Latest News
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...
The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England & Wales and Scotland have issued a joint Ninth Addendum, updating earlier Presidential Guidance issued on 5 September 2017, announcing the rates payable for the three bands that are used by Employment...
The Income Tax rates and allowances for the 2026/27 tax year are largely unchanged from 2025/26. The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you begin to pay Income Tax – remains at £12,570. It reduces by £1 for every...
Where a partnership's members include a company, the company's share of the partnership's profits is calculated as if the partnership's trade was carried on by a company, by virtue of Section 1259 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 . The Court of Appeal...
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 Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a company that sold range cookers against a ruling that it had infringed AGA Rangemaster's trade marks. The company's range cookers were fitted with an electric control system, which could also be fitted to...
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 National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 came into force on 1 April and made the following changes to the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates: The NLW, which applies to those aged 21 and over, will...
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 Renters’ Rights Act 2025 represents one of the most significant reforms to the private rented sector in decades. With key provisions expected to come into force from 1 May 2026, landlords must now take proactive steps to understand their...
If you need assistance with your tax affairs, you should always ensure you deal with appropriately qualified and regulated advisors. Recently, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) upheld discovery assessments raised against a taxpayer who claimed travel and...
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026 , which details the annual inflation-linked changes in limits on the compensation amounts that can be awarded by an Employment Tribunal (ET), will come into force on 6 April 2026. The new rates apply...
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 Supreme Court has ruled that a trade mark registered by a company that manufactured oat-based food and drink products was invalid in relation to such products. In April 2021, the company had registered the trade mark 'POST MILK GENERATION' for use in...
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...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled that a company which used ghostwriters to turn people's life stories into books was making zero-rated supplies of books, not standard-rated supplies of ghostwriting services. Customers would contact the company via...
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...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that, when rejecting an employee's complaint of unfair dismissal, the Employment Tribunal (ET) did not err in law in not identifying an additional complaint of disability discrimination under Section 15 of the ...
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...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a film company's claim for unjust enrichment against two companies involved in making Rogue One: A Star Wars Story should be struck out, overturning earlier rulings that the claim should proceed to trial. The actor Peter...
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 government has updated the timetable for implementing key changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 . A number of measures relating to trade unions and industrial action, including protections against dismissal for taking industrial action, came into...
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...
In a case concerning a taxpayer who was not domiciled in the UK, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a decision that transfers from his overseas bank accounts to UK bank accounts of non-relevant persons amounted to taxable remittances under Section 809L of...
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...
Buying your first home is an exciting milestone, and Kent continues to be a popular choice for first-time buyers thanks to its coastal towns, historic cities, villages and strong transport links to London. Here, Elliot Aish , a partner and solicitor in the...
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...
The Supreme Court has ruled that a hotel company could not deduct input VAT on professional fees relating to the sale of a subsidiary company. The company received management fees from a wholly owned subsidiary which operated a luxury hotel in Birmingham....
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has allowed a woman's appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET) that she was not entitled to compensation for unfair dismissal because, had the employer followed a fair procedure, she would have been...
Scroll through social media and it is now common to see adverts offering quick, low-cost ways to “sort out” financial arrangements after separation or divorce. These online guides and template services often promise simplicity and savings and may...
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)...
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to the Post Office following a data breach in which it published the personal data of postmasters involved in group litigation relating to the Horizon IT scandal. In April 2024, it was...
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...
The government has announced that the allowance for Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR) will be £2.5 million when it is introduced on 6 April 2026, rather than £1 million as originally proposed. The government...
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 Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that a man who volunteered as a coastguard with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) was a 'worker' for the purposes of Section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ...
As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the van benefit charge and the car and van fuel benefit charges will increase from 6 April 2026, in line with the Consumer Price Index. The van benefit charge applies where an employer provides an employee with a...
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...
In the words of Yogi Berra “ The future ain’t what it used to be” Often known in the 1950’s for his misplaced aphorisms, the late American baseball legend famously tried to sue the Hanna-Barbera company for defamation of character,...
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...
Under Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 , employers that are proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less must consult appropriate representatives...
The Family Court recently granted a local authority permission to withdraw an application for a care order in respect of a two-year-old girl, after the local authority concluded that, in the light of the medical evidence, it would not be able to meet the...
