Short Term Lets and Airbnb – Update

Short Terms Lets and Airbnb have become a contentious matter in Scotland in recent times. The Scottish Government have recently conducted research into Airbnbs and Short-Term Lets in Scotland which confirmed there are 31,884 active Airbnb listings, three times as many compared to 2016. It was found that in Edinburgh’s City Centre 16.7% of properties […]
Covid-19 Update for Private Rented Sector Tenancies

The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 (Eviction from Dwelling-houses) (Notice Periods) Modification Regulations 2020 are expected to come into force 3 October 2020. We previously blogged about the extension of notice periods introduced by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020. The link can be found here. The purpose of these new Regulations is to reduce the extended notice periods […]
What is Guardianship in Scotland?

Many of you may have seen the latest headlines regarding the #FreeBritneySpears movement where her fans are concerned about her father acting as her Conservator. Conservatorship is an American legal concept whereby the court appoints a person to manage a person’s affairs if they are deemed to be incapable. The equivalent of Conservatorship in Scotland […]
Living with Dementia- Putting Your Affairs in Order

Now, possibly more than ever, it is important that those living with dementia and their families look at getting an individual’s legal affairs in order to alleviate the stresses that can arise when their condition worsens. An individual with a dementia diagnosis can (depending on the stage of their condition) instruct a solicitor to assist […]
Impact of Covid-19 on Guardianship Applications and Renewals in Scotland

Although lockdown restrictions have eased slightly there is still a significant impact which will be felt by us all for the coming weeks and months. Where someone has been assessed as lacking capacity and has not put in place a power of attorney, an application requires to be made to the Court for a guardian […]
Dementia Awareness Week 2020

Today sees the start of Dementia Awareness week in Scotland, which would usually culminate with Alzheimer Scotland’s annual conference. Sadly, the conference will not be taking place this year due to lockdown. However, during this time we can all continue to show support and continue to raise awareness for those living with dementia, their carers […]
Covid-19: More Changes in the Private Rented Sector

On 26 May 2020 the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Act was given Royal Assent. In our previous blog we discussed the emergency and temporary legislative changes to residential tenancy law made by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 in response to the coronavirus outbreak. This new Act seeks to implement further emergency measures. What does the Act do? Pre-action […]
Should I Consider an Online Will?

The Covid outbreak has led us all having to adapt to different social and working practices. It has also led to many of us considering our mortality and (finally) getting round to that New Year’s resolution of getting our affairs in order. Since lockdown commenced there has certainly been an increase in enquiries about and […]
Covid-19 — Death of a loved one – Arranging a Funeral

In our first blog we advised on how to register a death. Now you (and the funeral director) have the death certificate, you can go about arranging a funeral. Funerals are continuing to take place as normally as possible and families are being encouraged not to delay funerals. The Scottish Government have provided guidance for […]
Covid-19 — Death of a Loved One – Estate Administration

You have registered the death, arranged the funeral and now it is time to look at estate administration. The current lockdown period has had a significant impact on the process of administering a deceased person’s estate. The Courts in Scotland, at the time of preparing this Blog, are not currently progressing Commissary work (estate administration). […]