What are the letterhead requirements for companies and charities? Could you as an individual and/or the company/charity face possible prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000 with further fines of £100 per day being imposed?

Under the Companies Act 2006, a company registered with Companies House must include their company's registered name (as it appears on the company's certificate of incorporation) in all its business letters, order forms and websites, whether in hard copy or electronic, including:

• Notices and other official publications business

The key difference is that a wayleave does not have to comply with any strict rules of creation. Wayleaves provide rights similar to those found in servitudes but can be created without the need to identify a benefited property. Wayleaves are binding for a specified period and against successors in title rather than being personal to a grantor.

Reminder of what a servitude is

A servitude is a real right which attaches to land and is independent of ownership. It can only be created over

Are you a property owner whose title deeds contain conditions which are out-of-date or unclear or in some way now proving to be unduly onerous or prohibitive to the use and enjoyment of your property? Are you looking for ways to have your title conditions varied or even discharged?

It is possible to vary and/or discharge many conditions which appear in title deeds and there are a number of ways in which this can be achieved. Two practical courses of action are open to owners

Have you possessed land for which you have registered a deed - openly, peacefully and without judicial interruption? If yes, you may have obtained good title to it.

The law, or prescription, operating for sasine titles has remained unchanged since the introduction of the Prescription and Limitations (Scotland) Act 1973 in that where a title includes a description of land 'habile' to include it is possible to gain rights over that land over a passage of time. This principle is referred to as prescription.

Having dealt with a number of queries involving balcony repairs in both tenements and flatted dwelling house complexes, it is useful to learn lessons from the experience of others. The recurring question of ownership was highlighted in a recent case, Speirs Gumley Property Management v- Lafferty.

Factors for a development in Paisley carried out 'necessary repairs' to individual balconies affixed and forming part of a building they managed. The factors billed everyone treating such repairs as 'common repairs'. The Deed of Conditions which appeared

We previously blogged about data protection breaches under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and how to deal with the aftermath. Since then, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued its first fine using the GDPR, which came into force in May 2018, and accompanying Data Protection Act 2018.

Under previous legislation, the maximum monetary penalty that could be imposed by the ICO was £500,000. Only Facebook and Equifax have been the recipients of fines at the maximum level, falling safely within the umbrella of

The Property Factors Scotland Act 2011 required all property factors to register on the newly formed Register of Property Factors. Failure to register is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or even imprisonment! Given the sanctions which exist it is important to be clear who is under an obligation to register. This is still proving a challenge for some entities providing property management services to residential schemes.

The legislation provides a definition of a property factor i.e. a person who, in the course of

Are you a Registered Social Landlord engaged in property factoring? Are your factoring practices robust and ready for upcoming changes to the Property Factor's Code of Conduct?

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 is 6 years old and created a statutory framework providing protections for homeowners who receive services from a property factor. As part of that framework, a Code of Conduct was introduced which sets minimum standards of practice for registered property factors in their business with homeowners.

The Scottish Government has been active

A servitude is a right that a landowner has over neighbouring property which allows the holder of the servitude (or benefitted proprietor) to do something with another person's property, which would not normally be allowed. Whether created by a specific grant, by reservation, or indeed through uninterrupted use for the prescriptive period of 20 years the servitude right runs with the land. Common examples include:

1. Pedestrian and vehicular access; or
2. The right to run pipes and cables over neighbouring property.

Servitudes were once restricted to

The recent case of Clancy Docwra Ltd v E.On Energy Solutions Ltd has highlighted the need for consistency between a contract and any additional documents appended to it.

E.On appointed Clancy Docwra as a sub-contractor to excavate trenches for the installation of an underground district heating network. They had started the works when they encountered adverse ground conditions which consisted of underground brick walls and rubble. The parties disputed what entitlement, if any, Clancy Docwra had to receiving additional costs in relation to the further

LIBOR (the London Inter-bank Offered Rate) is at the heart of private funding to the housing sector. Post-2022 however, banks will no longer be required to provide LIBOR quotations and thought needs to be given as to how that may affect Registered Social Landlords who have loans that continue beyond 2022 or indeed are taking out loans now.

Is there a proposed replacement for LIBOR?

