Clear and obvious danger!

 

There are lots of things in my life that are obvious.

It is obvious that on an average Friday afternoon, I will be found at the bar drinking champagne.

It is equally obvious than at the start of the football season, I will be, erm, well, found at St Marys, drinking champagne (there’s a bit of a pattern forming here).

And it is undoubtedly obvious that when asked what I’d like to do during international break weekend, I asked to, errrrmmm, go to the Champagne region in France, and, well, drink champagne.

My working life, however, is the complete opposite.

It is the very nature of law that it is rarely possible to give unequivocal answers.  In fact, often, the only thing that is certain is that the law is uncertain.

Will I win – possibly, but I can’t be certain.

Can you tell me what it will cost – no, but I’ll do my best to give you an estimate, but it will be subject to change as things progress.

Will my house sale definitely go through – at any point between now and exchange, either party can pull out for no reason at all and even between exchange and completion things can still go wrong, although it’s rare.

So perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that the court of appeal was recently required to give guidance on what you might assume was an easy question – what is a building!

This was because (perhaps unsurprisingly) whoever drafted the Landlord and Tenant Act didn’t actually define what a building was.

Maybe they thought it was obvious, but as city centres become more heavily developed, the question arises as to whether two or more connected blocks of flats are one building, or separate buildings.  When serving notices under the Act, it’s important to get it absolutely right, and so serving one notice, when two or more are necessary (or vice versa) becomes important.  Perhaps, obviously, if you get it wrong, the notice(s) are invalid.

Which is why it’s worth reminding everyone of the importance of getting legal advice at an early stage, and how sometimes, relying on what might look obvious, such as what is a building, might be taking the obvious for granted.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  Obviously.