Earlier this year, Justice Secretary Michael Gove announced that planned cuts to the legal aid system were to be shelved. This was some relief to both the legal profession and to people facing substantial bills for court cases, but it didn’t reverse the swingeing cuts brought in three years ago. What Is Legal Aid? It’s a basic principle of our legal system that justice should be available to everyone, but it usen’t t
The Digital Economy Bill, proposed in the Queen’s Speech, aims to give households the right to high-speed broadband access. This is part of an ongoing strategy aimed at raising the standards of broadband provision throughout the country, and gives the regulator Ofcom powers to compel providers to make available minimum speeds of 10Mbps. Why Does It Need to Be Fast? High-speed broadband isn’t just about getting
Most of us would struggle to do without a phone, but the price of our dependence is being bombarded by nuisance calls and text messages. You may have been plagued by calls offering you everything from PPI compensation to double glazing — and those are the more benign ones. Many nuisance callers are trying to scam you. You’re not alone. Research by Which? suggests that between 2013 and 2016, 40% of all phone calls wer
Every Landlords worst nightmare are problem tenants What do you do when a tenant stops paying rent? You either run to the court or even your solicitor with a load of papers crying that you want him/her out of your property, preferably the following day. “It ain’t going to happen”. Irrespective of whether you have correct paperwork in place, or not, at the commencement of the tenancy this action could take not weeks b
For landlords in the private residential rental sector, having the right to regain control of your property when you need to is a vital power. Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 allows landlords to end an assured shorthold tenancy by serving notice, without having to show any fault on the part of the tenant. Stephen Eccles, Head of Dispute Resolution law at Pinney Talfourd in Upminster, is our expert in landlord and
Since 1 October 2015 it has been possible to grant a new type of Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) – a Home Business Tenancy (HBT). So what is a Home Business Tenancy and why has this new category of tenancy been introduced? What is a Home Business Tenancy? A Home Business Tenancy is essentially an AST where the tenant is given permission to carry on a home business from the property. The permission can either be blank
The government has released details of the new tax allowance for landlords who furnish their residential properties. It replaces the old wear and tear allowance, but how does it differ and how should you plan for its introduction? Current wear and tear allowance If you’re a landlord of residential accommodation which you let furnished you’ll already know that you can claim a tax deduction for wear and tear of equipme
Following a report by accountant Teresa Graham, the rules for pre-packaged sales of insolvent businesses have been updated, and the oversight of the practices has been altered. Changes in the Statement of Insolvency Practice (SIP) were introduced on 1st October and 1st November 2015, while the pre-pack pool was introduced on 2nd November. Pre-Pack Insolvency Pre-pack insolvency is an approach to Administrations where
New requirements for residential landlords to ensure that a tenant or lodger can legally rent a property are coming into effect. The new requirements requires private landlords, including those who sub-let or take in lodgers, to check the right of prospective tenants to be in the country to avoid being hit with a penalty. The changes will start where a tenancy agreement commences on or after 1 February 2016 in Englan
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