My House Value has Increased – Do I Need to Worry About Inheritance Tax?
More and more individuals’ estates are being subject to an Inheritance Tax liability. In fact, HMRC figures show £6.1 billion was collected in Inheritance Tax over the last financial year – an increase of 14% from 2020/2021. So, how do you plan early to alleviate your family’s worries after you pass away? The starting point is […]
Deadline for Repairing Standard Changes: 1 March 2024
*The Scottish Government has published further guidance since this blog was first published in March 2023.The Repairing Standard Statutory Guidance (January 2024) is accessible here: (link: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/regulation-directive-order/2024/01/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-private-landlords/documents/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-private-landlords/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-private-landlords/govscot%3Adocument/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-private-landlords.pdf) In 2019 the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Modification of the Repairing Standard) Regulations 2019 took effect. See our earlier blog: Changes to the Repairing Standard for a summary of the changes that […]
Private Sector Tenancy Update: Continuation of Rent Cap and Eviction Moratorium
Scottish Ministers have published the draft regulations which will extend the eviction moratorium in both the social and private rented sector to 30 September 2023. The Regulations can be found here. Landlords remain entitled to serve notice and raise eviction proceedings. The moratorium only delays the enforcement of eviction orders granted on particular grounds. There […]
How Do I Get an English Court of Protection Order Recognised in Scotland?
In England when an adult lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves, someone on their behalf can make an application to the Court of Protection in England, for a decision to be made about the incapable person’s welfare and/or finances. A Deputy may then to be appointed by the Court. The Deputy acts as the […]
Data Protection and the Importance of Data Processing Agreements
A recent decision involving the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Poland has highlighted the increased responsibilities on organisations to protect any personal data that they hold on behalf of individuals. This case highlighted in particular the necessity of having a written contract in place covering certain data protection matters where one organisation is processing […]
Continuation of Rent Cap and Eviction Moratorium for PRS
The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 introduced an eviction moratorium (applicable to the majority of eviction grounds) in addition to a rent freeze, with increases capped at 0%. These emergency provisions applied across both the social and private sector and were to be […]
What’s the Difference Between Power of Attorney and Guardianship?
Often people will ask – what is the difference between a Power of Attorney and Guardianship or if one is better than the other? Our simple guide below explains the difference. Power of Attorney Power of Attorney is a legal document which you (‘the grantor’) grant in favour of another person (‘the attorney’) to make […]
Can a Landlord Serve a Notice to Leave in Anticipation of Arrears?
The Private Residential Tenancy regime provides that ‘it is an eviction ground that the tenant has been in rent arrears for three or more consecutive months’ (Ground 12 of Schedule 3 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016). There appears to have been a perception that a landlord could serve a Notice to Leave […]
Changes to Inheritance Tax?
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has made some recommendations and proposals to make changes to Inheritance Tax. Whilst these proposals may look good on the surface, do they actually lead to the elimination of some useful tax breaks such as taper relief? Timescales A welcome proposal made by the OTS is the reduction of the […]
Lifting the Ban on Evictions in Scotland
Since December 2020, the enforcement of eviction orders has been prohibited unless the order is based on the tenant’s antisocial behaviour or criminal activity. The ban applies in all areas which are within Tier 3 and Tier 4 of the Scottish “lockdown” levels. The majority of mainland Scotland moved to Tier 2 on 17 May […]
