The Renters (Reform) Bill was given its first reading in May 2023 after five years of consultation and refinement. The Bill seeks to provide greater flexibility and security for residential tenants in England by imposing additional restrictions and obligations on private landlords. The reforms also look to improve the leasehold system through increased regulation, digitisation and standardisation. A noticeable omission from the Bill, however, is an exemption for private lettings to students ...
Chile’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) announced 11 new projects that will be constructed throughout the country. This announcement is the first call for public works tenders since the beginning of President Boric’s term in office. The portfolio of concessions planned for 2023 calls for investments totaling USD 5.8 billion. Concessions included in the portfolio: New Route 5 in the Santiago-Los Vilos section - USD 1 ...
On July 26, 2023, SERNAC published a new interpretative circular that refers to the protection of the real estate consumer in the sale of real estate and its preparatory acts. Although this circular establishes mandatory guidelines for SERNAC officials, it also constitutes a guide to be taken into consideration by real estate providers when complying with their legal obligations ...
The government has published its long-awaited response to the consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) and wider changes to the building regulations for all buildings. The provisions will be implemented through secondary legislation (The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 and The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023)) that will come into force on 1 October 2023 ...
Belgium had accumulated a significant legislative backlog within insolvency law. The European Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring had to be transposed into national law by the member states by 17 July 2022 at the latest. The Belgian government did not submit a draft bill to this effect until 20 March 2023. This draft has since been voted into law and will enter into force on 1 September 2023. Several amendments are being made to (among others) Book XX of the Belgian Economic Law ...
In its judgement delivered on 14th June 2023 in the names of Marco Aquilina & Euro Concrete Blocks Limited vs. Ir-Registratur tal-Kumpaniji, the Civil Court (Commerce Section), presided over by Mr. Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey, decided in favour of the plaintiffs, who successfully challenged the payment and settlement of various alleged administrative penalties imposed by the Registrar of Companies. The pertinent facts of the case are as follows ...
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A recent case has seen trustees apply for and obtain court approval for a trustee petition to wind-up the scheme's sponsoring employers. This is a relatively unusual case, but the trustees had reached a point where no other options were available to them ...
An interesting point has arisen in an unopposed lease renewal case that considered whether a landlord’s break option should be included in a new lease, to allow the landlord to occupy the premises for the purposes of its own business. BMW sought renewal leases of its showroom at 70 Park Lane, London, which was let under four separate tenancies ...
Legal Property Due Diligence In a property transaction, whether that is buying, leasing, or financing, a legal property due diligence exercise may be required to assess the potential risk to a client before committing to the transaction. The potential for AI to be used to review and digest legal property DD documentation with speed and accuracy is clear ...
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler is pleased to announce the publication of the latest edition of the New York Commercial Division Practice Guide. As with previous editions, the guide is organized into various chapters containing useful information about litigating in the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court, the “premier forum” for litigating commercial cases ...
Following the announcement that visa fees are to be increased, the government has announced a hike in civil penalty fines for employers and landlords who employ or let properties to foreign nationals who do not have the right to work or reside in the UK. The planned increases come as part of government announcements on policy to reduce the number of people living and working in the UK without a legal immigration status ...
The BVI is a leading international financial centre, and BVI companies play a significant role in the flow of capital across the global economy. As global economic conditions become more challenging, lenders are increasingly reliant on formal insolvency procedures to realise value from distressed assets. As a result, the past year has seen a marked increase in the use of statutory demands against BVI companies as a precursor to an application to appoint liquidators ...
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Property owners in the UK are already feeling the pinch, with a slowdown in activity coupled with economic factors, including high inflation and interest rates - causing a further tightening in the lending market. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) regulatory regime is another cause for searching behind the sofa cushions for coppers in order to upgrade, update and 'green' existing assets ...
Last Wednesday (July 26), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) handed down its highly awaited decision on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (software patents). In Canada (Attorney General) v. Benjamin Moore & Co. (2023 CAF 168), the FCA rejected the test proposed by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) in the first instance decision, Benjamin Moore & Co. c. Canada ...
The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal ("CICA") has delivered a valuable judgment on the application of section 238 of the Companies Act (as revised) in Re Trina Solar Limited.[1] This case update can be read in conjunction with our previous briefing setting out certain practical points to note in 'fair value' appraisal proceedings ...
The Virginia General Assembly made significant amendments to general rules for construction contracts, as well as the specific rules for public entity construction contracts in the Prompt Payment Act, that largely remove the option of “pay when paid” contracts between general contractors and subcontractors. Beginning in 2022, Virginia Code section 11-4 ...
Australia's Federal Court finds in favour of Nine newspapers against Ben Roberts-Smith. The judgement is a win for investigative journalism and the public’s right to know. Defence was lead by Peter Bartlett, MinterEllison. Nine newspapers’ victory in the Ben Roberts Smith vs Nine defamation case strengthens a core principle of journalism, and key tenant of democracy, which is the public’s right to know ...
The Regulations implement most of the recommendations made to the government in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report which require a change in the Law and impact those responsible for buildings with at least two residential units and common parts ...
On 10 July 2023, the Maltese Parliament resolved in favour of several amendments to the Consumer Affairs Act. These amendments serve two purposes. Firstly, the Consumer Claims Tribunal can now hear consumer claims of up to €10,000. This amendment represents a significant increase in the value of the claims that can be heard by the arbiter given the previous threshold of €5,000 ...
In its judgment of 4 May 2023 (Case C-487/21), the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) specified the scope of the right to obtain a “copy” of personal data in the context of the right of access. The ECJ ruled that the copy must be used to provide the data subject with a faithful and intelligible reproduction of all personal data that are the subject of the processing ...
On 16 June 2023 the High Court handed down its first instance decision in the case of Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pension Trustees II Limited and others, dealing with the impact on amendments affecting contracted out rights of failing to obtain a section 37 certificate ...
We look at the latest events concerning the dispute between the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Cabinet Office over the former Prime Minister’s WhatsApp messages and diaries ...