PCTs – Legal aspects of CIAMS

April 2010 has now passed and so, as a PCT you will no doubt have completed the required property audits and your CIAMS (Commissioner’s Investment and Asset Management Strategy) will now be up and running.

Taking this strategy forward will of course heavily involve your estates team however you should not forget the legal implications as well.

It is not unusual for organisations to work closely on their property portfolio with their surveyor, their architects and their project managers only to find that there is a legal stumbling block which could have been more easily resolved at an earlier date.

Unforeseen problems

For example, you may be reviewing commissioning of services through your GP Practices. Their buildings may be out of date and you may wish to work with them to move them to newer buildings.

BEWARE: disposing of their current premises may be more difficult than you first think, for example:
• there may be negative equity; or
• there may be ownership difficulties within the partnership.

These issues can be resolved but they take time and may have cost implications on the rest of your strategy.

Leasehold properties – do you know the key terms?

Alternatively you may hold a property on a leasehold basis and consent may be required before you make any alterations or attempt to dispose of the property. There may be break clauses within the lease which would enable you to exit the property without further liability. Usually these are time limited and can often be forgotten and the benefits lost altogether

Legal issues on freeholds

Even when you hold the property on a freehold basis there may be some legal issues to deal with before letting, developing or disposing of the property. For example the land may be subject to a restrictive covenant on use making disposal options more limited. There may be public rights of way across the land which are difficult to close or easements for utilities providers which will affect any proposed development.

At George Davies we act for a number of clients both in the Public and Private sector with large property portfolios and the benefits of having all of this information up to date and to hand cannot be understated.

If you would like further information of how our property review service could help your CIAMS implementation please contact Jennifer Lewis on 0161 234 8851 or email jenniferlewis@georgedavies.co.uk.