Key Points Later this month, the Berkeley City Council is expected to consider ending exclusionary zoning by December 2022. The city has a long history of implementing single-family zoning, which encourages more expensive stand-alone homes that are often inaccessible to disadvantaged populations. The shift would place Berkeley, which in 1916 became the nation's first city with single-family zoning, at the forefront of a modern era of inclusionary housing policy ...
The reasons for the changes to the Golden visa rules: A legislative authorisation in the 2020 State Budget 2020 authorised the Government to review the rules on residence permits for investment provided for in Law 23/2007 of 4 July by the end of 2020. The aim is to encourage investment in inland areas, urban regeneration, cultural heritage, activities of high environmental or social value, and productive investment and job creation ...
Takeaways from webinar on 2 February 2021 hosted by Karen Howard, Matthew Stimson and Grace Mitchell from our planning & environmental team. What are public rights of way and why are they relevant? A public right of way (PROW) is a type of highway - a route across land over which the public at large has a right to pass/ repass without permission or interference ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click the link below. We all know a happy engaged employee is a productive and successful employee. Unfortunately, the UK has one of the least engaged employee populations in Europe ...
In Fishbourne Developments Limited v Stephens, the Court of Appeal emphasised the importance of applying commercial common sense and considering the relevant factual background to a case when interpreting contracts. Fishbourne, a developer, had the benefit of an option to acquire a 117 acre farm in West Sussex ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Traditional bricks and mortar retailers, occupying premises under long leases with upwards only rent reviews, can be forgiven for looking enviously at online retailers and their flexibility and comparatively low overheads ...
In Joanne Properties Ltd v Moneything Capital Ltd and Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 1541, England’s Court of Appeal had to decide whether the parties had entered into a binding contract of compromise contained in written communications passing between their respective solicitors. The Court below had held that a binding contract had been made, despite the fact that the correspondence in question had been marked “subject to contract” ...
The recent judgment from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48, raised important questions about the requirement that there can not only be no actual bias, but also no apparent bias on the part of arbitrators in favour of or against any party in arbitration and also about the obligation of arbitrators in international arbitrations to make disclosure of multiple appointments concerning the same or overlapping subje
Last year, there were a number of notable developments in competition law, as detailed in this article, several of which involve or are relevant to the construction industry. The Ocean Park case concerned proceedings against a company and its director for exchanging competitively sensitive information with a co-tenderer in a bidding exercise. A number of judgments were handed down in proceedings against contractors ...
Early last year the Prime Minister dropped the “E-bomb” on British motorists, announcing a ban on cars powered wholly by petrol and diesel from 2030, and on the sale of new hybrid vehicles with the capability to drive a significant distance with zero emissions (such as plug-in or full hybrids) from 2035. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in an unprecedented manner ...
Traditionally, Dutch mortgage lenders have always found themselves in quite a good position in the event of their borrower and mortgagor becoming insolvent. As a firm general rule, it is fair to say that the position of a secured creditor is quite secure under Dutch law. Recent insolvency and COVID related regulations have, however, made some inroads into the Dutch secured lender’s stronghold ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. One sector that has performed robustly during the pandemic is build-to-rent (BTR), with demand set to continue in the coming years as investors look to this sector to deliver long-term returns. According to a recent report, over £1 ...
The 2021 tax assessment of real and personal property will be determined by local Assessors in February, at which time a Notice of Assessment will be issued and mailed to property owners. Property owners should make sure to check the mail for a copy of the Notice in order to determine whether an appeal of their taxable value should be filed ...
Key Points Eviction protections that were set to expire January 31 have been extended to June 30, 2021 New notice requirements took effect February 1 Landlords may not charge late fees or increase rent or fees for tenants who attest to COVID-19-related financial distress State Rental Assistance Program may pay 80 percent of a qualified tenant's rent if landlord forgives the remainder On January 29, 2021, California Senate Bill 91 became law, effective immediately ...
Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft guidance intended to assist regulated entities and permitting authorities in applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, concerning Clean Water Act (“CWA”) jurisdiction over discharges to groundwater ...
Leases often include language that gives a tenant the option to purchase the leased property during or at the end of the lease term. The Michigan Supreme Court has held that these options to purchase, or “options” as they are commonly referred, are “simply a contract by which the owner of the property agrees with another that he shall have a right to buy the property at a fixed price within a specified time ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. If somebody asked me at the start of 2020 whether I could join a meeting by video, my immediate thought would have been: “no, that sounds far too difficult and I don’t think we really have the technology to do that” ...
Following the bioeconomy trend, the National Policy of Payment for Environmental Services was published, establishing the payment for services that benefit the maintenance, recovery and improvement of ecosystemic services, such as provision services (e.g. water supply), and regulation services (e.g. climatic change programs). On January 14, 2021, the Federal Law No. 14,119 ("Law") establishing the National Policy of Payment for Environmental Services ("PNPSA") was published ...
An Eleventh Circuit panel has breathed new life into a long-running, $248 million False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case, United States ex rel. Bibby v. Mortgage Investors Corp.,[1] reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendants.[2] Materiality lay at the heart of the case, which involved allegations that the defendant finance companies misled the U.S ...
Background BIMCO has circulated a Consultation Draft of a new Ship Sale Agreement (the «SSA»). For some time now, there has been a predominant standard form of vessel sale. With its origins back to 1925, developed by the Norwegian Shipbrokers’ Association and available through Bimco, it is still referred to as the Norwegian Saleform (or NSF) despite its recent rebranding as «Saleform 2012» ...
This year it may be easier to predict developments in environmental law and policy than in 2020. The main reason for that is that there are several key developments that should have happened in 2020 but didn’t because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are our top five predictions. 1. The Environment Bill The Environment Bill is a key piece of legislation that establishes a post-Brexit environmental governance framework for England ...
