Goldmile Properties Ltdv. Lecl)olJritis

What steps must landlords take, in deference

to their covenants of quiet enjoyment, when

complying with their repairing obligations

under a lease? Is it enough for a landlord to

take all reasonableprecautions ~ or. is the

landlord required to take al.l.possible

precautions - to avoid disturbing its tepant.?

The landlord brought ip contractors to repair

and clean the exterior of a building, which was

let as a restaurant. The contractors erected

scaffolding and fIxed sheeting to the exter.ior.

of the premises. The interior of theptemises

became dusty and dark, and the resta1.lral1t

appeared closed.

The Appeal Court said that, where t):le

provisions of any contract come into conflict,

they are to be interpreted and applied to give

proper effect, where possible, to each. The

landlord's obligation to keep the building in

repair had to co-exist with the tenant's right to

quiet enjoyment and vice versa. Neither

obligation should take priority over the other.

It would have been possible to restrict the work

to the days on which the restaurant was closed,

but this would have been costly and

impractical. The landlord had sent the tenant a

copy of the estimate for, and had agreed to

spread the cost of, the work. It had also

postponed the start of the work to avoid

interfering with the tenant's busiest period and

had arranged the work to meet the tenant's

requirements in so far as it could.

The landlord was under an obligation to take

all reasonable steps - but not all possible

precautions - to avoid disturbing the tenant,

and had done so.

22Find words or phrases in the above text which match these definitions.

1 An agreement that the lessee can use the property in peace without being

disturbed

c """""'''''''' of q e .............

2 Something done in advance to prevent harm

p .......

3 Someone who enters into an agreement to perform a certain service or

provide a certain product; (here) a company or trader which agrees to

provide construction work

c ..........

4 The expected cost of work to be done

e """"""'"''''

5 To put off or delay until a later time

p ......

,

ng 2: ion

23Discuss these questions in small groups.

1 What is the difference between reasonable precautions and possible

precautions in the present case?

2 The Court reasoned that 'where the provisions of any contract come into

conflict, they are to be interpreted and applied to give proper effect, where

possible, to each'. How is this statement to be understood?

3 Do you agree with the Court's ruling in this case?

4 What do you think the outcome of such a case would be in your jurisdiction?

ning 2: ng ho in n

Lawyersare often involvedin all stagesof the saleand purchaseof real property.These

stagesinclude drafting, reviewingand negotiatingthe contractof sale, handling

payment,aswell as preparingand filing the documentsrequiredto closeonthe property.

Whenthe purchaseinvolvesreal propertyin anothercountry,it will benecessaryto

obtain the help of a lawyerwho is well acquaintedwith the proceduresand documents

requiredin that country.

24What documents are required for the sale of real property in your country?

Do manyforeigners buy property in your country?

25-II;::Listen to the following interview between a lawyer (Ms Blackwell) and her

client (Mr Watson), who intends to buy a house in Spain.

1 Who is Senor Martinez?

2 Tick the steps that must be followed to buy a house in Spain.

a Draw up power of attorney

b Submit financial history of buyer

c Apply for fiscal number

d Negotiate agent's commission

e Set up bank account

f Arrange financing

g Inspect premises

h Sign contract

i Hand over 1% of the purchase price

j Hand over remaining deposit (9% of purchase price)

k Sign final documents

26Decide whether these statements are true or false.

DDDDD

DDDDDD

1 A notary will translate the power of attorney document.

2 A power of attorney allows the client's Spanish lawyer to complete necessary

paperwork when the client is not in Spain.

3 The contract for the sale of the house will be written in both English and

Spanish.

4 The client's English lawyer does not want to look at the contract, since

Senor Martinez will be drawing it up and has extensive experience with such

contracts.

5 The client must be present for the final signing so that he can hand over the

rest of the deposit.

Unit 10 Real property law

E

Reading5: Reference email

In the previouslistening exercise,MsBlackwelldiscussesthe stepsto betaken by

MrWatsonand his Spanishsolicitor, SenorMartinez,when purchasinga housein Spain.

Thefollowing email, written by SenorMartinez.is referredto byMsBlackwellin the

dialogue.In the email,SenorMartinezprovidesan accountof his professionalexperience

asa lawyer.

27Accordingto the email, what is Senor Martinez's specific area of expertise?

What else qualifies Senor Martinez to help Mr Watson?

From:

Subject: Spanish property purchase

Dear Ms Blackwell

Thank you for your email of 15 May, in which you request my services

as legal counsel for your client, MrWatson.

Allow me to provide some information regarding my professional

background. As a Spanish lawyer specialising in the sale of real

property, I have 15years' experience in assisting buyers from the UK

in purchasing holiday or retirement homes in the Costa del Sol

region. During this time, I have provided my services for the

successful completion of hundreds of real-estate transactions. I have

not only accompanied my clients through all of the steps involved in

the process of buying a home in Spain, from drawing up an initial presale

contract to final completion, but have also gained particular

expertise in negotiating the terms of sale of real property. May I also

add that I have studied law in both Spain and England, and therefore

possess knowledge of the legal systems of both countries. I also

speak English fluently.

