Blog Posts
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Over the past few weeks we have looked at the searches mortgage lenders require when purchasing a property: the Local Authority search, Drainage and Water search, and Environmental search. In addition, there are other searches which you may wish to obtain to find out...
Last week, the Telegraph reported that litigation has commenced in the High Court between Sir Terence Conran and his former business partner, Des Gunewardena. Sir Terence is well known to the public as a celebrity interior designer, restaurateur and a significant...
Yesterday the Court of Appeal heard the case of Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Limited (“BB”) v Grove Developments Limited (“Grove”). Grove was a property developer who had engaged BB as a contractor to design and build a hotel and apartments. The dispute...
Following the series of articles on residential property searches, where we have already looked at Local Authority and Drainage and Water searches, the final compulsory search required by the majority of mortgage lenders is an Environmental Search. As indicated in its...
Over a series of articles, we have been looking at professional negligence claims and how to bring them. As with any type of action for money, it is important to consider whether the proposed Defendant has the money to pay you any award of damages. If they do not,...
Cherie Booth QC yesterday represented two landlords at a hearing where they were seeking permission to bring a judicial review application. The landlords wanted to prevent the government bringing in proposed tax changes in relation to buy to let properties. What is...
Last week we looked at the definition of professional negligence. Once you have determined that there may be a claim, how does the process work? How much can I claim? If you believe that you have suffered financial loss, you will need to prove that that loss was as a...
The way that land is dealt with in law is very strict. The transfer of land in particular is subject to stringent rules pursuant to the Law of Property Act 1925 (“LPA 1925”). Transfers that are not conducted in line within the rules of the LPA 1925 are not considered...
Last week we looked at the various compulsory and optional searches that can be undertaken when you are purchasing a property. The majority of mortgage lenders will require a Local Authority Search to be carried out on the property and your Solicitor will be able to...
We saw last week that obtaining a judgment against a company can be an effective way to recover debt owed by a company. Unfortunately, the existence of a County Court Judgment (“CCJ”) (or, on occasion, High Court Judgment) is sometimes not enough to coerce a Defendant...
In many legal jurisdictions, parties to a contract are expected to act in good faith. The simplest explanation of the doctrine of good faith is that it requires parties to act honestly and not take advantage or make an issue of minor errors in performance as long as...
It is not widely known that a professional negligence adjudication pilot scheme was re-launched earlier this year, giving people with claims against professionals an alternative to issuing court proceedings. The scheme is based upon the construction adjudication...
In a series of articles about recovering a debt from a company, we now look at issuing a money claim and obtaining a County Court Judgment as an alternative to winding up a company. When can I issue proceedings? A money claim can be issued for debts as low as £50.00....
When you purchase a house, your solicitor will carry out various searches on the property to check its surroundings, its location and anything which may affect the property which would not be normally apparent on physical inspection. This article will look into the...
One of the main principles of the law of England and Wales is testamentary freedom - you are free to leave your estate to whoever you choose, however you choose. This is different to many other European countries. In France for example, there are strict rules...
One of the most frustrating parts of pursuing a claim is ensuring that the Defendant actually has the resources to pay you should you succeed. Where you are bringing a claim against a professional, such as a solicitor or surveyor, they should have indemnity insurance...
Last month we looked briefly at a number of the types of dispute we regularly come across at Levi Solicitors LLP. We will now look in a little more detail at these types of dispute. Firstly, rights of way. How do I acquire a right of way? There are various ways to...
Issuing a Winding Up Petition is an often an effective course of action to take to recover an unpaid debt from a company. When can I issue a Winding Up Petition? In order to wind up a company, the company must owe you over £750.00 and the debt must be undisputed. Why...
Are you hoping to purchase a property but unable to commit to the whole purchase price? The Homes and Communities Agency Shared Ownership scheme offers the chance for you to buy a percentage share of your home and pay a reduced rent on the remaining share. You would...
A director of a company has a duty to promote the success of that company for the benefit of the shareholders. However, at the point where it becomes apparent that a company is trading insolvent, his duties change and the director must from this point act in the best...
Neighbour disputes are unfortunately becoming more common and there are so many types of issues that can arise which can result in a legal dispute. Some examples of the types of disputes that we see are set out below. Rights of way If access ways are not clearly set...
Are you hoping to purchase a property but struggling to save for a deposit? Help to Buy gives you the flexibility of purchasing with as little as a 5% deposit. So what is the scheme and how can you benefit from it? What is Help to Buy Help to Buy is a scheme...
Offering the world or accepting an overly-onerous deal... Is there another way? Applicants for new premises licences are expected to offer conditions in their operating schedule which demonstrate the appropriate steps necessary to promote the four licensing...
It is established law that no court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or illegal act and it is an argument often used by defendants, to say that they should not have to pay out what a claimant is seeking to recover, where...
Following on from our last blog on business property relief (BPR), a similar and equally as useful relief for inheritance tax is agricultural property relief. When calculating tax on an estate: Agricultural property relief is applied first; and BPR is applied to any...
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015, replacing three major pieces of consumer legislation, namely the: Sale of Goods Act 1979; Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts regulations; and Supply of Goods and Service. The aim of the Consumer Rights...
LANDLORDS: NEW DUTIES TO IMPROVE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF YOUR PROPERTY If you are the current Landlord of a Commercial or Residential Property or even if there is only a possibility that you may consider renting out your property in the future, you must be aware of a...
On the face of it, inheritance tax appears to be huge at 40%. However, there are things which do in effect reduce the amount of tax payable. Probably the most widely known is the nil rate band and the new residence nil rate band soon to be introduced next year....
Unpaid Invoices In today’s business world it is unfortunately common practice for invoices to remain unpaid for considerable amounts of time beyond their specified payment terms. Unsurprisingly, the aim of the vast majority of our clients is to recover as much of...
I am purchasing an additional property, how does stamp duty work? From 1st April 2016, the government introduced a stamp duty for people who already own a property and are purchasing an additional property. This means that you have to pay stamp duty at the normal rate...
