Real Estate Tip of the Week: S2 – as relevant as ever!

Published 26 May 2020

While new law is, perhaps, taking the limelight in the current Covid related economic climate, one particular law is as relevant as ever as parties seek to vary pre-Covid property contracts to either keep them alive or give new commercial meaning to them.

Last week we identified a number of variations to leases that landlords should consider, which can be found here. Variations to property contracts may also be necessary. Whenever a variation is made “for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land” (which includes an agreement or option for a lease), section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 must be considered.

Such variation must:

• Be in writing;
• Incorporate all the terms that the parties have expressly agreed in one document, or where contracts are to be exchanged in each document; and
• Be signed by or on behalf of each party.

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the variation being unenforceable, so you cannot simply rely on a conversation or exchange of emails for the variation to be effective.

If you are considering making a variation to a lease or property contract, or you have concerns about the validity of a variation, please do get in touch.