The best things in life are free(ports)?

It’s the early 1980s, a Conservative government is in power and struggling through a period of economic volatility following the “winter of discontent” during which widespread public and private sector strikes gripped the nation. Soaring inflation, rising oil costs and outspoken demands for increased wages are contributing to a sense of national crisis. Sound familiar? … Read more

Occupied higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety regime – is the picture becoming clearer for Accountable Persons?

Late last year, we reported that the government would shortly be issuing their response to a consultation on the new building safety regime for occupied high-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act). The consultation aimed to clarify which parts of an occupied higher-risk building an “accountable person” would be responsible for, and … Read more

A Christmas miracle: consultation on proposed reforms to national planning policy

‘Twas the night before Christmas (well, almost, it was 22 December) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities delivered on Michael Gove’s promise to publish revisions to national planning policy for consultation. The consultation came in the form of a consultation on proposed reforms to national planning policy and indicative mark-up of the National … Read more

Photovoltaic Power Systems and German Real Estate

Investors interested in developments in Germany should be aware that the introduction there of the mandatory installation of photovoltaic (solar) power systems has put pressure on German real estate investors who will now have to consider the consequent real estate, tax and regulatory issues of this legislative change. In recent months an increasing number of … Read more

Real Estate risks and disputes on the horizon: are you Forearmed?

This accessible guide is a “must read” for every real estate developer, investor or occupier. It draws on the vast experience of our Real Estate Dispute Resolution team over several cycles of the economy to predict the risks and areas for potential disputes on the horizon. The guide contains our suggestions to avert or mitigate … Read more

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 – New year, new rules

If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ll know that we’ve spent considerable time getting to grips with the new building safety regime introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 (the BSA). This sizeable piece of legislation has introduced a large number of new obligations for those responsible for the safe construction and operation … Read more

Real Estate Development Yule Blog – 1 enormous bonfire

In this final post of our 2022 Yule Blog, we contemplate the glow of the 3,800 pieces of EU-derived legislation kept on the UK statute book post-Brexit (retained EU law) to be torched under the EU Retained Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, otherwise known as the “Brexit Freedoms Bill”. This could include most current environmental … Read more

Real Estate Development Yule Blog – 4 failed deadlines

Section 1 of the landmark Environment Act (EA) 2021 requires the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to set long-term environmental targets in respect of four priority areas: air quality; water; biodiversity; and resource efficiency and waste reduction. The date by which these targets should have been set was 31 October 2022. … Read more

Real Estate Development Yule Blog – 7 storeys high…

If you’ve been counting down the days of Christmas with us, you’ll recall that we’ve already discussed the impact of the Building Safety Act 2022 (the “BSA 2022“) on residential buildings that are at least five storeys (or 11 metres) tall, but in today’s blog, we go higher still and look at the impact of … Read more