Langley Byers Bennett

The Myth of the Maintenance Free Building

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:40:05 +0000

In the latest issue of Flat Living Magazine, Director of Langley Byers Bennett, John Byers explodes the myth of the “Maintenance Free Building” and discusses how sensible provisions should be made for future expenditure on any building, no matter how new. Read more on pages 34, 35 and 36 of Flat Living Magazine

Justin Bennett Writes on an Important New Enfranchisement Case

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:10:02 +0000

Justin Bennett comments on the recent Craftrule Ltd v 41-60 Albert Place Mansions (Freehold) Ltd. case, which has potentially far – reaching repercussions for Landlords and Tenants when planning the Enfranchisement of blocks of flats.

Originally published by Laytons Solicitors

Carmelite, 50 Victoria Embankment, Blackfriars, London EC4Y 0LS, UK

Tips for Tenants dealing with Dilapidations

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:14:48 +0000

Occupying a building can be an expensive business with many costs involved. In addition to rent, rates, service charge, maintenance, cleaning and other costs; dilapidation costs can arise often unnoticed on unexpected occasions with expensive consequences.

What are Dilapidations

Most commercial leases will contain repair obligations the tenant has to fulfill. Often this means to maintain the property in good condition, and leave it in the sort of condition that a new occupier would expect to find it when they start a lease.

Dilapidation issues tend to raise their head at certain intervals during a lease, particularly at a rent review, at the end of a lease, during a new lease negotiation or upon the exercise of a break clause.

Langley Byers Bennett’s Top Tips for Dealing with Dilapidations

1. Prior to signing a lease, a Tenant should consider an ingoing Schedule of Condition. The purpose of such a schedule is to record the condition of the property at a particular time (i.e. at the signing of the lease).

2. Do not ignore the claim. Even if you feel the Landlords claim is spurious or excessive do not ignore it but treat it seriously.

3. Take good professional advice from your solicitor and an expert Chartered Building Surveyor.

4. Make provisions for dilapidation costs arising in the future. Review your lease or tenancy agreement and take advice as to what your obligations and costs may be in the future.

5. Carry out regular maintenance work. Deal with repairs as they arise and not allow them to accumulate. Often substantial damage can arise from relatively simple matters that are not put right when they should be. If this has not been done then a Chartered Building Surveyor should be employed to assess the building condition, prioritise repairs and prepare a planned maintenance programme.

6. Consider your lease terms carefully particularly if you are considering exercising a break clause or a rent review is approaching.

7. Do not assume your only obligation is to repair your building to match the condition it was in when you took it on. Even if the building was old and dilapidated when you started you may still have an obligation to improve it so that it is handed back to the Landlord in better condition than it was originally.

8. Keep all records. If you have asked the landlords about repairs for which they have an obligation (perhaps on the outside of the building) and they have not done so, keep a careful record of when problems were brought to the Landlord’s attention; and of the damage that may be occurring to your accommodation as a result.

9. Plan alterations carefully. You probably have an obligation to change them back afterwards. When making alterations to your property consider how easily changes can be undone and removed afterwards so that you reduce the cost of reinstating the building at the end of your lease.

Joined-up Enfranchisement

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:09:10 +0000

Justin Bennett of Langley Byers Bennett explains the role of the surveyor when considering the route to enfranchisement. Click on the link to read the full article.

Enfranchisement – Getting the right advice.

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:51:48 +0000

Justin Bennett of LBB Chartered Surveyors writes about the importance of getting the right advice and refers to one of the earliest cases under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 of Willingale V Globalgrange. In this case the landlord failed to respond to a tenants Notice to enfranchise and had not only to accept the substantially reduced price offered but also the terms of the transaction, which meant that the hotel lost its fire escape right over the enfranchised building. The case reached the Court of Appeal. The moral behind this story is that getting the right advice is crucial. Please click here for the full article.

