HUNTINGDONSHIRE solicitors have raised nearly £7,000 by donating their usual fees for making a will to charity as part of the Will Aid scheme.

Solicitors at Leeds Day prepared 95 wills during November and donated the fees from each one to the nine Will Aid charities which work to combat child abuse, provide emergency medical aid and improve the lives of those in developing countries.

Since the company began to take part in the nationwide scheme 18 years ago, it has raised £30,000 for good causes, and this year saw the firm, which has offices in Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots, raise a record amount.

Leeds Day executive Minna Rae, who worked with colleagues Jane Ollett, Stephen Goodwin, Marie Asquith and John Few, on the project said:

“There was an enthusiastic response to the Will Aid’s Make a Will month in November, with many people coming forward to write a will. The campaign has given them just the push they needed to finally write their will.

“All too often people put off making a will fearing it will be difficult, complicated or expensive.  Through Will Aid everyone benefits. The willmakers have the peace of mind of knowing that their affairs are in order. The charities receive support for their life-saving work and the solicitors are introduced to new clients.”

Mrs Ollett, partner and head of the wills and estate planning team at Leeds Day, said:

“Leeds Day wishes to thank all our clients who donated to the charities through the Will Aid scheme.  It is their generosity which has made this project so successful.”

Will Aid campaign manager Shirley Marsland said: “This is such great news. The Will Aid charities are so grateful for the generosity and hard work of the team at Leeds Day  solicitors.  This has been the most successful campaign to date and overall we expect to raise over £2million.”

Will Aid raises money for Actionaid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, Scottish Catholic International Aid Foundation (SCIAF),
Sightsavers and Trocaire.

For more information about our Wills and Estate Planning service, please visit Wills and estate planning

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The National House-Building Council has announced that a new online Buildmark system is being developed, which is expected to go live in April
2012.

The intention is that conveyancers will be able to:

• Check whether a property is covered by Buildmark
  prior to exchange.
• Following completion, complete the acceptance
  form online to trigger the issue of the insurance certificate.
• Download all of the NHBC documentation.

This will speed up the process of the issue of cover notes and streamline  the administration of Buildmark cover. The intention is that this will be an alternative to builders and developers having to store hard copies of the paperwork and send documents by post.

There should also be a benefit to homeowners as  there should be fewer cases where contracts are exchanged for the purchase of  new homes where cover is not in place.

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On 14 February 2012, the European Parliament adopted its position at first reading on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives 89/666/EEC, 2005/56/EC and 2009/101/EC as regards the interconnection of central, commercial and companies registers.

The European Parliament’s amendments to the Commission’s proposal include:

• A requirement that companies and their branches in other member states should have a unique identifier that allows their unequivocal identification in the EU. The identifier is intended to be used for communication between registers and therefore companies and branches are not obliged to include the unique identifier in the company letters or order forms referred to in Directives 89/666/EEC and 2009/101/EC. Companies and branches should carry on using their domestic registration number for their own communications.
• Member states should ensure that the branches of a dissolved company are removed from the register without undue delay and, if applicable, after liquidation proceedings of the branch. This obligation will not apply to branches that have been removed from the register that have a legal successor, for example where there has been a change in the legal form of the company or a merger or division of the company.
• Member states should ensure that any changes of information entered in the registers concerning companies are updated without delay, normally within 21 days from the receipt of the complete documentation regarding the changes, including any legality check in accordance with national law. However, the deadline will not apply to the accounting documents required to be submitted by companies for each financial year.

The European Parliament’s adopted position will now be forwarded to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

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On 6 April 2012 the qualifying period for unfair dismissal will increase from one to two years. When the government announced this change on 3 October 2011, it gave no indication how it would affect existing employees (who may already have qualified for unfair dismissal rights).

Although BIS has not yet made a formal announcement, it has informed PLC Employment that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the new two-year qualifying period will only apply to employees whose employment begins on or after 6 April 2012. Those who are already in employment before that date will retain the current one-year qualifying period. The Conservative government adopted the same approach in 1985 when increasing the qualifying period to two years.

The change comprises part of the government’s wide-ranging initiative to improve business confidence and boost economic growth

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HMRC has proposed that, from 6 April 2012, employers must use the 0T code when operating PAYE on all post-P45 payments and notional payments, including employee share and share option gains. (The 0T code requires PAYE to be operated on a non-cumulative basis at 20, 40 or 50% as applicable, as if an individual had no personal allowance.) Draft regulations making this change are expected to be published in mid-January for a four-week consultation period.

