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With drones now selling for as little as £50, and both commercial and private use of drones increasing rapidly, sometimes for dubious purposes, is there any law regulating the use of drones or have the skies become the Wild West? Many of the...
The “bitcoin” currency came into existence in 2008. With digital currency beginning to acquire legitimacy of traditional assets (as bitcoin are now worth substantially more than their nominal value in 2008) these assets must not be overlooked....
One of the most common, but important, references to statutory legislation within commercial Leases is in respect of the exclusion of Sections 24 to 28 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. It is extremely common to see reference to the exclusion of...
WTOs, FTAs, Customs Unions and EUs? Let us simplify a few things on potential trading implications for the UK post Brexit As the Brexit negotiations are intensifying, we thought it would be helpful to look in more detail at the legal framework by which...
For those of you who have sold a property in the past, you will be aware of the reams of questionnaire forms that you are required to complete to provide information about the property to your prospective buyer. One of these forms, the Property...
On 15 th September 2018 the Justice Secretary, David Gauke, announced proposals to change the procedure for obtaining a divorce for separated couples and introduce a ‘no-fault divorce’. The prospect of divorce reform was considered recently by...
There are several ways to enforce a money judgment, and it is important to select the method which is best suited to the facts of the case. If the judgment debtor has extensive property assets, obtaining a charging order over one or more of those assets may...
Professionals or businesses who own the premises from which they operate can benefit hugely from putting their commercial property into a self-invested pension pot (SIPP). Once in the SIPP the property can be let to the business at a market rent. The...
A survey carried out by Shelter in 2017 found that 43% of private landlords applied a policy of refusing to accept tenants in receipt of housing benefit. This apparent discrimination has provoked a considerable amount of public outrage and media attention. ...
Ever since written agreements have been in place, a good few centuries or so, a party to a contract has indicated their agreement to it by signing on the dotted line. This may have been a mark with cross, an untidy scrawl or an elegantly flourished moniker,...
Frequently Asked Questions concerning Testamentary Guardian appointment:- Can I appoint a guardian for my minor children in my Will? Yes you can appoint a Guardian or Guardians of your minor children in your Will. When does the...
Is divorce reform around the corner? We take a look at this question in our latest blog and in the light of the recent Owens vs Owens case where the husband was represented by Hughes Paddison.
Japanese Knotweed has become one of the most talked about and prevalent issues in property transactions over recent years. The mere mention of the dreaded plant is enough to put buyers, sellers, lenders and conveyancers on edge. Not without just cause...
Behaviour Divorce Petitions and the Dismissal of the Owens Appeal The Supreme Court handed down Judgment on 25 July 2018 in respect of the appeal of Mrs Owens, who was appealing against the decision of the lower Courts who dismissed her petition for...
Family businesses are a popular choice for those with the confidence and conviction to forge a career either by starting out with parents and siblings or, more typically, children joining the family business ultimately with a view to taking over when their...
In the recent case of London and Ilford Limited v Sovereign Property Holdings Limited , the Court of Appeal has left a property developer with a bloody nose and a financial headache. In the context of a property transaction, the term...
There have been numerous recent reports in the media concerning problems arising from the ownership of leasehold flats and houses. What is a Leasehold Property? It is a property which is owned by way of a lease and the owner of the lease is known...
On 27 th June 2018, the Supreme Court handed down Judgment in respect of the appeal of a different sex couple who wish to enter into a Civil Partnership, rather than marry. Civil Partnerships were introduced in 2004 to allow same sex couples to have their...
The role of morality clauses in contracts has been in the spotlight recently amidst the whirlwind of allegations surrounding the likes of Weinstein, Spurlock, and Spacey. Film distributors and publishing firms have been hastily reviewing their contracts to...
Recently the world watched as Donald Trump, President of the United States of America and Kim Jong-Un, leader of North Korea signed a key agreement in Singapore (“ Singapore Agreement ”). This agreement contained provisions for peace and the...
Tenants of commercial Leases must be extremely careful when exercising a break option under their Lease. Quite often the break clause in the Lease is drafted heavily in favour of the landlord and the break clause itself is conditional on certain...
Following the Grenfell tragedy last year, there has been panic amongst owners of blocks of flats up and down the country prompted by the realisation that their own blocks may be clad in the same apparently lethal material that appears to have triggered the...
During the course of financial remedy proceedings, it is likely that there will be some change to lifestyle, future plans, housing, etc. The Court is focused on parties being able to suitably re-house with the paramount consideration being to any children...
Fishing for information from the other side is a common feature of litigation. Extracting admissions, acknowledgements and evidence from the other side is all part of the tactical scuffling that goes on in legal proceedings. The Court Rules allow you...
In the recent case of Green v Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited , the Court of Appeal was asked to consider whether a lender’s failure to agree to change a disabled borrower’s mortgage from a repayment mortgage to an interest-only was...
