Sunday, March 31, 2013

Property management, law and practice


Description:
Do both questions. Remember it is essential that you state the relevant law, and support your arguments with reference to statutory or judicial (case law) authority where available and appropriate.

Wherever you quote, acknowledge your source.Make use of the University guidance on ‘referencing your work’. Do NOT write out extended chunks of any text book or other source material.Click here to get more on this essay..... 

You are being particularly asked to demonstrate compliance with the following three criteria. Very broadly (the nature of the task does not readily lend itself to exact mathematical breakdown, and there is ‘overlap’ between the criteria) the first of these three criteria attracts 60% of the available marks; the second criterion attracts 30% of the available marks, and the third criterion attracts 10% of the available marks.

1. Ability to identify, and thoroughness of understanding of, the relevant legal principles, including the ability (in a ‘situation-type’ case) to distinguish how particular legal principles are applied (or found not to apply) according to the facts at issue

2. Depth of research in support of your arguments; use of sources.

3. Clarity, legibility and correctness of written expression, particularly in the communication of sophisticated and complex arguments


The total word count (the aggregate for both questions – ie NOT per question) will probably be in the region of 3500; but note - this figure is very much a guideline, not a limit. It will be difficult to write less than the guideline and still cover all relevant material, in appropriate depth – unless you are capable of writing in a very succinct and orderly manner. Most students, however, require about 3500 words to cover all relevant material fully. There is no formal limit, but if you find you are seriously exceeding 4500 words in total you should carefully check that you have not strayed into irrelevance; if you have done so you are likely to be marked down.
Equal marks are awarded for each question.


1. To what extent does the traditional ‘institutional’ lease (term of at least ten years with upwards only 5 yearly rent reviews, full tenant repairing responsibility either by direct covenant to repair the whole or partial covenant to repair with all else paid for through a service charge, and covenants affording the landlord a considerable degree of control over alienation, change of use and tenants’ alterations) remain the optimum type of lease for letting commercial property of different types. Consider alternative types of (and alternative types of provision in) leases now found in the market, including an analysis of their advantages and disadvantages in particular situations (or even in general). (25%) Click here to get more on this essay..... 

2. You are a management surveyor employed by BigBucks plc. You are responsible for the running and management of The Old Gaff Shopping Centre, which is owned by BigBucks plc. The tenant at Unit 22 is Von Trapp Emporium (UK Holdings) Ltd., the wholly owned UK subsidiary of Von Trapp Gruppe Gmbh. This company is registered as a limited liability company in Austria.

You were approached this morning by their store manager, who tells you that trading for them has been very poor recently, and the Austrian parent company has just issued a directive to the UK subsidiary to cease trading with immediate effect, dismiss all UK staff (including the store manager) and ‘repatriate’ all remaining stock and any other assets belonging to the subsidiary to Austria, where the parent is likely to be wound up in a couple of months because the global market for the goods they trade in has collapsed.Click here to get more on this essay..... 
‘After today’, he tells you, ‘we simply won’t have a presence here. So I’m instructed to give you back the keys and the lease document, on the basis we’re surrendering the lease with immediate effect.’ He goes on to say ‘I’m sorry, I know it’s awfully short notice but I need your decision this morning. After that there simply won’t be anyone around for you to deal with. We haven’t got time to involve lawyers and produce any formal documents; I’m told just to give you everything back.’ You tell him you’ll have to give this some thought and ask him to return in a couple of hours.
You check the lease terms. It was originally granted on 2nd October 2008 to Next-but-one plc (who were then, and remain, a major fashion retailer) for a term of seven years commencing on 29th September 2008 (with no rent review) and otherwise it is on the same terms as the specimen form of commercial lease which appears on Blackboard. You see there is one other document with the lease (headed ‘Licence to Assign’ but you don’t for the moment have time to check its terms. You do however check your management file and see that all rents and service charges are fully paid up to date, but you see there is some correspondence regarding a dispute (which does not seem to have been resolved) about some potentially quite expensive items of internal, non-structural disrepair.
Your immediate thought is that the unit would be very hard to relet. But then you remember that the tenant of Unit 7 (a very small unit) recently told you in casual conversation that his business is ‘bucking the trend’ and is currently so successful he’d probably like a larger unit to trade from.

What else do you need to check, and consider? What are (or may be) the feasible alternative courses of action available to you in the context of the law, the terms of the lease and other relevant document(s), the management position and the practical situation you find yourself in? What are the advantages and disadvantages of those respective courses of action? (25%)

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