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How can government help the retail sector

how can government help the retail sector?

19 March 2012

That was the question asked and answered by Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise at the Retail Week retail conference in London this week. In his talk he had positive messages about Mary Portas’ proposals, the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships and planning changes.

He also advocated the scrapping of 170 of the 257 pieces of legislation affecting retailers, including the creation of a new consumer “bill of rights” to simplify consumer law.

But will this really make life easier for retailers? At least part of the plan is to implement the EU Consumer Rights Directive which includes giving longer cooling off periods for consumers (14 days rather than 7) and will change practices that currently exist – benefiting the customer, no doubt – but making life easier for retailers? I suspect that some of the audience may disagree.

We are looking at the changes anticipated by the Consumer Rights Directive at the next in house lawyers seminar.

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Service charges – the bad news keeps coming for tenants!

A few months ago, we discussed a case where the Court of Appeal ruled that the wording of a lease precluded the tenant from arguing that certain costs should not have been included in the service charge calculation. A recent high-profile case concerns a broadly similar issue, this time in relation to the proportion of the landlord’s costs payable by a tenant.

A landlord’s service charge certificate was conclusive as to the sums payable by a tenant under a lease

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the wording of a service charge clause precluded a tenant from challenging the sums claimed by a landlord.

Handing back an empty shell of a building did not fulfil a vacant possession break condition

Break rights have proved a fertile source of litigation over the last few years. Courts have consistently required strict compliance with the terms of those rights.

Retail ATMs and business rates: clarity at last!

Judgement has been handed down for the seminal case of Cardtronics UK Ltd and others (Respondents) v Sykes and others (Valuation Officers) (Appellants) [2020] UKSC 21.

View all blogs

Richard Nicholas

Partner and Responsible for In House Lawyers

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