Defective Premises Act 1972 and Building Liability Orders
3 February 2025
Insight Hub
31 January 2025
In a decision issued this month, the Court of Appeal in Natural England v Cooper[1] ruled that Natural England (“NE”) has the power (and standing) to obtain injunctions to secure compliance with regulations that govern the use of uncultivated land. The regulations concerned are the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (SI…
Read more28 January 2025
Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report in September 2024, the Prime Minister pledged to fast-track the remediation of unsafe buildings, signalling a strengthened focus on building safety. The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) was consequently launched in December 2024 with an aim that by 2029: “all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a Government…
Read more24 January 2025
Simon Kiely, a Partner in Sharpe Pritchard’s Dispute Resolution team, acted for Lewes District Council in prosecuting national building materials supplier Travis Perkins. The prosecution came about for offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (the Act) following a fatal accident involving wood falling from one of their delivery vehicles. At…
Read more24 January 2025
Many commentators have focused on extensive proposals to improve employee rights within The Employment Rights Bill (the Bill). However, tucked away in the Bill are a number of proposals that may not be as publicly provocative but nevertheless are going to have an impact on public sector employers. Currently, the TUPE regulations act to “lift…
Read more23 January 2025
The National Audit Office released a report on 16 January on the challenges faced by Government when procuring technology suppliers. This is not just a challenge we see with Central Government, but is a challenge faced by authorities across the public sector who are seeking to implement real digital change. The procurement of technology and…
Read more9 January 2025
The decision of Jervis v Harris [1996] Ch.195 (“Jervis“) established a key precedent, providing commercial landlords with a common law mechanism to enforce tenants’ repairing obligations under their leases. The case The dispute in Jervis concerned a tenant who was obligated under the terms of the lease to keep their premises in “good tenantable repair…
Read more9 January 2025
At a glance Recent decisions, including by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, highlight contracting authorities (‘CAs’) ability to abandon a procurement process where appropriate. Here the CA decided to withdraw a £65 million pound contract award after legal action was commenced by an unsuccessful bidder. This is not the first time the…
Read more