The most likely replacement is the Sterling Overnight Interest Average (SONIA) administered by the Bank of England. SONIA is based

The Occupiers Liability (Scotland) Act 1960 has given rise to a raft of case law recently. In essence, it sets out the level of care required to be demonstrated by the legal entity who occupies or controls land or premises to any third party who may access such land or premises. This requires the occupier to assess the dangers which exist given the location of such land or premises and to highlight or mitigate any wants and defects which are present.

The first thing to

A limited liability company is a popular choice when considering business models. It has relatively small costs to set up and get going. However, the essential requirements can appear daunting.

This guide outlines the key elements below and gives sources that are available for support.

Articles of Association

These are the building blocks of your company. They state how important functions will operate e.g. Directors powers. Model Articles are available on the Government's website that cover all of the basic functions. However, they may not

Generally, a contract only gives rights and obligations to the people that are a party to it. However, there are circumstances where contracts can create third party rights. In Scotland, these third party rights were often criticised as the law around them was unclear and inflexible.

To change this the Contract (Third Party Rights) (Scotland) Act 2017 (the Act) came into force on 26 February 2018.

The Act makes a number of changes to how third party rights in Scotland work. This blog gives a

What is an Action Plan?

The Assessment of the Energy Performance of Non-Domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016 created a somewhat advanced form of an Energy Performance Certificate, known as both a section 63 Assessment but more commonly known as an Action Plan.

When do you need an Action Plan?

Action Plans apply to non-domestic buildings or buildings with a floor area over 1000 square metres, which do not comply with the 2002 Scottish Building Standards. The trigger for requiring an Action Plan is upon the

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax on 1^st April 2015. As well as being the duty payable on the price or consideration for the purchase of residential and commercial land and properties in Scotland, its introduction affected taxation on the grant of non residential leases.

In circumstances where a return in relation to a lease was made to Revenue Scotland in terms of the LBTT regime, i.e. after 1^st April 2015, tenants under those leases require to remember

Some years ago the House of Lords decided in a case Moncrieff -v- Jamieson that parking could be implied as a right running alongside a servitude right of way. Given this acceptance that parking could be an adjunct to a servitude right of way that seemed to lead on to the possibility that parking could be deemed a servitude in its own right. To legal academics this was the logical conclusion!

The majority of their Lordships when considering the facts in the Moncrieff case thought

In Scotland, if you have raised a court action against another person for recovery of a sum of money then you are known as the "Pursuer" and the person you have taken to court becomes known as the "Defender". What does the re-introduction of "Pursuers" offers in Scotland mean for settlements?

Defenders in court actions have been able to take advantage of formal offers of settlement for some time, offers known as "tenders". However, as of 3^rd April 2017, Pursuers are able to make

In Scotland having Japanese knotweed growing on land belonging to you is not of itself against the law. That said, there is now legislation regarding the spread of Japanese knotweed and requirements on a heritable proprietor not to allow this non-native species to spread. Penalties for ignoring such legislation are significant with fines running into thousands of pounds and with the ultimate sanction of imprisonment.

When considering the sanctions and penalties it is important to note where Japanese knotweed is growing. There is separate legislation

Are Velux windows and skylights part of a roof? We explore the interesting case of Waelde -v- Ulloa and ask the question - what is part of a roof?

The Background

A single dwellinghouse in Edinburgh had been converted into three flats - top, middle and bottom. The skylight and velux windows which had later been introduced served only the top floor flat.

• The top floor owner carried out roof repairs and sought to claim a share of the maintenance costs from his downstairs neighbours.

"The name is Bond..."

Employers under construction contracts often try to protect themselves against the risk of loss from a variety of events by asking the contractor for a performance bond.

A performance bond is a form of security provided by a third party, usually a bank or insurance company, guaranteeing the obligations of the contractor under the contract. A bond constitutes a promise that the guarantor (i.e. the bank/insurance company) will make a payment to the employer of a set amount (usually 10% of

On 22 April 2016, further legislation augmenting and transforming rights and responsibilities governing land ownership in Scotland entered into force. Furthering the Scottish Government's aim of bringing an intended million acres of land into community ownership, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 makes further provisions designed to engage communities in decision making and facilitate community ownership. How can Scottish Land Fund help community ownership?

