Property, Trusts and Succession – Academic Session 2016/2017

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Property, Trusts and Succession – Academic Session 2016/2017

Assignment

Students should answer both parts A and B.

The maximum word count, for both parts together, inclusive of footnotes is 3,000 words.

Parts A and B are equally weighted in marks (50% of the overall assignment mark each).

Deadline for submissions is 1700 on Wednesday 22 March 2017

Part A (worth 50%)

You are a trainee in a law firm. Your supervising Partner has met with a new client, called Jack. Following that meeting, you have been provided with a factual background to Jack’s issue:

“Jack and Victor are partners. They combined their savings, and recently purchased a flat in Glasgow. The flat is one of six in a tenement block. The tenement has a paved garden area to the front, and a grass garden area to the rear. Each flat has a pro indiviso share in both the front and back gardens, the close and the loft space.

The flat is in need of renovation. Jack and Victor started with some gentle DIY tasks, which had been done in agreement with each other.

One day, however, Jack returned home from a weekend away visiting a friend to find that Victor had carried out significant changes to the flat whilst he was away. Victor has wallpapered the living room in a lurid green, and has replaced the traditional, and long surviving, single-pane windows with bulky double glazing. As Jack walked into the kitchen, he was able to stop Victor from ripping out the original tiles from the walls, a type of which are no longer available.  Victor had planned to replace these tiles with woodchip.

None of these changes had Jack’s approval.

Jack is distraught.

Jack explains that he had gone away for the weekend as the weather was bad, and he does not enjoy being in the flat during high winds. He has had trouble sleeping as the high winds had been causing the windows to shake loudly.

He also explained that he is particularly upset as he and Victor are soon to be married. Jack is not sure if he can now go ahead with the wedding, and he wants to move out of the flat. Victor has so far refused to consider selling up, and Jack doesn’t know what he can do.

I need to advise Jack soon, but Property law is not my area of expertise. Please prepare me a memo explaining the relevant legal issues. In particular, I am keen to know:

      i.        Was Victor entitled to carry out the changes?

     ii.        Is Jack able to prevent him from making any more changes to the property? If so, how?

    iii.        Can Victor stop the sale of the flat if Jack wants to move out? Are there any remedies available?

    iv.        Would it make any difference if Jack and Victor were to get married?”

With full reference to relevant authority, prepare a memo for your Partner advising on the issues and options arising for Jack.

Part B (worth 50%)

Separately, your Partner has met with another new client, Navid.

“Navid leases a premise in the Craiglang area of Glasgow. He leases the premise from a landlord, called Isa, who allows him to occupy the premise for £1000 per month. Navid and Isa have known each other for a long time, but Navid’s memory is going – he can’t remember if they ever entered into a written lease or if it was an oral agreement.

Navid uses the premise to operate a convenience store from where he sells a wide variety of produce. Recently Navid has discovered that a lot of his stored produce, which he keeps in a stock room within the premise, has been damaged by water ingress coming from the roof. Navid has therefore refused to pay rent, and has asked Isa for damages for £5,000 to cover the damage caused to his stock which he claims has been ruined such that he cannot sell it to customers. Isa considers that this is a diversionary tactic from Navid from his failure to pay her rent for the past 6 months.

Please prepare a memo explaining the relevant legal issues. In particular, please consider:

1. i.              What are the essential elements for the constitution of a valid lease in Scotland? Does the arrangement between Navid and Isa constitute a valid lease?
2. ii.             Assuming there is a valid lease, what are the obligations of a landlord, such as Isa, and the obligations of a tenant, such as Navid?
3. iii.            Are there grounds for either Navid or Isa to bring the lease to an end based on the alleged (in)actions of the other? What other remedies may they each have against the other?”

With full reference to relevant authority, prepare a memo for your Partner advising on the issues and options arising.