What is a house? – mixed use commercial premises 

You may have been following the case of Jewelcraft v Pressland which has been making its way from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has turned down the landlords’ application for leave to appeal.

Whilst this is not a wholly unexpected result, the Supreme Court has missed an opportunity to carry out a significant ‘clear up’ of the law in this area.
Whilst the position in relation to ‘mixed-use’ premises where there is a shop with flat above has perhaps been clarified, the position is still unclear in relation to other types mixed property.

A full copy of the decision can be found at:
Jewelcraft v Pressland Court of Appeal

If you have, or are involved with mixed use property, held under a single lease (of more than 21 years), where the commercial parts are sublet, then there is a possibility that the freehold may be acquired under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.

There has been a lot of interest in this case for the very good reason that the position concerning other types of ‘mixed use’ property is still unclear.