The government's website provides guidance for landlords on changes contained in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 . Key changes which will take effect on 1 May 2026 include: The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs). All existing ASTs will...
In certain circumstances, the courts are able to grant permission for continued storage of gametes or embryos where the strict legislative requirements for consent to such storage have not been complied with. Recently, the High Court considered 15...
Business agreements should always be formally documented, and failing to do so is a recipe for dispute in the future. Recently, the Court of Appeal dismissed a man's appeal against the rejection of his claim that he had been promised a 50 per cent share in...
From 1 May 2026, changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will provide more rights and better protection to tenants in the private rented sector. Changes introduced by the Act include: The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies. All...
A woman's family have succeeded in their challenge to a will purporting to leave her £500,000 estate to her partner after a judge ruled that the will was a forgery. The woman had made a will in 2022 leaving her estate in trust to her daughter. After...
The Family Court has ruled in financial remedy proceedings that a significant part of the value of a husband's pensions had accrued during the marriage, but rejected the argument that his pensions had become fully 'matrimonialised'. The husband and wife...
The High Court has rejected a challenge brought by a steel company to a grant of planning permission for a development that would require it to vacate land it occupies at Chatham Docks. The owner of a site including the land used by the company had...
The government provides guidance on its website on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs), including how to make and register an LPA, choosing an attorney and when you need to report changes. An LPA is a legal document that allows you to appoint one or more...
A couple who installed a fence around their house in place of a hedge have been ordered by the local council to remove it because it is too tall. The couple had bought the house in April 2024 and moved in four months later. While the house was being...
The High Court has ruled that two girls, aged 10 and six, whose mother brought them to the UK without their father's consent should return to Zimbabwe . The girls and their parents were Zimbabwean nationals. The parents had married in 2014 but never lived...
Under Section 71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 , where a trustee, executor or administrator is liable to pay a solicitor's bill, any person with an interest in the property out of which it may be paid can apply to the court for an assessment of it. A High...
A woman has succeeded in obtaining the right to continue living in an annexe next to her son's house. The annexe was situated on a farm the woman owned and had originally been a stable block. When planning permission to convert it into an annexe was granted...
A recent case in which the Court of Appeal confirmed that a farmer was entitled to buy out his brother's interest in a family farming partnership illustrates the wisdom of having a partnership agreement in place which specifically details the rights and...
The Family Court has ruled in financial remedy proceedings that a departure from an equal division of assets was appropriate in view of the fact that riskier and less liquid business assets would be retained by the husband. The husband and wife had met in...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a mixed-use premises was a 'dwelling' , as defined in Section 38 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 , and the tenants therefore benefited from the controls over the levying of service charges in the Act. The tenants...
The High Court has ruled that a will made by a man who was suffering from delusions caused by late-onset schizophrenia was invalid for want of testamentary capacity. In late 2013, the man had become concerned that someone was trying to break into his home...
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides guidance for the public on data protection and information rights on its website. Guidance is available on the following topics: making a Subject Access Request to find out if an organisation is...
When disagreements arise between neighbours about the ownership of land, it is invariably best to try to reach an amicable solution rather than engage in litigation. In an unusual case concerning the ownership of a driveway , the Upper Tribunal (UT)...
In a recent ruling on a wife's application for a financial remedy order , the Family Court accepted that her caring responsibilities for the couple's son justified a departure from the sharing principle. The Court handed down its judgment as an indication...
A man who illegally acted as a company director while bankrupt has been handed a suspended sentence. He had been declared bankrupt in October 2021. However, investigations by the Insolvency Service revealed that he had operated as a director of four...
The law affords testators a high degree of freedom to pass on their estates to whomever they wish, and the fact that the terms of a will may seem unfair to relatives is not enough to successfully challenge it. This point was illustrated by a recent case in...
The courts are alert to the risk of divorcing couples being less than honest about their assets and liabilities in financial remedy proceedings. Recently, the Family Court rejected a husband's assertion that he owed £1.6 million to a company owned by...
The Court of Appeal has allowed a local planning authority's appeal against an award of costs made against it by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government after it withdrew its support for a planning application. A developer had...
Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 , landlords may evict tenants who have an assured shorthold tenancy which is a periodic tenancy or a fixed-term tenancy that has expired by giving at least two months' notice. However, a Section 21 notice cannot be...
A woman who was subjected to defamatory posts on Facebook has succeeded in having them removed after taking legal advice. The woman and her husband had started to feed and look after a cat that had been coming into her garden. The cat subsequently...
