Legal wrap: First Homes, the Building Safety Bill and mediation vs arbitration

Welcome to your weekly round-up of the pick of the content published on EG Legal over the past seven days. This week, we have a podcast discussion on amendments to the Building Safety Bill intended to help resolve the cladding crisis, with the proposals examined from both a leaseholder and developer perspective. In addition, a mediator puts the case for why negotiation and agreement through mediation offer a better way to resolve outstanding pandemic rent arrears than the “last-chance saloon” of the government’s arbitration scheme. Other topics range from First Homes and design in planning to putting the emphasis on the “social” in ESG. Legal news Cladding remediation and proposed amendments to the Building Safety Bill LISTEN A discussion on the proposals from both a leaseholder and developer perspective Chrysler Building property mogul Michael Fuchs told to pay wife £3.6m a year The case is currently being heard in London’s Family Court Court of Appeal allows Surrey oilfield But the case may go to the Supreme Court Interior designer wins court battle over spiralling costs of flat refurb The Court of Appeal backed the High Court’s ruling in Mashael Alebrahim v BM Design London Ltd Legal features Pandemic rent arrears: don’t drink in the ‘last-chance saloon’ Gerard Tomnay offers six reasons why it’s better to mediate than arbitrate your pandemic rent arrears How high is design on the planning system’s agenda? David Wood examines whether design-led decision-making has taken hold First Homes model packs a surprise punch Colette McCormack and Lindsay Garratt believe First Homes has a part to play in tackling the housing crisis – but it can’t be a panacea 2022: the year of the social impact trend The transition to net zero must be fair and just for all, say Jonathan Brookes and Philip Hirst Legal note: The perils of injunctions against persons unknown Question marks remain over whether newcomers to an injunction should be subject to final orders, writes Louise Clark Practice points Business rates: single hereditament or two separate ones? FC Brown Steel Equipment Ltd v Karl Hopkins (Valuation Officer) Statutory nuisance: where established, the complainant is entitled to its costs R (on the application of Parker) v The Magistrates Court at Teeside and others Stamp duty land tax: no limitation concerning definition of residential property Hyman and others v Commissioners of HM Revenue and Customs Without notice injunction to re-enter obtained with marked lack of disclosure Rasool v Paddington Company One Ltd Case summaries FC Brown Steel Equipment Ltd v Hopkins (VO) Rating – Non-domestic rates – Valuation R (on the application of Parker) v Teesside Magistrates Court Costs – Statutory nuisance – Statutory duty R (on the application of Finch) v Surrey County Council Town and country planning – Environment – Environmental statement Alebrahim v BM Design London Ltd Contract – Construction – Total cost of works Hyman and others v Commissioners of HM Revenue and Customs Taxation – Stamp duty land tax – Tax rate Prime London Holdings 11 Ltd v Thurloe Lodge Ltd Land – Development – Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd v Davies & Davies Associates Ltd Construction – Adjudicator’s fees – Recovery Law report EE Ltd and another v Morriss and others Landlord and tenant – Telecommunications – Electronic communications site – Rent   For more legal articles and to search our extensive archive, visit EG Legal    To send feedback, e-mail jess.harrold@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews