Legal wrap: Pandemic clauses, the First Homes scheme and an update on MEES

Welcome to your weekly round-up of the pick of the content published on EG Legal over the past seven days. This week, we include an update on MEES, a straightforward explanation of First Homes for conveyancers and a look at two recent decisions on pandemic clauses in leases. Plus, landlords’ life sciences questions answered, the attitude to ESG around the globe, the return of Legal Notes and more. Legal news High Court rebukes Environment Agency over landfill fumes Toys R Us purchaser fails in bid to claim £3.5m from HMRC Legal features How do First Homes work? Christine Wilson and Clare Dodds explain how the government’s First Homes scheme operates Pandemic clauses: more direction needed Mark Reading and Ros Monk weigh up the lessons learned from two recent decisions on unopposed lease renewals It’s time to check your MEES knowledge Kate Symons offer an update on the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Regulations set to be applied to commercial property The why, when and how of sale-and-leaseback transactions Justin Salkeld and Jo Shakespeare take an in-depth look at the increasingly popular strategy Legal note: Limiting the scope of rent repayment orders The Court of Appeal has provided superior landlords with some relief, reports Elizabeth Dwomoh Life sciences: questions for landlords Sam Potts and Suzanne Gill run through the important considerations for landlords looking to enter the sector The road to low-carbon logistics There is still much mileage in leveraging the use of electric vehicles across supply chains, write Tessa English and Harris Karim What is the attitude to ESG around the globe? Hogan Lovells lawyers survey the current state of ESG thinking in the UK, Europe, the US and Mexico Practice points County court findings and management orders Whale and others v Maunder Taylor Case summaries Windmill Holdings SPV Ltd v Adams and another Land registration – Adverse possession – Without prejudice correspondence Whale and others v Maunder Taylor Landlord and tenant – Management order – Service charges Downs Road Development LLP v Laxmanbhai Construction (UK) Ltd Adjudication – Decision – Severability Victus Estates (2) Ltd v Munroe; Benjamin v Victus Estates (1) Ltd Registered land – Fraud – Rectification HHRC Ltd v Hackney London Borough Council Town and country planning – Low-traffic neighbourhood – Emergency transport plan   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