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The Court of Appeal has dismissed the occupiers’ appeals in the North East Property Buyers’ litigation.

Despite feeling “the greatest sympathy” for the occupiers, it held that the occupiers had no equitable rights capable of being overriding interests under the Land Registration Act 2002. The mortgagees’ rights under the charges, therefore, had priority over the interests of the occupiers.

This decision will be a severe blow for many who stand to lose their homes and are in a similar situation to the occupiers. There are approximately another 90 cases where mortgagees have commenced possession proceedings against occupiers who sold their homes under this scheme and a substantial number of other cases where mortgagees have been waiting for this decision.

The court criticised the sale contracts’ failure to record the precise contractual arrangements for the occupiers’ continuing occupation after completion and regarded this as “on the face of it plainly inconsistent with proper conveyancing practice”.

Source: Cook and others v The Mortgage Business plc and others [2012] EWCA Civ 17.

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In Chalabi & Ors v Agha-Jaffar & Anor, the Court of Appeal had to determine whether sums paid under tax deeds entered into as part of a sale of shares and assets were part of the “consideration price … receive[d] for the sale” for the purposes of a warranty in the earlier, back to back, share purchase agreement.

The claimants sold their shares in certain group companies to the defendants. The agreement included a warranty that the “consideration price” that the defendants paid to the claimants would amount to three-fifths or more of the sum which the defendants would receive from the ultimate buyer.  On the same day the defendants sold shares in and assets of the companies to the ultimate buyer for the price envisaged, but the defendants and certain of the group companies also received further sums under tax deeds of indemnity.

The court held that, in circumstances in which it had been appreciated by both the claimants and defendants that there was likely to be an increased liability for tax for a sale of shares and assets, rather than a sale of shares alone, and that the ultimate buyer would indemnify the sellers against that liability, it did not make commercial sense for the sums paid by way of indemnity to be part of the price paid for the sale.

To treat those sums as part of the price would be to allow the claimants to pocket three-fifths of the tax indemnity, while leaving the defendants to pay virtually the whole of the increased tax liability when they were only receiving two fifths of the sum paid to discharge that liability.

The court was faced with two possible constructions of a commercial document and the more commercially sensible solution was to be preferred

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Background

The high speed rail link (HS2) proposal is to create a “Y” shaped rail network linking London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds (and intermediate stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire). HS2 aims to improve capacity, journey times and connectivity. It will also release space on the existing railway network for new commuter, regional and freight services.

HS2 will be constructed in phases, with the first phase built between London and Birmingham. The final HS2 route will include direct links to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) and Heathrow airport.

On 28 February 2011, the Department for Transport (DfT) published a consultation (February consultation), seeking views on:

• The case for high speed rail.
• The government’s strategy for a national high speed rail network.
• The proposed route for the initial line from London to the West Midlands.
• Options for providing assistance to those who are detrimentally affected by the line.

Summary

Overview

The government has decided to go ahead with the new national high speed rail network (HS2) between London and Birmingham. The DfT received nearly 55,000 responses to the February consultation, making it one of the largest national consultations ever undertaken for the DfT. The government believes investing in the £32.7 billion HS2 “Y” network is the best value for money solution for enhancing rail capacity and performance in the United Kingdom. There will be further opportunities for consultation on HS2 as the project proceeds.

How will HS2 be delivered?

The DfT has confirmed that HS2 will be delivered in two phases:

• Phase 1 will deliver the London to West Midlands line, with a link to Europe via HS1.
• Phase 2 will extend the line to Manchester, Leeds and Heathrow Airport.

In light of the responses to the February consultation, the DfT has agreed to various alterations to the proposed route to minimise impacts on the local environment, communities and properties. The alterations include:

• Extending tunnels in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• Additional tunnelling in Northolt, West London.

The government intends to continue to engage extensively with communities and individuals as the project proceeds, so local views are fed into the design process and communities are kept up-to-date.