It has been impossible to miss the extreme level of scrutiny that Facebook has been placed under in the past few months. The revelations that approximately 87 million users, without their consent, had their data harvested by political marketing firm,...
In a nutshell, a trespasser is someone who occupies property without the permission of the owner. Getting rid of trespassers is easy, right? In some cases, yes. But in cases of a relationship breakdown where one partner who owns the house asks the...
Often an overlap between family and criminal law can occur for victims or those accused of domestic abuse, harassment or threats. It is not unusual for victims of domestic abuse to require the advice of family law solicitors as well as criminal solicitors,...
Normal Expenditure out of Income Exemption An underused but effective Inheritance Tax exemption is the normal expenditure out of income exemption . It may be the case that an individual has income which exceeds their reasonable requirements,...
The case of Riva Properties v Foster & Partners concerned a successful professional negligence claim against the world-renowned architects, Foster & Partners. It is a cautionary tale of the consequences of failing to follow a client’s instructions. Whilst the case concerns architects, it is applicable to professional advisers of any specialism.
The Supreme Court has recently handed down a judgement in a case involving an individual's claim against his firm of solicitors,
A Health and Care Decisions Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to appoint your choice of person or people to make health and care decisions on your behalf if you become permanently or temporarily mentally unable to make these decisions for...
Terms and conditions (“ T&Cs ”) are the bedrock of any commercial agreement. Whilst parties to commercial agreements are looking to establish and cultivate productive and profitable relationships, they are also concerned with limiting their...
In this article we will look at the circumstances in which a permanent exclusion can take place, what the exclusion process is and what you can do to support your child. The right to expel a pupil derives from the contract between the school and the fee...
Connected or still on hold? The Digital Economy Act 2017 (the “ New Act ”) has brought a much needed revision to the archaic and overcomplicated Electronic Communications Code 1984 (the “ Old Act ”). The New Act will...
In Phones 4U Ltd (In Administration) v EE Ltd , the High Court rejected EE Ltd’s claim for damages against Phones4U totalling £200 million. As outlined below, EE Ltd had made a costly mistake. Phones4U and EE’s relationship was...
It is a dangerous myth that once you have your Decree Absolute in divorce, this automatically dismisses all financial claims you and your spouse have against each other. This is not the case, a financial order is required to dismiss all financial...
A few weeks ago, the promoters of pop band Little Mix were sued under the Equality Act 2010 for failing to make reasonable adjustments in the form of providing a British Sign Language interpreter for a deaf concertgoer. The Claimant, a deaf mother, sued the...
“Not another article on GDPR!” I hear you cry. Businesses are increasingly aware that they need to be GDPR compliant by 25 May 2018 and are trying to work out what that means for them. There is plenty of information out there, but it is...
During the 2017 Autumn Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the First Time Buyer Stamp Duty relief which came into effect as of the 22 nd November 2017. There has been a mixed response to this new incentive which has been widely...
It is a restriction that you will find in many leases. A ban on tenants keeping pets in the property. An absolute ban seems pretty black and white; pets are banned, simple. But what if the lease says that you can keep pets but you need to seek...
Dealing with the death of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences that a person can go through. This grief is made all the more painful when the loved one in question is taken before their time and leaves behind a young child or children without...
Judges are only human. They make mistakes and they get things wrong. This was illustrated all too clearly in the repossession case of Teign Housing v Lane. This was a Housing Association’s repossession claim against a tenant suffering...
When people hear the word ‘doping’ they automatically think of an athlete who was using prohibited substances to enhance his performance in a competition and therefore is a culprit worth banning from competing ever again. But what about the...
There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about revenge evictions and the precarious status of tenants who occupy residential properties on short term tenancy contracts or on monthly periodic contracts. The argument goes that these...
The common-law marriage myth A recent poll conducted by the Office for National Statistics (Families and households: 2017) showed that unmarried couples living under one roof is the fastest growing family type in the UK, more than doubling from 1.5...
A landowner allows an individual to erect a beach hut on his land. That individual then starts using the beach hut periodically and pays an annual fee to the landowner. After a few years, the landowner wants the beach hut off his land. What is the landowner...
The case of General Motors UK Ltd v The Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd concerned a licence agreement which allowed General Motors to discharge surface water into the canal for a modest annual fee of £50.
The Upper Tribunal has ruled that a landlord’s failure to shop around and obtain a competitive insurance quote meant that the premium was not “reasonably incurred” and therefore not payable by the tenants. In the case of Cos Services Ltd v Nicholson & Willans, a landlord was responsible for the insurance of a block of flats. The tenants were obliged to contribute to the insurance premium via the service charge.
Crowdfunding is the buzz word when it comes to raising funds – whether that be for an exciting new product, a kidney transplant or a new film. So, is this something we should all be getting involved in? Historically, financing a new enterprise meant...
