Real Estate Development - Dissertation Example

 Real Estate Development Introduction Legislation in United Kingdom involves landlords define the role and responsibilities they play in their premises. The owner has the responsibility to repair the premise over the tenancy period. The owner ensures safety of the residence against fire, health hazards and protection from infection. The owner should use asbestos free materials in construction of their premise to avoid residence contracting deadly diseases. The fire and health safety precaution is the responsibility of the owner. The premises should maintain good hygiene and proper sanitation to prevent health related diseases (Brennan, 2014).. The fire and safety are the responsibility of all the stakeholders, but the owner is answerable to the authority in case of fire breakout. The organization should be aware of dilapidation to avoid liability on their part. Disability Discrimination Act advocate for non-discrimination of disabled persons by the landlords. Body Landlord’s in United Kingdom have a responsibility to repair the premises they let out to the tenant. The premises should be in good condition to fit human habitation both internally and externally. The landlord is liable under section 11 for any damages suffered by the tenant and visitors into the premises. The proprietor should assure regular water supply, repair of water and electricity pipes, and repair of the window. The safety and proper sanitation is the also the owner duty, and sanitation is necessary to avoid any diseases that might arise due to poor hygiene (Hopkins, 2010). The owner is only responsible for repairs alone and not maintenance or alteration of the e existing building. Before the tenant resides in a premise, the tenancy agreement form should be written down to lay the responsibility of both parties towards the property. Both sides should adhere to the terms as per lease form (Wilkie, Luxton & Kilcoyne, 2013). According to section11 tenancy act of 1985, the landlord are required by the statute to keep repair to the premise. The owner of the premise should be held responsible for the supply of water, gas and electricity. The buildings serviced are affected by age and the remaining useful years of the property. It is the responsibility of the owner to restore the building to the level of his ability and deem fit for dwelling but not necessarily to its current condition (Barclay, 2006). Under section11 subsection six the owner have the right to the premise for repair, and the time should reasonable and the notice to access the premise should be given 24 hours prior and in writing. If the owner is denied access into the premise, the proprietor will not be liable for damages for disrepair. Tenants will be punishable by the owner property if he or she deny access for repair because the property will continue to worsen. The landlord will deduct the tenant’s damage fee to replace the loss after the expiry of the tenancy (Abbey & Richards, 2009). The tenant should demand repair before residing the building, and he is entitled to vacate the room after one week if they found the house not fit for use. Tenants are in breach of repair obligation if they deny access to repair to the landlord, and the statute allow the owner to demand possession if the premise is in disrepair. Moreover, if the tenant is not in the premise can make an appointment for another time or allow the owner to enter the building for repair. Under the statute, the owner is advised to enter the premise with a witness. The occupant is responsible in case of any damages caused to the premises (Cheshire, Burn & Cartwright, 2011). The tenancy agreement states clearly the compensation of to the proprietor due to interference with the premise. There is a protocol to follow when claiming legal proceeding against the owner. The tenants must inform the owner by a letter of request for repair. If the property possessor does not observe the tenant’s letter of claim, he or she will be liable to comply with the payment of the damages to the tenant under section 11. Failure of residents to give the protocol will be a defence for the property owner in the court. The owner will ask the court to allow the tenant to observe the protocol according to section 11. Tenants Act section 17 requires the owner to perform the repair in case of the tenancy agreement because compensation is not sufficient. The court will order for compensation and repair the premise (Diacon, Pattison & Vine, 2009). The court can order repair that is not part of the contract between the land lord and tenant, failure to carry out the order can lead to imprisonment of the owner. The court has the right to order repairs by a third party on behalf of the tenant at the owner expense. The owner of the premise should take necessary precaution to avoid liability and respond promptly to the letter of repair from the tenants (Spencer, 2013). The tenant and visitors to a premise are required by law to take reasonable duty of care within the premise. Section 4 is a defensive law to the owner, and the law requires the persons within the premise to take care of their safety to avoid personal injury and damages to property. The premise includes the buildings and the gardens within the compound of the premise. The owner will not escape liability from using the defence since the owner is supposed to regularly check the facilities within an interval of 1week. The act will still amount to liability to failure to take care of repair to the premise. The property owner will pay damages to the visitor and the tenant (Spicer, 2012). The law applies to the premise rubbish areas, stairs, lift, escalator and corridors. If the suffer a disease and injury from such areas will call for compensation from the owner ((2011). It is important for Pain Estate Plc. and the tenants to be aware of dilapidation, consequence for repair and financial preparation. Dilapidation is governed by tenant’s terms of the lease, the tenancy act and the case law. It seems to be a complex subject which has evolved over a period of many years. Dilapidations involve decoration of the building, repair, alteration of the existing state and re-establishment. Liabilities arising from the dilapidation can materialize during the lease period or at the expiry of the lease (Sproston, 2011). It is important for Youens Ltd to consider dilapidation issues in real time to avoid exploitation by the Pain Estate who is the proprietors after the contract period. It is the responsibility of Young