In times where the electricity and gas supply for heating or hot water are not always secure, landlords and tenants may face various challenges. These might be connection with additional costs or the qualification of a rental property as defective, if the electricity supply/heating system are shut down or only run at reduced capacity. Potential claims may include rent reductions or coverage of losses/damages incurred by tenants in such a position. There is no black and white solution to these issues, yet such claims may be justified, if the rental property is unfit or less fit for its designated use.
Released on Oct 25, 2022
A report on the 12th annual Real Estate Investments Conference which took place in Amsterdam between 15–17 June 2022.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
This article looks at the approach of 25 different jurisdictions to caps on indexation of rent for residential leases. As residential lease contracts usually cover a long term, it is common to agree on an indexation of the rent to secure that the rent level follows the development of general cost of living. This way, a real estate investment has the potential to be an inflation secured investment.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
On 1 August 2022, the Register of Overseas Entities (the Register) opened in the UK, in accordance with The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. This article summarises the current key factors any overseas entity owning or intending to own property in the UK must consider – as there are different dates for Northern Ireland and Scotland, the position that follows is that for England and Wales.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
Over the last few years, fractional real estate has become a buzz phrase among investors involved in India’s real estate market. Given the rising interest in this subject area, this article presents a view on the real estate regulatory concerns about this type of ownership.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
This article addresses the applicability of the doctrine of segregate estates to real estate developments and how Brazilian case law is evolving in the event of judicial recovery where SPVs are used to structure a developer’s business model.
Released on Oct 18, 2022
The article addresses which matters to pay attention to in due diligences regarding change of control clauses in commercial leases where the target company is a tenant.
Released on Aug 24, 2021
Although there has been a phenomenal growth in the data centre sector in India with the advent of many local and foreign players, the sector is still at its nascent stage and suffers from few impediments. The Indian government has released the Draft Data Centre Policy 2020 which aims to counterpoise these challenges, and many states have introduced or are in the process of introducing their own data centre policies as well.
Released on Aug 24, 2021
Current raw material shortages are affecting costs and the timing of construction projects. The key to managing these issues are contractual provisions, which this article discusses.
Released on Aug 24, 2021
This article discusses changes to ‘marine land’ taxes in Brazil, which may provide an opportunity to private owners for savings in future taxes as well as a possible increase in the value of these types of properties.
Released on Aug 13, 2021
Brazil takes a step further towards its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulation within the realm of FATF-GAFI directives and bind notaries, registrars, intermediaries and advisors in real estate transactions.
Released on Aug 13, 2021
A message from the Editors of the Real Estate Section, October 2020.
In Argentina, the National Civil and Commercial Code defines the concept of force majeure. Since the Covid-19 crisis is ongoing, there is still no precedent on how judges may decide current and future claims for breach of commercial agreements due to this event. Judicial decisions will most probably contemplate the unforeseen worldwide health crisis and its negative impact in the economic activity of the country.
Covid-19 has led to both lessors and lessees witnessing unprecedented times, with India imposing curbs to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, freezing every kind of activity barring essential services. This article seeks to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on both the commercial and residential lease markets along with the view of the Indian courts on the same.
Covid-19 has had an important impact on the normal performance of contracts. In the field of real estate, the cases of tenants requesting to terminate contracts have also appeared gradually. In this circumstance, China, the first country affected by the pandemic, has already explored a new mechanism to cope with the situation where tenants breach their contracts and request to terminate, and has applied this mechanism in judicial practice.
This article looks at a recent landmark decision in a case decided by the High Court of Delhi, which has dealt with the question as to whether the governmental lockdown imposed due to Covid-19 would entitle tenants to claim waiver or exemption from payment of rent or suspension of rent.
As lockdown restrictions are relaxed and more companies are starting to think about a Covid-19 Secure return to the office, what practical steps should landlords and tenants take to ensure a safe return? What legal implications will these steps have? Landlords and tenants have a common interest here and it is fundamental to any safe and successful reopening that they work collaboratively and cooperatively.
Is Covid-19 an event of force majeure in England? This article looks at how English law governs the doctrine of frustration and the related concept of force majeure clauses in property contracts.
This article aims to determine how Covid-19 has impacted the real estate sector. Building on existing work on real estate and technology, it asks: To what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the industry’s intention to digitise processes? Has technology adoption sped up or slowed down?
Does Covid-19 constitute force majeure in Danish commercial lease contracts? By Claudia S Mathiasen
The Covid-19 health emergency has deeply impacted the Italian economy, causing an abrupt halt of productive activities and uncertain market trends. With particular reference to the real estate industry, construction activities and lease relationships can be considered the most-affected relationships and the Italian government has adopted several measures for the purpose of supporting the real estate operators.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the defaults of certain obligations of agreements by the parties who have entered into them, produced by the lockdown ordered by governmental authorities and the sanitary restrictions caused by the pandemic, has caused the analysis of the force majeure and acts of God clauses, in order to exclude liability for such defaults, caused by the incapacity to fulfil certain obligations under Mexican legislation.
The Covid-19 outbreak forced the Polish government to conduct some fast and complex interventions in many market areas, including real estate. This article identifies the main restrictions related to retail activity, including those applicable to large-scale format shopping centres, as well as their impact on the performance of the existing lease agreements.
Covid-19 effects on the performance of real estate agreements in Colombia
This article provides a brief summary regarding the legal framework and court decisions ongoing in Brazil due to the effects of Covid-19 on contracts and its recognition as an event of force majeure.
By Mike Edge. What’s in store for 2020? – Real Estate Committee newsletter article, February 2020
This article discusses dispute adjudication boards (DABs) in construction matters, which allow disputes to be resolved on a rolling basis while construction is being completed. After an introduction to the different types of DABs, the article describes the DAB mechanism of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), based in Geneva. FIDIC is the internationally well-known organisation for construction matters and publishes various standard contracts to be used for construction works
By Dr Peter Vocke and Fabian Schmitz. New challenges for share deals – a recent decision on municipal pre-emptive rights
The new Austrian government has proposed significant changes to construction and real estate laws. The changes will serve as incentives to promote investment in sustainable construction projects as well as environmentally friendly refurbishment. It is expected that the Austrian real estate sector, which has had a considerable increase in foreign investment in recent years, will continue to grow, with ‘ecological’ buildings experiencing a stronger increase in value. Also, Austria will hopefully have a surge
With blockchain technology able to combine the elements of co-ordination, security and trust (which are fundamental in any property transaction but sometimes found lacking) with an ability to streamline an often unnecessarily unwieldy and protracted process, is it the future for the smooth running and secure transfer of property?