, professionals in the property sector have a very important job to do to seek to protect their clients’ interests.

This session will encompass a tour around these issues including:

* The state of the economy and crystal ball gazing for the rest of 2021

* The new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act and its consequences for the property sector

* Company Voluntary Arrangements – a legitimate option for commercial tenants or an abuse of process?

* The nuclear option of seeking to liquidate your commercial tenant- is it worth it?

* The boot is on the other foot- my landlord is going bust. What are my options?

Stephen Allinson, Solicitor and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, Non Executive Chairman of the Board of The Insolvency Service.

THE MEES REGULATIONS – WORKED EXAMPLES OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ISSUES

The MEES Regulations set a regulatory requirement for stakeholders to improve energy efficiency of existing building stock; in the current absence of enforcement, this talk will identify how the industry is self-regulating through the significant impact of MEES on the Landlord/Tenant relationship.

• Property acquisitions – due diligence and valuation issues
• Lease drafting – how effective is the Model Commercial Lease on MEES?
• EPC improvements – how Landlords can mitigate cost and risk associated with a poor EPC
• Tenant claims – can a Tenant claim for losses associated with a Landlord’s failure to comply with MEES?
• Dilapidations – would a Landlord’s claim really be wiped out just due to a poor EPC rating?

Ben Strange MRICS, Director, Mobius Building Consultancy Ltd

THE TOP 10 MISCONCEPTIONS HELD ABOUT LANDLORD AND TENANT LAW

Despite the significant changes to the property market and the landscape of landlord and tenant law brought about by the year of 2020, some misconceptions are hard to shift. This talk addresses, and debunks, 10 of the most commonly held misconceptions about landlord and tenant law, held by lawyers and surveyors alike, including:

• Anything I say in “Without Privilege” correspondence cannot later be held against me or my client
• A demand for rent will always waive the right to forfeit a lease
• Mesne profits, charges for use and occupation and rent are all the same thing
• If the tenancy company is dissolved, the lease automatically comes to an end
• A persistently late paying tenant will not get relief from forfeiture
• A court order for possession brings the tenancy to an end immediately

Miriam Seitler, Barrister, Landmark Chambers

5.00 pm CLOSE OF PROCEEDINGS