4 King’s Bench Walk

If a possession order is obtained on the basis of the accelerated procedure and rent/arrears are then accepted, will the landlord be prevented from subsequently enforcing the order? Would a new tenancy be deemed to have arisen or would the existing tenancy be continued?

If a private legal charge is in the name of three individuals, in order to discharge the charge by form DS1, is it possible for each individual to sign a separate form DS1 or must they all sign the same form DS1?

If a promoter offers a mystery box of prizes with an £x amount retail value, is this permitted under the Gambling Act 2005, Gambling Commission and Advertising Standards?

If a property owner serves a letter on an adjoining landowner requiring it to vacate land owned by the property owner, will this letter prevent the adjoining owner successfully claiming adverse possession of the land?

If a purchaser of unregistered land fails to apply for registration at HM Land Registry within two months of completion, does it have title to grant new leases, and if so will they only exist in equity? Should the seller join in the grant of any new lease?

If a residential lease is extended outside the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) in circumstances where there is a headlease with insufficient years to grant the extension, the HM Land Registry (HMLR) states that the headlease becomes an underlease and the lease extension is a concurrent lease. In this case, the HMLR has registered the underlease (ie original headlease) on the new flat lease title. The flat lease is registered against the freehold title, not the underlease title. A lease extension under LRHUDA 1993 does not result in the same entries being entered by the HMLR. Where the lease extension is granted outside of LRHUDA 1993 and registered as above, what are the implications of this and does it have any practical effect, eg if the headlease become an underlease does that entitle the tenant of the underlease to occupation?

If a residential tenant lacks mental capacity, how should a landlord serve a valid notice to quit or notice seeking possession on that tenant?

If a respondent in divorce proceedings has filed a cross-petition, will subsequently filing an acknowledgment of service to the divorce petition out of time denying the allegations affect the respondent’s cross-petition?

If a respondent to a divorce petition relying on unreasonable behaviour has filed an acknowledgment of service accepting the divorce, are they able to submit an answer within the 21-day deadline if they later decide to defend the divorce?

If a respondent’s home address and place of work are unknown to the petitioner, is it possible for the respondent to be personally served when they attend a court appointment in relation to separate court proceedings?

If a restrictive covenant is expressed to be made pursuant to section 33 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, can a council as covenantee release a covenantor from the said restrictive covenant at any time using the usual standard deed of release of covenant?

If a retail tenant is in administration, are the administrators liable to pay rent as an expense of the administration where the store is currently locked shut and unused due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but still contains stock and the administrators intend to re-open the store and begin to trade again once this is possible?

If a right to manage company holds a large reserve fund, can a tenant claim back/withdraw their share of the reserved fund on the sale of his leasehold flat? If so, what steps need to be taken to achieve this?

If a service user dies intestate owing care fees, how does the local authority enforce their debt against a property owned by the service user?

If a sole applicant for a divorce order fails to apply for a conditional order and/or seeks to withdraw the proceedings, what procedural options does the respondent have to ensure that (1) the divorce can progress, and (2) ongoing financial remedy proceedings issued on the strength of the original divorce application are not jeopardised?

If a structure was dangerous and the owner was unidentifiable (either due to the land being unregistered or a company which has been struck off Companies House), would a local Council be able to issue proceedings under section 77 of the Building Act 1984 for an Order? If so, would the defendant be ‘Persons Unknown’?

If a surrogate’s husband is automatically the second legal parent, can the biological father still have parental responsibility if he is registered on the birth certificate?

If a tenant has failed to pay rent for three months and has been chased for rent several times during this period, is it possible for the landlord to forfeit the lease while a tenancy deposit still exists? Or is the landlord obliged to take the overdue funds from the deposit until it has been exhausted prior to forfeiting the lease? Additionally, if the lease is able to be forfeited and the tenant removed from the property, is the landlord entitled to remuneration for the lost rent from the tenancy deposit?

If a tenant in arrears of rent (and which also has liability under a costs recovery clause) has made payments but has not said what the money is for, can the landlord allocate the money to the costs or must it be used for the rent?

If a tenant wants to take a lease of an additional piece of land, but the additional land is in the landlord’s company name and not in the landlord’s personal name (like the tenant’s existing premises), can the landlord company grant a lease of the additional land that is a supplemental lease to the existing lease?