What is a ground lease? A ground lease is a long-term agreement where a ground tenant leases land from a landowner and has the right to develop and use that land during the lease period. Typically, the ground tenant owns any...more
Many commercial real estate land parcels in New York are held through a long-term ground lease structure. This includes approximately 100 co-op buildings in New York City that are located on property that is ground leased....more
In the U.S., wind and solar project development continues to increase. In fact, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) anticipates that wind and solar energy will continue to exceed electrical generation by other means....more
This newsletter explores the emerging legal topics and issues affecting the condominium and cooperative services industry. Thought-leading attorneys from Moritt Hock & Hamroff’s Condominium and Cooperative Services Practice...more
The King’s speech announced a new Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill ‘to reform the housing market by making it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to purchase their freehold and tackling the exploitation of millions of...more
In a recent decision, the Second Circuit held that only parties with the right to pursue a breach of contract claim under an executory contract or unexpired lease have the right to demand a cure payment in the event the...more
The so-called “mansion tax” approved by Los Angeles voters in 2022 and effective April 1, 2023 (Measure ULA) is a misnomer. It establishes a new 4% documentary transfer tax on the sale of any real property priced or valued...more
Ground lease structures have become a common feature of conduit financings in the municipal bond market. They provide tax advantages to projects and can be structured several different ways depending on the tax-exempt status...more
As businesses begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, brick-and-mortar retail and restaurant leasing is showing strong growth. U.S. retail vacancy fell to 6.1 percent in the second quarter of 2022, the lowest level in at...more
The problem - You are the landlord of a residential block in England. The flats in the block were sold on long leases. Each lease reserves a ground rent of £250 a year payable in two instalments every six months....more
A CEQA challenge to water allocations by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power were barred by the statute of limitations because the allocations were under leases approved years earlier. County of Mono...more
A ground lease is both a conveyance and a contractual agreement between a landlord (the ground lessor) and a tenant (the ground tenant) pursuant to which the ground lessor, as the fee owner of the real property, conveys a...more
On March 30, 2022, the New York State Supreme Court, New York County (the “Court”) decided in Times Square JV LLC v. Walber Broadway LLC that a ground lease-tenant that is in default under the ground lease for failure to pay...more
The desire to get in on the ground floor of offshore wind development in the U.S is at an all-time high. Following the announcement by President Biden of a goal of producing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and a...more
The decision in Foster House Tenants Association v. New Bethel Baptist Church Housing Corporation, Inc., et al., No. 20-CV-635 (D.C. 2022), issued on May 26, 2022, concerns whether a ground lease or transaction that includes...more
Can improvements to real estate, such as buildings, be owned separately from the land beneath them? This is not usual, although permissible, such as in a ground lease situation; however, a recent decision from the Indiana...more
This article looks at the impact and timing of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, the first concrete step in the government's wider residential leasehold reforms. What? The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent)...more
As a practitioner who regularly advises clients on qualified opportunity zone (OZ) matters, I have spent the bulk of the past three years discussing ground lease structures. Developer clients initially cringed at the notion,...more
In this episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Nossaman Real Estate Group Co-Chair David Graeler and associate Maya Hamouie discuss myriad problems that may arise when a market rent adjustment provision in a long-term ground...more
Once the building on a ground-leased property is completed, the ground landlord has a very secure rent stream. While the rent under the ground lease is based on the value of the unimproved land, if the ground tenant defaults...more
As a commercial leasing attorney, I have nervously and carefully been watching the leasing industry during this pandemic that we call the new normal. After a lull in leasing activity, I am happy to report that as of the...more
This article examines the different types of preferential rights in ground leases for medical office buildings, and examines strategies in drafting preferential rights provisions to protect the interests of both ground...more
Traditional trading businesses naturally focus primarily on their operating business, but often are unaware of the relatively simple options available to ensure they are making the most of their real estate assets. In a...more
A five-part seminar series that will provide Hampton Roads businesses with ideas on how they can be more profitable and reduce risk in 2020. This presentation will highlight the key provisions that tenants should negotiate...more
The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) amended the rules governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to provide the Committee with the authority to review minority...more