Property development

Many legal issues are often raised during development projects. Unlike transactional activities, this can involve a very large number of actors and related issues. It is about the relationship with the municipality and other authorities, the relationship with previous owners, the relationship with those who are going to rent what is being built and the relationship with neighbours.rnrnWe have extensive experience in all parts of the real estate law, both the civil (general) property law and the public law (special) property law. In contact with the municipality, this may involve land acquisitions and regulations for land development and land allocation and development agreements, which may, for example, trigger questions about what may be agreed and forbidden direct procurement. Another common question is how obligations should bind future owners. Of course, in relation to the municipality, zoning plan and building permit issues are also common. This is especially true for older plans, when time has lapsed between the municipality’s will with the plan and when the actual development is to be carried out.rnrnThe relationship with other authorities can be related to environmental permits, water law permits, land surveying measures of the land-surveyor (for example, to adjust the property allotment to match the zoning plan or to set up joint property facilities). This may also include, for example, sign permits from the Swedish Transport Administration, permission to use public land from the Police Authority and more.rnrnOther parties, former owners, users and neighbours, can trigger many types of questions during development. In relation to previous owners, questions could arise such as who is to clean up contaminated land, should the purchase price be adjusted if the construction works well and what obligations can a new owner “avoid”? In the case of the user/tenant, for example, it is crucial that the lease can withstand time delays that a development can entail without the tenant having the right to prematurely terminate the lease. Finally, neighbours may have to be dealt with given that they can, for example, disapprove of buildings and appeal building permits.rnrnIn addition to the above, there are also contracting issues where it is important to have vast expertise and knowledge. In this area, we can offer qualified assistance in both reviewing the construction contract itself, but also for example handling the construction issues in line with municipality regulations in a development agreement and with the tenants’ leases.