Ltd to be aware of dilapidation because the owner usually raises such issues the contract period because the proprietor is given 6 years after the expiry of the lease to make a claim (Denton-Ashley, 2013). Failure of a Youens Finance Ltd to comply with the obligation of dilapidation can make Pain Estate claim the following: repairs to the premise, decorations and reinstatement. The tenant is supposed to restore the premise to be improved than before the lease. The repair might not be part of the contract but arise in the course of the lease due to the clauses in the lease and the lease law. The owner requires the tenant to decorate internal and external of a premise in an interval of 3 to 5 years during the lease period (Sims, 2011). During the lease term, the tenant is required to re-instate alteration during the period and of the previous lease. The court requires the tenants to repair, decorate and the re-instate the building within a short time to allow the owner to lease out the building to another person. Youens Finance Ltd should take proper care while undertaking the alteration to the building to avoid liability arising from dilapidations (Garner & Frith, 2010). Youens Finance Ltd can reduce their liability against dilapidation by consulting the professional surveys. The surveyors can negotiate and measure the real amount repair because most owners over value their cost of repair. The chartered surveys provide case law to assist the company to reduce the liability. The company should seek legal advice from their lawyers concerning a legal action to get a professional help. Tenants should seek the professional guide before entering into a lease with repair contract (Frolik, 2008). A surveyor is supposed to visit the premise to ascertain the condition of the building. The lawyers can advise the company whether to take the lease basing on the report of the enterprise surveys. The tenant’s opinion at the beginning of the lease is binding, if as per their opinion the premise is in good condition it is enough for the tenant to require repair. Youens finance limited break binding clause with Pain Estate before the entering into a lease agreement. Asbestos is a group of occurring minerals fibres that causes diseases in the humans. Exposure to asbestos causes cancer; asbestos causes half of deaths due to cancer. Inhalation of fibre contaminated in the air causes asbestos condition. The buildings that contain asbestos materials expose the residence to asbestos related diseases. Pain Estate chimney contain asbestos that was friable and powdery. The fibre has proved the employee of studios who are subtenants; the exposure has caused deaths to some of the employees (Wyatt, 2013). Asbestos has a long effect on the environment exposure since even if the owners stop using the materials now its effect will last for the decade to completely clear. Materials that contain asbestos should be used under proper care to avoid exposure to the residence because it amounts to a legal liability on the owner of premises. The owner should maintain an asbestos register to prove the buildings are from asbestos. The record should show that materials used to construct the buildings are free from asbestos. Health and safety in housing is a key role to the owners of premises in United Kingdom. The Housing Health and Safety System is an organization that addresses the effect of health and safety in buildings (Great Britain. 2008). The group assists the surveyors to give evidence of the condition of the house before the tenant sign for a lease contract. The local authorities require that all owners raise the health and safety of the residents. The health standard of the premise is achieved by: using lead-free materials, asbestos-free material, water supply, hygiene, food safety and proper drainage system. The suggestion by Youens Finance Ltd to the proprietor to provide accessible toilets to the visitors will improve the sanitation and hygiene of the company. Safety of to the building is the responsibility of the landlords. The entire premise should be set free from the unsafe circumstances such fire and falling within the premises that can injure or damage the visitor to the premise. The premise should be free from noise pollution that can damage ears of the residence. The demolition of the chimney by the company to allow space for sound zone will reduce noise from studio within the building. If a visitor suffers an injury from the slippery floor, the landlord will be held liable for the damages bear. For the owner to escape the legal liability, should make the visitors aware of the nature of the floor under occupies liability. The premise heat should be regulated to avoid excess heat to the residence causing discomfort. The landlords should take care of any hanging items in the building that can fall to injure the tenant and visitors to the building (Matauschek, 2010). Disability discrimination Act gives a right to the persons with disability access rights. Alteration of a building to suit a disabled person is necessary for them to access the premises just like any other person. Under the tenancy agreement, change of a premise requires consent from the landlord. Youens Finance Ltd applies for an approval to remove the granite steps that stretch from the street level all the way to the entrance hall, allow their disabled clients together with guests to access the property. Pain Estate in construction of the building should have included the physical features of that allow the disabled people to access the premises. It will be awkward for the company deliberately decline the request. The legislation should determine the case that cans landlord decline consent. The law will protect the rights of both the landlord The joint committee on disability bill was passed to prevent the landlords from withholding the consent to make any alteration to the building to allow the disabled persons access the building. The committee suggested that no owner would be permitted to withdraw consent in matters that involve disabled persons. The minister of disability criticized the bill did not include the entire nation; Scotland does not appear in the bill. Therefore, the members of parliament did not pass the bill. The rejection of the bill call for adoption of Disability Discrimination Act section 22 to 24 in 1995. The law prohibits the landlords to discriminate disabled people in management of the premises. The act was replaced in 2005 because it did not give duty to the owner of the premise to include