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In certain circumstances, owners of leasehold flats have a legal right to buy the freehold of the building together with other leaseholders. This process is known as collective enfranchisement. For collective enfranchisement to be available, the building...
An engineering and consulting company has been fined nearly £13 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under Section 91 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 , after it published inaccurate information in its full-year 2022 and 2023...
The Supreme Court has ruled that the costs of surveys and studies in connection with the construction of wind farms were not 'capital expenditure on the provision of plant' for the purposes of Section 11(4)(a) of the Capital Allowances Act 2001 , and...
The High Court has dismissed an ex-wife's appeal against a ruling that her former husband's share of the home they owned together was held by his trustees in bankruptcy. The couple had married and purchased the property in 2009. They had two children. In...
Guidance for employers and workers explaining the changes to employment rights as a result of the Employment Rights Act 2025 is available on the government's website. The website lists the changes that have been introduced so far, including a number of...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently took part in a week of action, along with 16 other regulators internationally, to protect consumers from illegal 'finfluencers'. This included enforcement activity, consumer awareness campaigns, and educational...
The High Court has dismissed a landlord's appeal against a decision that a pub company was entitled to a new tenancy of its premises, the landlord having failed to establish that it intended to carry out works on the premises and could not do so without...
Figures from the High Court have shown that the number of disputed probate claims is continuing to rise. A total of 1,217 disputed probate cases were filed at the High Court in 2025, an increase of 12.7 per cent from the figure of 1,080 in 2024. There were...
Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 , organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information have to pay a data protection fee, unless they are exempt. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides...
The courts are often called upon to make difficult decisions about what is in the best interests of patients who cannot express their wishes for themselves. In a tragic case, the High Court recently ruled that it was not in the best interests of a young boy...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed a woman's appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET) that her complaints of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination had been brought out of time, finding that the ET had not erred in...
At the third time of asking, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has granted an application to modify a restrictive covenant to permit a second dwelling to be built on a plot of land. The land, on which a small partly thatched cottage had originally stood, had been...
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a number of hospitality companies against a decision that furlough payments they received during the COVID-19 pandemic served to reduce the amounts payable to them under their business interruption cover. The...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against an order of the High Court that a 14-year-old boy who had remained in England after visiting his father should return to live in South Africa. The boy's parents, both South African nationals, had married...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled that 'Mega Marshmallows' are not confectionery and are therefore zero-rated for VAT , in a case that reached the Court of Appeal. A wholesaler of American sweets and treats which supplied Mega Marshmallows was issued...
A cleaner at a university who was dismissed from her job has been awarded substantial damages after an Employment Tribunal (ET) upheld her complaints of unfair dismissal and victimisation ( Ong v Aberystwyth University ). The woman had commenced her...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has allowed a taxpayer's appeal against late filing penalties where he had not received a notice to file a tax return, after reviewing an earlier decision in which it had upheld most of the penalties. HM Revenue and Customs...
A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from a deceased person's estate must be brought within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration being issued, unless the...
Disputes over ownership of land all too often become protracted and lead to costs out of proportion to the value of the land involved. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled on a dispute over a strip of land with an area of just 2.2 square metres. The...
Landlords would be well advised to check the terms of their leases before undertaking any projects that may cause problems with issuing service charge demands. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that a local authority landlord must wait to collect...
A marriage is generally recognised in English law if it is valid under the law of the country in which it takes place, a legal principle known as lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place of the celebration). That principle was central to a recent...
The drafting of an offer of employment can be crucial in determining whether its acceptance leads to the creation of a legally binding contract. Recently, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that a man's acceptance of a job offer had created a binding...
When savers deposit money in a fixed-term account or an account that requires notice of withdrawals, they may well assume that, if they incur a penalty for early withdrawal, they will only have to pay tax on the net amount of interest received. However, such...
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected a challenge by a descendant of the artist Pablo Picasso to an application to register the word 'Picasso' as a trade mark . A company had applied to register 'Picasso' as a trade mark in respect of whiskey...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed its compensation scheme for car buyers who were not given important information when taking out motor finance. The scheme covers motor finance loans taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024....
Dependants who have not been adequately provided for in a deceased person's will may be able to make a claim for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 . Recently, the High Court considered such a claim by...
Companies intending to raise funds through schemes that offer tax relief to investors should always obtain expert advice to ensure they comply fully with the rules applying to those schemes. Recently, two companies that had issued shares under the Enterprise...
Where a mortgage lender claims possession of a property that has been let without the lender's permission, the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 gives tenants the right to apply to the courts to postpone the date for delivery of...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a failure by a litigant in person to include his Particulars of Claim when making an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was a minor error, overturning the EAT's decision that he should not be granted an...
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...
