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If you’re a landlord, you’ll know how fast the rules have been changing recently. It’s not over — several new laws and regulations have either been passed recently or are being considered. So what do you need to know? The Tenants Fees Act 2019 This received the Royal Assent in February, and its provisions will be applied from the beginning of June. Under the Act, landlords will only be permitted to ask for certain pa

When you’re signing a commercial contract with a partner, you may find it includes a penalty clause. Or possibly you’ve included one in a contract you’ve drawn up. This is, in essence, a clause which states that a specific sum is payable in the event of a specific failure, such as late delivery of materials or services, or late payment of an invoice. Liquidated and Unliquidated Damages Penalty clauses have a contenti

The chances are you’re looking forward to a holiday over the summer, whether your tastes involve lying on a beach or something more active. If you’re running your business efficiently, there shouldn’t be a problem about taking a couple of weeks off to enjoy a well-earned break. However, there are potential dangers. There have been a number of cases where an employee has received a very plausible ema

Although often a controversial topic, instructing a bailiff is one of the most effective ways of collecting a debt in the UK. If a tenant is in rent arrears or they have another outstanding debt to you, using the services of a bailiff is often the most straightforward means of recovering the amount. If you instruct a team of bailiffs to recover an outstanding debt from your commercial property – whether that is a sho

The end of the tax year is in sight, and it’s a time when many businesses suddenly find unpaid invoices making a hole in their profits. Hopefully you’re on top of your finances, but do get in touch with SJ Collections if you need any help chasing up debts. 2018 seems to be throwing up more challenges than usual for SMEs, from the government’s overhaul of the Corporate Governance Code to an unprecedented level of cybe

Any legal document requires close scrutiny before you sign it, and this is certainly true of a commercial lease. The ideal solution would be to have the agreement drawn up by a commercial law solicitor working for you, who’ll ensure there are no nasty surprises. Often, however, your landlord will present you with a ready-made agreement. Most landlords won’t be trying to cheat you, but the agreement will have been dra

Tax evasion and avoidance are big news these days, and most of us associate them with the multinational corporations and super-rich celebrities we read about in the news. But HMRC recently revealed who the biggest culprits are — SMEs. SME Tax Evasion HMRC estimates that they’re owed a total of £5.2bn in evaded tax payments, and of course those are only the debts they know about. Tax evasion, unlike tax avoidance, is

The Oxford English Dictionary defines responsibility as “The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something”, and action as “The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim, or to act or do something official or concerted to achieve an aim or deal with a problem”. The question is, how can we take responsibility for our acti

As I reported in the spring, the government has introduced tougher measures against landlords who fail to meet their regulations. One of the most controversial of these is the Right to Rent rules, obliging a landlord to make sure all tenants are in the country legally. This has created a whole extra layer of bureaucracy for landlords and letting agents. The BBC has revealed, though, that fraudsters are making their p

Most landlords are familiar with “that” tenant — the one they’re constantly having to chase up for overdue rent. Recent research suggests that 68% of landlords have experienced problems with rent arrears and late payments, but a new application could make it harder for tenants to miss payments, while at the same time rewarding the more conscientious among them. Late Payments Many tenants will once or twice in their t