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As discussed here, this Bill was first mentioned in the King's Speech on 7 November 2023. It has recently completed its report stage in the House of Lords, meaning that its next stage will be its third reading when its provisions will be tidied up.
As explained here, the construction industry scheme ("CIS") was introduced to prevent perceived tax evasion in the construction industry. It is a type of withholding at source, like pay-as-you-earn, whereby parties who make payments for construction services (contractors) may be required to deduct income tax from payments to those who perform the services (sub-contractors). The CIS only applies to labour costs; no deduction is required in relation to payments for building materials.
There is an increasing awareness of the huge potential that the "internet of things" offers to building management practices, from monitoring and controlling energy consumption for ESG purposes, tracking performance in operation and lighting systems and pro-actively alerting maintenance teams about anomalies that might require repair. However, there is also a growing awareness of the digital risks that these technologies can pose to building occupiers and owners, including:
In this briefing we bring you up to date with seven changes in law and practice which we think will have ramifications for the commercial real estate sectors. Parliament has been busy reviewing two key pieces of legislation implementing the Government's residential reform agenda.
Our regular round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in law and practice for in-house counsel.
Our round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in UK law and practice for our international stakeholders.
The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) has now concluded its year-long, market-wide study into the housing sector, examining possible competition law or consumer protection issues prevalent across the industry. It looked at a range of issues impacting competition between housebuilders – including land-banking, planning, the involvement of intermediaries, and estate management.
Landlords are coming under increasing pressure to promote social and governance goals in addition to their environmental considerations when granting leases. Greater emphasis is now placed on attracting and retaining tenants who value sustainable and socially responsible environments.
Since our last briefing, there have been several significant developments which affect the real estate sector, including amendments to previously announced policies (for example, making "full expensing" permanent) and important international measures coming into effect (such as the "GloBE" rules introducing a global minimum corporate tax rate for large multinational enterprises).
Travers Smith LLP has advised Patron Capital, a pan-European real estate private equity specialist (Patron), on the acquisition of B16 Edgbaston, a purpose built student accommodation ("PBSA") scheme, through its joint venture with Curation Capital (Curation).
Travers Smith LLP has advised PineBridge Benson Elliot, a pan-European real estate private equity specialist (PBBE), on the financing of Mitheridge Capital Management's (Mitheridge) acquisition of a co-living development site in Hackney Wick.
2023 has been a year marked by high inflation and high borrowing costs, which have increased prices and caused uncertainty in the real estate market. Meanwhile, the Government has kept Parliament busy with a range of new legislation, much of which affects the built environment and investment into it.
Travers Smith has advised RSK Group on the acquisition of DWD, a UK-based firm of property advisers, valuation experts and planning consultants.
Since the publication of the Government's 2017 white paper "Fixing our broken housing market", there has been much discussion about the Government's plans to reform the housing market especially by means of modernising the leasehold sector. The King's Speech on 7 November 2023 included further announcements about leasehold reform.
Find the latest news, views and our analysis of all the key announcements.
In this edition, we highlight the key regulatory and policy developments this Autumn which will impact investors in and operators of energy and infrastructure assets in the UK. Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss any of the issues discussed below.
As of 30 June 2023, there are only 184 properties registered as "commonhold" within England and Wales, which is less than 0.01 % of the total number of properties in the same area. This evidences the extent to which the current form of commonhold ownership in the UK is unsuccessful.