Working Property Income

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:39:11 +0000

John Byers will be speaking at the Christian Resources Exhibition on the 11th May 2010 as a guest of Make It Happen who are hosting a workshop entitled “Innovative Income Generation”. John will be speaking at their morning workshop on the subject of “Working Property Income” and amongst other things will be talking through some of the most common pitfalls encountered dealing with Charitable Trust Properties. More details on CRE.

Selwyn Langley of Chartered Surveyors, Langley Byers Bennett delves into the taxing problem of Capital Gains.

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:46:58 +0000

Selwyn Langley FRICS ACiArb

Making sensible provisions for tax is an essential part of managing any property investment, large or small. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) can have a dramatic effect on your returns, often with substantial payments of tax having to be paid, so it makes sense to consider the matter seriously and take expert valuation advice to mitigate your liability.

Refer to our Specialist Valuation Page for more information.

NEW OFFICES NEW FUTURE

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:21:57 +0000

LBB are moving from 42 Store Street after 9 years and relocating on 12th March 2010 to:

St Bartholomew House
90-94 Fleet Street,
London
EC4Y 1DG

Tel: 0207 822 8850
Fax:0207 822 8851

Managing Your Property Expenses in an Economic Downturn

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:57:10 +0000

John Byers BSc MRICS

Langley Byers Bennett Director John Byers, offers some practical tips in controlling a business tenant’s property costs.

His article can also be read at http://issuu.com/businessindependent/docs/march

Exercise any break clause
Many leases have break clauses that allow a lease to be ended early. In a downturn business rents can be more economic, and by exercising a break clause you may be able to take advantage of current market conditions and renegotiate terms with your Landlord.

Re-negotiate lease terms
Landlords are keen to retain tenants. As your lease comes to an end you may consider renegotiating your lease, maybe surrendering the unexpired term and taking on a new lease on better terms for the future.

Look carefully at your service charge
Whilst the Landlord has an obligation to
ensure service charges are reasonable they
do not always make them as low as possible. Pressure from Tenants within a building can help keep the running costs as low as possible.

Ask for the building insurance to be re-quoted
The cost of building insurance often rises every year on the basis of an inflation provision. Whilst not a bad thing, sometimes this can mean that the cost of the insurance premium rises beyond the replacement value of the building itself.

Avoid duplicating expenditure
Check to see what the service charge for your building covers and make sure you are not paying for the same things yourself. Look carefully at the Landlord’s building insurance to see if it covers you for things that you are separately insuring or if you are paying for other items such as the cleaning of the common parts, or electricity bills that the Landlord may also paying for.

Make the most of your space
During difficult times many businesses need less space. Think carefully about your space requirements and try to release unused space that back to the Landlord. You may be able to sub-let the space to another occupier; or share it with an associated business. Surrender or sub-let unused car parking or storage space.

Look for Potential Expansion Opportunities
When times are hard, business space can be relatively economic and Landlords will offer better incentives to new Tenants. It can be a good time to negotiate lower rents and get more generous incentives, such as rent free periods and capped service charges. If you think you may have a requirement for business space in the near future, it can be a good time to secure space at a lower cost and on better terms than you may be able to get later.

And don’t forget dilapidations
At the end of most business leases the Landlord expects the Tenant to pay the cost of repairing, reinstating and redecorating the property. This can lead to expensive claims, including compensation for loss of rent, service charge and rates. It is important to make provision for it. You should also consider carrying out works during the course of the lease so that repairs do not accumulate. You may seek to reach an agreement with your Landlord as your lease comes towards end so that you do not receive any unexpected demands.

Have you been tested?

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:05:26 +0000

Case Study For Managing Agents by John Byers.

We are currently preparing a complex refurbishment scheme for the common parts of a lovely Georgian building in London. Until recently the building had not been managed properly and no records were available for asbestos surveys, electrical test certificates and health and safety risk assessments. This presents a real difficultly when preparing a specification as it is not possible to be sure of the exact extent of work that may be required to the building. Unfortunately such tests often appear an unnecessary waste of resources but they are essential if works are to be specified correctly. In the absence of such information there is no option but to allow large provisional sums in respect of the works that can have the effect of inflating the cost of works unnecessarily, disadvantaging the tenants.