The Scottish Government have announced that the Scottish Land Fund will continue until 2020 and have trebled support to £10 million

In Scotland, prescription is the law that regulates the period in which parties can pursue claims. If I was raising a court action - how long have I got?

Most claims in law prescribe after five years, which means that a party wishing to make a claim after that five year period may be prohibited from successfully raising that claim.

There are certain other categories of claim to which specific periods apply, such as product liability, defamation and harassment.

The purpose of allowing this period

There were three significant changes to Judicial Review procedures brought in to effect by the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The 2014 Act made provision for wide-ranging reforms to the Scottish civil courts system in Scotland, as well as important reforms to the court procedure associated with judicial review in relation to time bar, permission to raise Judicial Review proceedings and the requirement to "front load" applications for Judicial Review.

Time bar

It is now a requirement that applications for judicial review are made

The Scottish Government are anxious to ensure that all Scottish property is mapped on the Land Register as soon as possible. Mapping requirements are at the heart of the 2012 legislation. A cadastral map: a single unified map of all registered property in Scotland based on the ordinance survey map is being prepared. However, accurate plotting is not always straight forward. Old Title Deeds often have inadequate plans and for some the written description makes it difficult to plot the subjects described against physical

The Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 will come into force in Scotland on 28 November 2015, a tenant's interest under a qualifying lease will automatically convert to outright ownership of the property and the landlord's title to the property will be extinguished. Essentially this will mean the end of long leases. It is estimated there are around 9000 long leases that will be eligible to convert.

Qualifying Leases

To qualify, a lease must be:

• Registered/recorded
• Originally have been granted for a term of more than

Solar panels are becoming a more familiar sight across Scotland. Current planning permission regulations exist to make installing solar panels and renewable technologies simple. For most domestic properties formal planning permission is not required if certain criteria are met, namely:

• Panels don't protrude by more than one metre of the roof edge, any outside wall of the house nor protrudes further than the highest point of the roof (which includes any chimney)
• The property is not a listed building
• The property is not in a

Summer is almost upon us and, for residents of Edinburgh, there are few better ways to spend a sunny evening than to gather over a barbeque in The Meadows or to hack a small ball around the Bruntsfield Links. To lose the opportunity to enjoy these simple pleasures would be unthinkable, so the knowledge that these are two of a number of areas throughout Scotland that benefit from protection as "common good land" is comforting. So what exactly is common good land in Scotland?

It

The Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015 came into force on 6 April and replace the 2007 Regulations. They govern health and safety in construction projects. Some of the main changes affecting 'clients' who are commissioning construction work are:

1. Clients' duties

The client must make suitable arrangements for managing a project which ensure that construction work will be carried out without risk to the health or safety of any person affected by the project. The management arrangements must include how clients will ensure that

On 9 February 2015 the Scottish Government launched their consultation on proposed changes to procurement rules. The changes are coming about as a result of a new European procurement directive and the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.

The Scottish Government has until 18 April 2016 to transpose the provisions of the directive into Scots law, and this will result in the creation of new procurement regulations. These regulations will also comprise further provisions and guidance on the terms of the 2014 Act.

So what are

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) is a charge on land transactions in Scotland. It is accepted that LBTT will replace Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in Scotland for most land transactions with an effective date of on or after 1 April 2015.

LBTT will make significant changes to the way returns are completed for commercial lease transactions including Assignations (no LBTT is be payable on standard residential leases). New rules regarding notification will be introduced alongside new rates of tax linked more closely to

As we have discussed in recent blogs, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of property is to be replaced in Scotland by the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). The change is due to come into force on 1st April 2015. So what will this land and buildings transaction tax update mean for purchasers?

The Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney announced amended the proposed rates at which LBTT will be charged from those originally proposed in October 2014.

The threshold for paying

More than three decades after the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 entered into force in 1981, the law governing the registration of title to property in Scotland is being modernised. So how will changes to land registration in Scotland affect you?

As of Monday 8^th December 2014 the relevant law will be the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Act 2012, which aims to:

• update the law surrounding the registration of rights to land in the Land Register
• introduce electronic documents into the conveyancing process

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act received Royal Assent on 17 June 2014. It sits alongside existing public contracts regulations, and will increase regulation for public bodies seeking to award contracts for works, services and supplies. The Act applies where contracts have a value of £50,000 or more, except works contracts where the threshold is £2m.

