GN/CPSE.3 is part of the Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE) suite of documents, prepared by members of the London Property Support Lawyers Group and endorsed by the British Property Federation.
Use of this CPSE is free, subject to the Conditions of use set out below.
GN/CPSE.3 (version 2.0) is available in Word and PDF format - access by clicking on the tabs below.
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For details of the amendments made to the CPSE, see the Update, Amendments to the CPSE - version 2.0.
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The CPSE.3 enquiries should be raised in addition to the CPSE.1 enquiries where the Transaction involves the grant of a new lease of the Property by the Seller to the Buyer.
These guidance notes:
Enable the enquiries to be presented in a concise form without the need for illustrative examples.
Are intended to help the legal advisers, the Buyer and the Seller to understand why individual enquiries are raised, how the enquiry should be answered and what may need to be done depending on the nature of the reply.
The Buyer may wish to keep a set of the guidance notes with the Seller's replies to the enquiries to assist the Buyer in understanding and using the information in the replies both during the period of the Buyer's ownership and later on a subsequent sale of the Property.
The enquiries stand on their own and do not depend on the guidance notes for interpretation.
This document may be used freely and without charge subject to the following:
The user identifies this document, and any part or parts of it, as GN/CPSE.3 (version 2.0) and as being part of the suite of documents comprising the Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs). Details of these documents can be seen at www.practicallaw.com/Article_ID=24974.
Use of the CPSEs, including the guidance notes, is at the user's own risk. Neither the participating law firms who prepared the CPSEs, their partners and employees, the British Property Federation nor Practical Law Company Limited represent that the CPSEs, including the guidance notes, reflect or will be kept up-to-date to reflect modern law or practice relating to commercial property transactions, that the guidance notes comprise complete or accurate statements of the law to which they relate or that comments and suggestions within the guidance notes are appropriate or sufficient for any particular transaction. Such law firms, their partners and employees, the British Property Federation and Practical Law Company Limited exclude all liability to the user and the user's clients for any losses, liabilities, damage or other consequences arising from the CPSEs, including the guidance notes, failing to reflect modern law or practice relating to commercial property transactions, the guidance notes not comprising complete or accurate statements of the law to which they relate or for comments and suggestions within the guidance notes not being appropriate or sufficient for any particular transaction. A list of the participating law firms can be seen at www.practicallaw.com/Article_ID=16220.
The user acknowledges that use of this document is with the consent of the Practical Law Company Limited, the British Property Federation and the participating law firms. Any reproduction of it must be marked © MEMBER FIRMS OF LPSLG AND PRACTICAL LAW COMPANY LIMITED 2002-3 and must bear the logo of the British Property Federation.
The user will not change the text of this document (including these Conditions of use) or represent that it or any part or parts of it is anything other than GN/CPSE.3 (version 2.0). If the user wishes to raise any enquiries additional to those contained in this document or in the other documents comprising the CPSEs, the user will do so in a separate document that identifies clearly those additional enquiries as being separate from and additional to the CPSEs.
The user can use this document in connection with the provision of legal advice or legal training, including advice or training given for reward or commercial gain, but otherwise the user will not sell or publish for reward or commercial gain either this document, whether in whole or part, or any document which incorporates it, whether in whole or part.
Enquiries 1.9 to 1.12 inclusive will need to be answered by the Seller (landlord) only where the Property forms part of a Development in respect of which a service charge is already in operation. It is important for the Buyer (tenant) to be fully aware of all information regarding service charges so that it can assess its likely liability.
The Buyer (tenant) will need to know who is to manage the Property as in practice the day to day contact with the Seller (landlord) is likely to be through the managing agents. The Buyer will wish to know the charges that the managing agents can make and pass on to the tenants through the service charge provisions in the Lease, and whether the landlord is planning to charge a management fee itself if no managing agents are to be appointed.
Enquiry 3.2 Where a landlord insures a property that is then damaged by a tenant of that property, the landlord can make a claim on the insurance policy. The insurance company may in turn make a claim against the tenant who caused the damage and recover the amount of the insurance claim that was paid out. The insurance company is entitled to do this under its rights of subrogation. The Buyer (tenant) will object to this if under the Lease it will have in fact paid for or at least contributed to the insurance policy premiums. The Buyer (tenant) may wish to negotiate a waiver of the insurance company's subrogation rights against it. In practice that is believed to be the common law position where the tenant pays the insurance premium, following the case of Mark Rowlands Ltd v Berni Inns Ltd [1986] QB 211, but the position is not free from doubt.
Enquiry 4.2 This enquiry is raised because of the uncertain status of a lease, and therefore of the tenant, where the lease has been forfeited but before any resolution of any application for relief. There have been cases where the landlord has issued forfeiture proceedings and has granted a new lease to a new tenant, to find subsequently that the former tenant or a mortgagee or a creditor of that tenant is successful in an application for relief from forfeiture.