alteration. The law gave right to a disabled lessee to alter the premise. The act gave right to the disabled to enjoy the premise with no limitations (Hopkins, 2010). Legally Landlords have a responsibility to protect the property and individual who reside on their buildings from fire. Fire hazards differ across different premises; landlord are required by the legislation to undertake a fire risk evaluation in the entire premise. The assessment will allow the owner to know the risk places and are the most risk person in case of fire breakout. The owner will find the effective policies to reduce the risk of fire. Housing Act 2004 regulates fire safety in Britain; the act ensures that the premises had adequate fire safety measures. The landlords should ensure that the premise has emergency doors and other means to escape in case of fire outbreak. It is an obligation by law to provide an escape route in the premise, Failure to do so will call for a liability for damages due to fire. The fire safety act creates a responsible person to avoid fire hazards in the premises. Pain Estate should access the entire premises to ascertain the most risk areas in case of fire outbreak. The owner should ensure that the leaseholders take the necessary precaution to reduce fire outbreak in their apartment. The application to remove the fire lobby in order to access the offices direct from the lift should not be accepted since fire lobby is an escape route for an emergency. More fire lobby should be created on the other floors to reduce the number of deaths due to fire. Pain Estate to obtain an insurance policy against fire, the policy will compensate for the loss of property loss. The insurance policy should include third party to gather for loss of visitors to the premises. Fire assessment by the company should include all the lies out property and sub-lease to reduce risk of fire, and whole people escape from the building with no injuries. Premises should make sure all the individuals in an organization know how to react whenever there is a fire breakout. The premises should contain instruction when there is an emergency. The instructions should be in writing and has some symbols to stress the matter. Instructions are placed in the entrance, offices, corridors and common rooms. Pain Estate should also call fire safety meeting to sensitize residents to be responsible persons. The management should create more fire assembly point within the premise to avoid congestion at one place. The government has appointed fire-inspecting officer to take care of fire safety. The officer has a power to enter into the premise without permission from the property owner. Pain Estate should work with the fire and rescue authority to prevent fire break out in that fight occur. The authority gives the management safety and control measures that can be of importance to the safety of the premise (Newman, 2006). It is the obligation of the supervisor to find out if the owner of premises complies with the fire and safety. If the management fails in their duty to abide by the act the fire and rescue authority, then it will give the company alteration letter, enforcement notice and prohibition notice. The alteration letter contains the details of fire assessment in a premise. The letter should provide a change in the organization by management to include fire safety and comply with the Act rules. Enforcement is sent to the management when there is a significant non-compliance with the authority. The notice reminds the individuals to undertake fire and safety precautions. Prohibition notice prevents individuals from entering the risk premises. The notice serves as a warning to dangerous premises that might call for emergency at any point in time. The notice will reduce the number deaths due to fire. Conclusion The sub-tenants should take a legal against the property owner Pain Estate. Pain estate did not take the necessary precaution against residence exposure to asbestos fibre. Subtenants take the legal action for inhaling and using ventilation infected with asbestos powder. Exposure to asbestos powder causes cancer; thus the persons working in the studio may contract cancer and other related diseases in the future. The studio has recorded high number of death caused by asbestos. Member from the studio can take legal action against the deceased. Pain Estate is liable to pay damages due the fibre because there was no record in Asbestos Register. The management is requiring disclosing all the necessary information to the clients. Pain Estate Plc. as the owner of the premise should perform all the duties as per the legislation of United Kingdom to avoid legal liability from the lease contract and tenancy agreement. The management is responsible for protecting the safety of lease and sub-lease contract. The premises are safe from fire outbreak and diseases; this serves to safeguard the rights of all the residence. Pain Estate should allow alteration of the building to allow the disabled persons to access the building. The alteration will bring equality in the organization. Management of the estate should introduce ways of dealing with asbestos to avoid exposure to the residence. The repair to the building is a continuous process from the beginning of the lease up to the end. The repair will maintain the building to be s suitable for human dwelling. Appendix Landlord Responsibility and Consideration The owner of the premise should make sure the building is safe and healthy for the residence and the visitors. The premises should be from harmful hazards and have adequate heating. Good lighting system should and free from asbestos. Under the Fire and Safety Act, the owner should comply with the act to avoid the fire in the premises. The owner should provide for the accessible escape route to the persons in case fire broke out. The escape route should have adequate lighting for proper safety. According to section 11 of the tenancy Act, the landlord is in charge of repair to the building. The owner should keep the repair of the premise for the entire lease period unless the tenant was responsible for the despair of the building. The owner has a right to inspect and ask for repair to the premise. The tenant in request for repair should do it in writing. Failure of the owner to perform repair amount to a legal action in case the tenant suffers a loss due to disrepair. Reference ABBEY, R., & RICHARDS, M. (2009). A Practical Approach to Commercial Conveyancing and Property. 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