A major component of a CD-ROM launched today by BPF and publisher Sweet & Maxwell will be obsolete in 12 days time.
Marketing material for the electronic version of the new short-term commercial lease says the product includes “relevant court forms”. But all court forms on the disc will be out of date on 26 April when Lord Woolf’s civil justice reforms take effect.
Anyone using the new short-term lease will need to apply to a court for an order approving the exclusion of security of tenure. But from 26 April these applications have to be made on a new Woolf-friendly claim form. Anyone using the court form on the CD may find the courts refusing or sending back the applications.
The court forms are only one feature on the CD, which is aimed at landlords, occupiers and their lawyers. Its principal function is to draw up leases. The software creates a draft prelease agreement and lease through a sophisticated interactive questionnaire.
BPF President Gordon Edington told a presentation of the CD-ROM this morning at the Four Seasons Hotel, Mayfair, that the product has won backing from major players in the property industry, including Land Securities, Prudential and the Grosvenor Estate.
PLS News 14/4/99
