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The many regulations imposed on landlords of residential rental properties may seem a hassle at times, but most are simply what a responsible landlord would want to conform to. This is certainly true of the rules around carbon monoxide alarms — and these are to be updated in a couple of months. Why Are Carbon Monoxide Alarms Essential? The last thing any landlord wants is for tenants or their guests to be killed by c

You have a lot on your plate as a business owner, and keeping your accounts up to date might seem like something that can be put off till you have more time. This is unwise, even if nothing goes wrong, but there are circumstances when getting caught with your accounts undone could lead to disqualification as a Director. The Case of Mitchell Smith The government has recently announced the disqualification of Mitchell

The liquidation of a company doesn’t always have to be a traumatic event. There are many reasons why a decision may be taken to close down a company and, as long as it has enough assets to pay all creditors in full, this can be done in an orderly fashion through a solvent liquidation. However, occasionally this procedure goes wrong, and the liquidator is forced to convert the process to an insolvent liquidation

If you’re a responsible landlord, you may well already carry out EICR (electrical installation condition report) checks regularly on all your properties. From 1st April, however, this will be a legal requirement, with fines up to £30,000 for failure to comply. What Is the EICR? An EICR is the document that an electrician issues after carrying out an inspection on the electrical equipment in a property. Dependin

Are you one of the many SME owners who have been forced to close your business, wholly or partially, during the Covid-19 lockdown? If you have Business Interruption insurance that covered closure due to disease, you may have been one of the policyholders refused payment by your insurer. However, there’s good news. A ruling by the Supreme Court on the 15th January has established that in most cases closures due

Did you know that your business email footer must contain specific pieces of information by law? The Companies Act (UK letterhead legal requirements) states that all business must display the following business details on their letterheads. The name of their business The part of the country that the business is registered The registered company number The address of the registered office Furthermore – if you’re a par

Last month, Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton unveiled his proposals for a radical change in the court system — the Online Solutions Court. This is part of a six-year plan to modernise the courts. In particular, it involves digitising the administration and processes of the judicial system, bringing the courts into the 21st century. It can be accessed from home, but it’s envisioned that physical courtrooms wil

There comes a time, when dealing with unpaid accounts from a client, when a business has to consider taking legal action to recover the debt. If you have a longstanding legal relationship with a firm of solicitors, they can probably advise you when that point has been reached. But for most small firms, there is a balancing act to be performed. Luckily, going legal does not necessarily mean launching court action. As

Contract law is the basis of all business activity, whether you trade in goods or services. The law applies to your purchases from a small shopkeeper or the multi-billion deals made between multi-national companies. Legislation can fill in the gaps in contracts with statutory implied terms, such as the Sale of Goods Act, or offer protection to the vulnerable, for example through the Consumer Credit Act governing the

One of the first questions I ask a new client asking for help in chasing an unpaid account is, how old is the debt? That’s because the law, specifically the Limitation Act 1980, sets time limits for starting court proceedings for recovery of the amount owed. The account becomes ‘statute barred’ in legal jargon. That does not mean the debt is wiped out, but we’ll come back to that. For unsecured debt, the law is reaso