Route maps

The DfT has published a series of maps detailing the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands.  The package includes:

• A map of the entire HS2 London to West Midlands route.
• Maps showing the specific sections of the HS2 London to West Midlands route (at a scale of 1:10,000).
• Maps showing the HS2-HS1 link (at a scale of 1:1250).
• Plans of HS2 stations and infrastructure.

Blight and compensation

The DfT has published a document (property document) detailing the existing statutory provisions on blight and compensation, together with its proposals for an enhanced property and blight deal for HS2.

Compulsory purchase timescale

The DfT has written to all owners of properties that are very close to the proposed line of the route to inform them that the government may need to compulsorily purchase their property. In 2012, the DfT will undertake a comprehensive land referencing exercise to identify and confirm all property interests affected by the route. Construction is expected to start in 2016. The properties will therefore not need to be acquired before 2015, at the earliest.

Compensation proposals in the February consultation

The DfT recognises that homeowners along the HS2 route have already been affected by the proposed project. The DfT has therefore amended some of the scheme details in an attempt to address the negative impact of HS2, for example, moving the line away from towns and villages, lowering it into the cutting and increasing tunnel length. However, the responses to the February consultation showed there is a widespread fear that the government will not do enough to prevent blight and protect property values. Homeowners’ concerns include:

• Disruption from construction, which could continue for several years.
• Vibration and subsidence from the HS2 tunnels.
• Increased noise.

The February consultation contained three policy proposals to address these concerns:

• A hardship-based property purchase scheme.
• A bond-based purchase scheme.
• A compensation bond.

The consultation responses which commented on these options favoured the bond-based purchase scheme. The Council of Mortgage Lenders and British Bankers’ Association (BBA) both believed this proposal would allow for property valuations on an unblighted basis and therefore help sustain local property markets.

Existing compulsory purchase and blight provisions

The property document summarises the existing statutory arrangements as follows:

• A homeowner whose home is compulsorily acquired would receive:
  • the property’s independently assessed, open market value (as if unaffected by HS2);
  • a home loss payment (10% of the value, up to £47,000); and
  • reasonable moving costs (for example, removal, legal and survey fees and SDLT on a new home).
• A homeowner who loses only part of their land would receive the unblighted open market value, plus any loss in value to the retained property. If the homeowner loses a significant part of their land, they may ask the government to buy the whole property.
• A tenant may receive a £4,700 flat rate home loss payment plus reasonable moving costs. Councils must also re-house council tenants whose homes are compulsorily purchased.
• A business tenant or owner would receive an occupier’s loss payment and disturbance costs.
• A property owner whose property is not required but is physically affected (for example, by increased noise, vibration or light pollution) can claim compensation for loss of value, after the railway has been open for one year.

Proposals for an improved compulsory purchase and blight deal for HS2

The government intends to introduce a package of compensation measures above the statutory minimum, including:

• A streamlined purchase scheme to simplify the statutory blight process for property owners. This will enable property owners whose home is due to be compulsorily purchased to move sooner, if they prefer.
• A sale and rent back scheme for homeowners in the safeguarded area. If a property owner whose home is due to be compulsorily purchased wants to stay in their home until it is needed for construction, the homeowner could enter into a sale and rent back deal. The homeowner would be given the unblighted open market value and pay a market rent (which would reflect any blight).
• A streamlined small claims scheme for construction damage, which would help those who are entitled to compensation to claim it more quickly and easily. In 2013, the government will consult on this and a Code of Construction Practice (covering, for example, traffic, noise and dust management and working hours and practices).
• A package of measures to reinforce confidence in properties above tunnels. Such properties are excluded from the “Exceptional Hardship Scheme”. However, the government will:
  • Publish an assessment of the UK’s recent history of tunnel building, setting out the impacts and measures that are available to avoid perceptible vibration impacts.
  • Carry out “before and after” surveys of properties above tunnels.
  • Introduce settlement documents, under which HS2 will be responsible for resolving any settlement or subsidence issues caused by tunnelling or vibration.

  Owners of properties above tunnels will also be entitled to compensation for the compulsory purchase of their subsoil rights, together with the reasonable costs incurred in transferring ownership.

• A refreshed hardship scheme, under which homeowners with an urgent need to move could ask the government to purchase the property for its unblighted value.

However, the government has decided not to introduce a bond-based purchase scheme for generalised blight.

Further consultation in 2012

The DfT:

• Will consult on detailed blight and property proposals in spring 2012.
• Intends to finalise the property and blight deal in late 2012.

