The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was finally published and, alongside the anticipated changes to commonhold and promise of a future ban on new leasehold flats, the Bill also proposes a £250 a year cap on ground rents...more
Recent executive actions and federal guidance have targeted wind and solar development, creating substantial uncertainty for the U.S. offshore wind industry and also reshaping the regulatory landscape governing onshore wind...more
The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has confirmed that cross‑parcel or “neighboring” heritable building rights constitute a permissible legal structure, abandoning its jurisprudence. These rights are still valid...more
Solar developers contend with a wide array of challenges, from competing for viable project sites to combatting disinformation surrounding the expansion of clean energy development. With demand for energy rapidly growing...more
Ground leases are a unique and complex form of real estate transaction that offer distinct advantages and challenges for both landlords and tenants. Unlike traditional leases that involve the short-term leasing of land and...more
When a developer encounters a landowner unwilling—or unable—to convey fee title, the project doesn’t have to stop. In Texas and other jurisdictions following the Uniform Condominium Act, the leasehold condominium provides a...more
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals recently issued a significant tax opinion dealing with whether parties to a real estate transaction could avoid transfer and recordation taxes on a long-term ground lease by...more
Although wind and solar project development in the U.S. experienced record-breaking sales in recent years, headwinds are anticipated to increase. Several challenges continue to delay deployment, such as lack of sufficient of...more
Ground leases are an important – if somewhat unusual – part of the real estate finance industry. Because they typically cover large expensive properties like Rockefeller Center and The Empire State Building, to name two, and...more
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