2014 property industry update – what will happen this year?
The government has aspirations to streamline the UK’s planning system and to encourage homebuilding and home ownership. Energy costs have dominated the news in recent months and property owners need…
Willans
Solicitors
Residential landlords and section 21 notices – which type should you serve?
A recent Court of Appeal case has resolved some uncertainty and now makes it easier for landlords to serve the correct section 21 notice. A statutory periodic tenancy will arise…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Think twice before you sell part of your property
Do you want to make some money from that bit of garden or that part of your site that you never use or perhaps you were hoping to buy a…
Suzanne O'Riordan
Partner, conveyancer (non-solicitor)
Dissolution of companies – beware of the pitfalls
The procedure for dissolving a company is considerably cheaper and more straightforward than instructing a liquidator to wind up the company, although certain formalities must be observed in accordance with…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Preserving commercial relationships – an advantage of mediation
Mediation can be a very effective way of resolving a dispute. Although there is no requirement for a party in dispute to agree to it, the courts are very keen…
Nick Southwell BA (Hons)
Partner
Considerations when buying land with possessory title
Where a seller’s title is based upon adverse possession (commonly known as squatting) or where a title cannot be proven because the title deeds have been lost or destroyed, a…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
A time for employers to lift their eyes to the horizon
At long last, the UK appears to be emerging from recession. In recent months there have certainly been many positive economic growth indicators, however the general business experience is still…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Please Sir can I have my fixtures back?!
Do the tenants’ fixtures belong to the tenant at the end of the lease, and can they be removed? Not necessarily. Tenants’ fixtures, which includes equipment and machinery fixed onto…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Agricultural property relief – Will your farmhouse qualify?
A farmhouse that is eligible for agricultural property relief (APR) will provide significant benefit to anyone wanting to reduce their liability to pay inheritance tax (IHT) upon their death. To…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Work commences to build new Macmillan Cancer Support Centre
Work to build Sussex’s first cancer information and support centre which began last month was helped by our firm. Macmillan Cancer Support has partnered with Sussex Cancer Fund and Brighton…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
It’s good to talk - early conciliation scheme
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Employment law Litigation isn’t pretty. In fact, it usually involves a considerable amount of mud-slinging on both sides. As William Roache reminded us recently, rarely do…
Willans
Solicitors
Tenancy deposit advice for residential landlords
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution Since the introduction of tenancy deposit protection by the Housing Act on 6 April 2007, landlords should be aware that when a deposit is…
Nick Southwell BA (Hons)
Partner
New business partnership shares common environmental ground
We have appointed Gloucestershire-based sustainability veteran Commercial Group as our new office supplier who will also help us improve on our environmental programme. Commercial began its own green crusade in…
Willans
Solicitors
New face of the litigation team at Willans
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution We have welcomed Nick Southwell to our Chambers–rated litigation and dispute resolution department this week. Nick, who is seven years’ qualified, has broad commercial and…
Nick Southwell BA (Hons)
Partner
LinkedIn contacts – who owns them?
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Employment law More and more employees are being encouraged to use LinkedIn as a business development tool. However, when an employee leaves they can easily take…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Ending distress - introducing the new Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery or ‘CRAR’ process
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution Some time ago our property litigation partner, Nick Cox, wrote a piece on legal phrases which explained that in law ‘distress’ was a legal…
Willans
Solicitors
Charitable incorporated organisations: the way forward?
Category: Press releases, Charities / not-for-profit, Commercial The Charities Act 2011 has introduced a new form of legal entity, known as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO),which may prove attractive to…
Willans
Solicitors
Protect the value of your brand
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Corporate & commercial A strong ‘brand’ or ‘trade mark’ helps to distinguish a business’s products from its competitors. A brand can take many forms – it…
Willans
Solicitors
“12 Lawful Days of Christmas”
This Christmas, we have produced a guide to help people and businesses in Gloucestershire enjoy a legal free festive season, with an edited version of the Christmas classic, ’12 Days…
Willans
Solicitors
Thinking of popping the question this Christmas? Or might Santa bring you a ring this year?
A pre-nuptial agreement to preserve your assets is not the sole prerogative of the rich and famous. These are becoming more recognised by the courts in England and Wales and…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Directors’ duties – a brief reminder
Our corporate & commercial team reminds directors of their responsibilities through this Q&A. I am the sole director and shareholder of my company. Surely the only duty I owe as…
Willans
Solicitors
Empty property rate relief scheme
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Commercial property A new empty property rate relief scheme for newly built commercial property became effective on 1 October 2013. The relief is to be awarded…
Willans
Solicitors
Avoiding a completion headache
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Commercial property What can you do when you have exchanged contracts to buy a property and the seller fails to complete the sale on the appointed…
Willans
Solicitors
Zero-hours contracts Q&A
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Employment law What are they? A zero-hours contract is an agreement under which there are no guaranteed hours of work and the individual, also known as…
Willans
Solicitors
A warning for directors when signing documents
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution In the case of Hamid v Francis Bradshaw Partnership (FBP), Hamid was the director of a company, Chad Furniture Store Limited (Chad), trading as…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Do you know about Family Dispute Resolution Week?
We all know divorce is a horrible thing to go through. More than 230,000 people in the UK get divorced each year. Many of us have seen friends and relatives…
Willans
Solicitors
Protection from village green applications
New rules effective from 1 October 2013 mean that it will be possible to stop private land being designated as village or town green without the owner’s consent. To prevent…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Family Q & A - helping answer some commonly asked questions
Our divorce & family lawyer Jonathan Eager answers three common questions that are asked in his line of work. What financial information do I have to give my spouse as part of…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Common Agricultural Policy - new scheme announced
Political settlement was reached in June 2013 on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With most of the detail now agreed, we have a good idea of what…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Biodiversity off-setting consultation
DEFRA has published a green paper on biodiversity offsetting in England and launched a consultation on the government’s proposals. The consultation closes on 7 November 2013. Biodiversity offsetting is to…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Taste food & farming awards - And the winner is….
Representatives from the food, farming and drink industries were on the edge of their seats as the winners of the 2013 Taste of Gloucestershire Food & Farming Awards were announced…
Willans
Solicitors
Farm buildings for housing?
The government has been de-regulating the planning system for some time in an effort to help boost the economy. Permitted development rights already exist for the change of use of…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Make the most of employment law reforms
Much has been written about this year’s employment law reforms, mainly by employment lawyers looking to pick holes in the Government’s proposals. However, there are ways in which shrewd business…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
New opportunities for developers
In an effort to boost the economy, the government has announced that from 30 May 2013, agricultural buildings of up to 500 square metres are covered by new permitted development…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Should a charity enter into an authorised guarantee agreement?
As numerous traditional high street retailers feel the economic pinch caused by ongoing poor trading conditions and internet competition, many charities are taking advantage and are increasing the number of…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Celebrating the best of Gloucestershire
We are delighted to be one of the sponsors of this year’s Taste of Gloucestershire Food and Farming Awards and, in particular, to be sponsoring the award for “Best Farmer”.…
Willans
Solicitors