I would appreciate it very much if you would inform MrWatson that I

would be happy to assist him in purchasing a home. Please could you

forward this email to him and ask him to contact me at his

convenience.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Mateo Martinez

,

Writing 2: Summarising and requesting

28The following phrases can be used for making requests:

Couldyou please provide me with...

Wouldyou mind sending me ...

I'd appreciate your sending me ...

Read Senor Martinez's email again and find two more phrases to add to the

list.

29The English lawyer, Ms Blackwell, wants to respond to the email and to inform

~~~~TIl Senor Martfnez of the matters she has discussed with their mutual client.

»P.~961Write her email to Senor Martinez in which you should:

0 thank him for his email;

u state the reason for writing;

u briefly summarise the content of the interview with the client (you may need

to listen to the interview again or read the transcript of it on pages

272-273);

0 request copies of all documents Senor Martinez draws up in connection

with the house purchase;

u offer your assistance, if needed;

u thank him for his efforts.

When asking for the copies of documents, use some of these phrases from

Exercise 28.

30Using Senor Martfnez's email as a model, write a brief account of your own

ASNASMWfE.fRfiprofessional experience as a lawyer to send to a prospective client.

»P.Z97

'~

D

{~\ Unit 10

To improve your web-based research skills, visit www.cambridge.orgjeltjlegalenglish.click on

Research Tasks and choose Task 10.

Unit 10 Real property law

E

Language

Vocabulary: distinguishing meaningWhich word

out? You may need to consult a dictionary to distinguish

meaning.

1. to rent

2 lessee

3 to fulfil

4 capability

to lease

grantee

to comply

opportunity

Word formationComplete l

the nouns listed. Underline

one syllable.

Noun Adjective

statute st<:U:v. tor~

reason

negligence

capability

inheritance

prospect

necessity

safety

Vocabulary: completing clausesComplete the clauses below from a tenancy

agreement using the words

deemed harmless

reaconGblc rules

herein

thereon

liable Lessee Premises quietly

I INSPECTION OF PREMISES.Lessor and Lessor's agents shall have the right at all r~?.9.n@.L~times

during the term of this Agreement to enter the for the purpose of inspecting the

Premises and all buildingsand improvements 'HHHHHHHHHHH and also for the purposes of makingany

repairs, additions or alterations as may be 'HHHH'H appropriate by Lessor for the preservation

of the Premises or the building.

2 INDEMNIFICATION.Lessor shall not be 'HHHH"HHH"'HHHH' for any damage or injury of or to the Lessee,

Lessee's family,guests, invitees, agents or employees or to any person entering the Premises or

the building of which the Premises are a part or to goods or equipment, or in the structure or

equipment of the structure of which the Premises are a part, and HHHHHHHHHHHHH' hereby agrees to

indemnify,defend and hold Lessor HHHHH"HHH from any and all claims or assertions of every kind

and nature.

3 QUIET ENJOYMENT.Lessee,upon payment of all of the sums referred to HHHHHHHHHHH' as being

payable by Lessee and Lessee's performance of all Lessee's agreements contained herein and

Lessee's observance of all HHHHHHHHH'HHHH and regulations, shall and may peacefully and HHHHHHHHHHH

have, hold and enjoy said Premises for the term hereof.

Verb tenses: past simple or present perfectChoose the correct verb form for

each of these sentences.

lOur lawyers represented

developers and tenants in a

financing litigation.

2 Last month, / has won an important suit involving property

owner and occupier liability.

3 In the past ten years, the attorneys in our firm handled / have handled a

large number of landlord/tenant disputes.

4 Since it was founded, our firm advised / has advised clients on the full

range of property issues.

5 In the year 2004, the real-estate department of our firm was involved / has

been involved in a successful lawsuit concerning a large commercial

development.

CollocationsMatch the nouns the box with the verbs below which they

commonly collocate with. Some of the nouns collocate with more than one

verb. Consult a dictionary if necessary.

andlbrds, property owners,

real"estate and real-estate

1 abandon:

2 comply w

3 terminate:

Sentence completionComplete these sentences using a suitable verb from

the list in Exercise 5. Some verbs are needed more than once.

1 The fact that tenants

from the duty to pay rent.

2 The security deposit will be refunded if you the lease.

3 The agreement contains a provision allowing the landlord to

tenancy within six months of the beginning of the tenancy.

4 In the case of the non-payment of rent by the tenant, the landlord has the

power to the lease.

5 A lease which does not

wholly void.

Adjective or adverb?Choose the correct options to complete this text, in which

a lawyer explains what quiet enjoyment means to a client.

tl1.8 premises will not normally relieve them.

the

tile aforemeDtiQDed requirements is

A covenant for quiet enjoyment is 1)normal /~contained in any

2)good- / well- drafted lease. The term 'quiet enjoyment' refers to the right of

a tenant to use and property and not be interrupted by an act of the

landlord. It doesn't 3)actual/actually refer to noise, as you might think. For

example, there are 4)specific / specifically things a landlord may not do, such

as 5)continual/continually obstruct access to the premises. He is also not

permitted to off or 6)persistent / persistently interrupt the gas or

7)does

and so a landlord is

example.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1080