The Country Land & Business Association has launched a campaign seeking an immediate and comprehensive review of compulsory purchase law and a compensation package for HS2 that includes a duty of care, compensation for early access, a bond scheme to address blight and an independent assessor for the project.

Timetable

The DfT has set out the following timetable for HS2:

Spring 2012

• Public consultation on proposed blight scheme
• Consultation with statutory bodies on the safeguarding zone for phase 1.
• HS2 Ltd will advise the government on phase 2 route options.
• Engagement programme along phase 1 route on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) issues, which will enable an Environmental Statement to be produced.

Autumn 2012

• New blight scheme and safeguarding zone in place. From this point, households in the safeguarding area will be able to serve a blight notice on the government, requiring it to consider buying the property for its unblighted value.
• Engagement programme on phase 2 preferred route, to discuss local views and concerns.

Spring 2013

• Consultation on Environmental Statement for phase 1.

End of 2013

• Introduction of a hybrid bill in the House of Commons to provide necessary powers to construct and operate phase 1 of the railway.

Early 2014

• Consultation on preferred route for phase 2 (from Birmingham, to Manchester and Leeds).

Late 2014

• Government will announce the chosen phase 2 route.

Around 2016

• Possible start of construction of the London to Birmingham route.

2026

• The line from London to Birmingham and the connection to HS1 are expected to open.

2032-33

• The lines to Manchester and Leeds and the connection to Heathrow are expected to open.

Comment

HS2 will have major consequences for practitioners, property owners and occupiers. Anyone acting for a potential buyer, tenant or lender in any of the areas that might be affected needs to be aware of the proposals and to check whether or not the property in question may possibly be affected, directly or indirectly.

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The value of most people’s properties will rise in line with the current market sentiment. However, owners of leasehold properties can find themselves with a depreciating asset as length of the lease shortens.

They can regain value in their property and protect their investment by obtaining a Statutory Lease Extension; a course of action recommended by Landlord & Tenant Solicitor, Mohammed Hafiaz, of Leeds Day Solicitors.

Hafiaz adds “The decrease in value is more prominent in eases that were originally granted for 99 years in the 1980’s, 1970’s or earlier. A Leasehold flat with a term of say 75 years left will be less valuable than a Lease of an identical flat with 99 years left to run.

There are lots of leasehold properties in Huntingdon and the wider area. A lot of the leases have less than 80 years to run, meaning that as time goes by the premium required to be paid to the Landlord on a Statutory Lease Extension increases.

Obtaining a lease extension now means that the Leaseholders pay less than if they obtained a Statutory Lease Extension in say, two years’ time.

On obtaining a Statutory Lease Extension, the Lease would be extended by 90 years from the end of the original Lease with no further ground rent payable to the Landlord from the date the claim is finalised. This is an immediate benefit for those leaseholders with rising ground rents.

A payment will have to be made by the Lessee to the Landlord depending upon, among other factors, the value of the flat and the number of years remaining on the Lease.”

To discuss any concerns or queries, please contact Mohammed Hafiaz on 01480 454301 or mohammed.hafiaz@leedsday.co.uk

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On 3 January 2012, the Environment Agency (EA) launched a consultation on a revised draft of Underground storage tanks, safe installation, decommissioning and removal: PPG 27, which is one of a set of Pollution Prevention Guidelines (PPG) and gives guidance on the installation, decommissioning and removal of underground storage tanks (USTs).

The EA is updating PPG 27 as part of its overall review programme to bring it in line with new government requirements and to make sure it is fit for purpose. PPG 27 is aimed at businesses and individuals that:

• Store potentially polluting substances underground.
• Want to install a new UST.
• Want to remove or decommission an existing UST.

The consultation closes on 23 March 2012. It:

• Outlines the main legal obligations associated with permitting and licensing of USTs. These include the regimes dealing with Environmental Permitting the control of major accident hazard (COMAH) and petroleum licensing (section 3).
• Describes how to reduce the risk of pollution by making the correct planning and pre-installation choices from the start (section 4).
• Explains how to install a UST correctly (section 5).
• Covers the different ways of decommissioning USTs (section 6).

Source: EA: Consultation on the Installation, decommissioning and removal of underground storage tanks: PPG 27 (January 2012).

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