Legal wrap: Twitter, compulsory purchase and service charges

Welcome to your weekly round-up of the pick of the content published on EG Legal. This week, we have an analysis piece on the soaring cost of residential service charges over the last 12 months, how landlords and tenants have responded and the best way forward. In addition, with the Law Commission announcing plans to once again conduct a review of compulsory purchase, a planning expert shares his aspiration that this might finally bring order to a chaotic area of law. Podcast fans can enjoy our latest On the Case, this time on the issue of property guardians and what they mean for the rating of otherwise empty premises. Legal news On the Case: Rating premises with property guardians LISTEN Roger Cohen offers an update on a dispute over the impact of the use of property guardians on empty rates Brunswick Centre wins permission to appeal retail space ruling Owners seeking to overturn 2003 planning permission Crown Estate and Twitter settle lawsuit over rent arrears The social media giant has a £2.6m lease at 20 Air Street offices Weightmans moves to Birmingham’s tallest building Law firm takes 12,132 sq ft at 103 Colmore Row Upper Tribunal further erodes status of property guardians The tribunal ruled that occupation by guardians is only a temporary use SFO seeks £92,000 over Kallakis’ school building donation Serious Fraud Office steps in after convicted mortgage fraudster’s son receives settlement from school Legal features Is it finally time for a fair CPO? Raj Gupta says the Law Commission’s latest review of compulsory purchase orders offers the opportunity to finally bring order to the law Is mediation ready to become mandatory? Jacqui Joyce takes a look at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution’s latest Mediation Audit The cost of the service charge crisis Simon Hartley addresses how landlords and tenants have responded and what can be done to reduce the risk of disputes Nothing worthwhile is easy – getting notices right Claire Thornber and Patrick Campbell Corcoran highlight three recent Scottish decisions that show some of the pitfalls of notices Data, sustainability and the green glass slipper Integrating sustainability data and real estate data is fundamental to decarbonising real estate, writes Alister Langdon Legal note: When adjudication principles collide Stuart Pemble analyses a TCC judgment upholding an adjudicator’s decision which presented two alternative outcomes Practice points Persons unknown: parties joined to proceedings obtain orders for costs Ineos Upstream Ltd and others v Persons Unknown and others Beneficial ownership of property: attempt to evade confiscation order fails Milsom and another v Smith and another Can NHS trusts fund services through section 106 contributions? R (on the application of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trusts) v Harborough District Council ‘Salami slicing’ lead to quashing of planning permission R (on the application of Ashchurch Rural Parish Council) v Tewkesbury Borough Council Real property: dissolution, disclaimer and subrogation Leon v Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd and another Service charges: re-apportionment and jurisdiction of the FTT under section 27A(6) – revisited Aviva Investors Ground Rent GP Ltd and another v Williams and others Covenants: trade restriction upheld Hodgson and another v Cook and others Rating consequences of offices occupied by property guardians Ludgate House Ltd v Ricketts (valuation officer) and another Landlords without management functions and the right to manage A1 Properties (Sunderland) Ltd v Tudor Studios RTM Company Ltd Easements: ancillary rights Gosling and others v Bradbury and another Case summaries Owadally and another v Planology Ltd and others Negligence – Summary judgment – Strike out Après Lounge Ltd v Wade Negligence – Occupier’s liability – Duty of care Hodgson and another v Cook and others Restrictive covenant – Modification – Estate Law report Candy v Commissioners of HM Revenue and Customs Taxation – Stamp duty land tax – Repayment 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