Member Talk series: Back-to-basics on land law

This series of bitesize videos, exclusive to Property Section members, is delivered by experts to support you in giving the best possible legal advice to your clients.

Break clauses in commercial leases

Understand the key legal points on break clauses in commercial leases.

This video explores the conditionality in tenant’s break rights, the relationship with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, and withdrawal of break notices in different situations.

 

Speaker:

• Warren Gordon, senior professional support lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, Property Section advisory committee member and Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee member

This video was recorded 12 March 2024

Negotiating insurance and repair provisions in leases

Explore the importance of insurance provisions for both tenants and landlords, including issues on loss of rent and repair obligations.

Speakers:

• Hannah Bayliss, trainee solicitor in the commercial property team at Wilson Browne
• John Punni, solicitor and commercial property partner at Wilson Browne

This video was recorded 9 April 2024

The key differences between a lease and a licence

Explore why is it important to distinguish between a lease and a licence, and when one over the other may be the more advantageous and preferred option.

Our speakers also highlight what a tenancy at will is and the leading case of Street v Mountford [1985] which determines whether occupation is considered as a tenancy (a lease) - or a licence.

 

Speakers include:

• Clare Harman Clark, senior counsel (knowledge) at Taylor Wessing LLP, and chair of the Property Section advisory committee
• Nikki Bensoor, senior associate solicitor at NSS Legal Limited

This video was recorded 16 September 2024

Basics of easements

Understand what positive and negative easements are and what an appurtenant right is.

Our speakers highlight the definitions and case law that gives the characteristics of an easement. They also discuss:

• why easements are important
• the difference between a grant and a reservation
• how to create an easement
• how easements are protected, so binding on successors of the servient tenement

 

Speakers include:

• Clare Harman Clark, senior counsel (knowledge) at Taylor Wessing LLP and Property Section advisory committee chair
• Lucy Pattison, lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter and non-practising solicitor specialising in land and property law

This video was recorded 2 October 2024

Certificate of Title

The City of London Law Society’s Certificate of title is used for real estate transactions involving corporates, usually for lending but also less often for the purchase of real estate assets or shares in property owning companies

This Certificate of title is one of real estate lawyer’s most widely used and important documents and our speaker provides you with some insight into the background to the Certificate, what it does, its structure and associated documents. They also highlight some of the key changes for the most recent Eighth edition of the Certificate that launched in May 2023.

Part 1:  In this first session learn about its context, purpose and structure, and the potential liability of the certifying firm.

 

Part 2:  In this second session, look in more detail at aspects of the Certificate such as disclosures, Company confirmations and the various schedules.

 

Speaker:

• Warren Gordon, senior professional support lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, Property Section advisory committee member and Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee member

These videos were recorded 23 April 2025