Most public bodies have, for many years, sought to include community benefits provisions in their procurement processes, as a way of using their purchasing power to benefit their local area,

To those who believe the legal profession to be a rather slow-moving and old fashioned beast it will come as something of a surprise to learn that we are about to enter a period of great upheaval in Scottish property law. Particularly in relation to the preservation of real burdens in title deeds.

Conveyancers are at present awaiting the provisions of the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 taking effect on 8 December 2014. The Act represents the most significant change in land registration in

Organisations which operate primarily for the benefit of the community, such as Registered Social Landlords, have the opportunity to register under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, rather than under the Companies Acts. A number of changes aimed at modernising the law which applies to Industrial and Provident Societies are set to come into force in 2014.

From 6^th April 2014:

• The capital limit on withdrawable shares held by each member of an Industrial and Providential Society is set to increase from £20,000 to

The High Hedges (Scotland) Act comes into force on 1^st April 2014 for those who are fed up with their neighbour's overgrown privet blocking their sunlight:

Under the High Hedges Bill, individuals will be able to approach their local authority for assistance if they are unable to come to an amicable solution with their neighbour, in circumstances where they feel that a 'high hedge' on neighbouring land is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of their property.

The definition of a 'high hedge' includes a

What is a limited company? The limited company is the most common business vehicle in use in the UK. It must be incorporated (registered) at Companies House and, once incorporated, the limited company becomes a separate legal entity, distinct from its shareholders, directors and employees.

In considering whether this is the best business vehicle for you, you must first know the basics of a limited company.

On incorporation under the Companies Act 2006, a limited company is required to have a Memorandum defining the company's

Who legally owns the attic space in Scottish Tenements? The ownership and maintenance of the attic space and roof of a tenement block can cause significant confusion for flat owners. Despite statements to the contrary, the legal position relating to these parts of the tenement has not been altered significantly following the enactment of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Ownership

The key starting point when seeking to determine ownership of the "common parts" of a tenement will be to consult the title deeds for all flats

The last time the system of land registration in Scotland was fundamentally changed was in 1979. After 1979 title to land would be based on areas plotted on the Ordnance Survey map in the form of a Land Certificate. The Certificate would be issued by the Land Register following completion of a sale transaction and the title would be guaranteed by the Government.

Gradually as properties have been sold over the years many have moved on to the map based system. However, much land and

The Procurement Reform Scotland Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2013. Once it becomes law, the Act will exist alongside the current procurement regulations, but will make some fundamental changes in the way public contracts are procured in Scotland.

Some of the main changes are:

• Increased regulation - supplies/services contracts with a value of £50,000 or more and works contracts with a value of £2,000,000 or more which are currently not covered by the procurement regulations are subject to the Bill;

Will introducing 'Help to Buy' in Scotland take us down the route of another housing bubble?

The controversy surrounding the Help to Buy Scheme south of the border has not prevented a similar government-backed scheme being introduced in Scotland. The Scottish Government announced investment of £220m over three years to provide financial assistance to eligible homebuyers in what it has described as a "game changing initiative" for the housing industry.

The Help to Buy scheme, which has the support of the Council of Mortgage

What do you know about procurement regulations and time barred challenges? The case of Nationwide Gritting Services Limited (NGS) against the Scottish Ministers sheds some light on the challenge timescales under procurement regulations, but unfortunately does little to provide comfort to contracting authorities embarking on procurement exercises.

The 2006 regulations outlined that court proceedings for a breach of those regulations must be brought within 3 months from the date when grounds for bringing proceedings first arose. Under the new 2012 regulations, this is now 30

For all of those Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) who provide property management services, the deadline of 1^st October 2013 to provide your factored owners with a written statement of service is drawing near.

Many housing associations have been working throughout the summer months preparing their bespoke written statement for issue. However some RSLs are still in a quandary as to whether or not they do indeed provide factoring services, what services they provide and what the costs of that service should be.

We have

To most people the word servitude conjures images of slavery, although thankfully that way of life is long gone! In Scotland, however, a servitude is a right over a piece of land (the burdened property) for the benefit of another (the benefitted property). This longstanding concept is still very much relevant today.

What does that really mean?

A servitude can give someone else rights over your property. Conversely, it can give you rights over a property belonging to someone else. Common examples of servitudes include:

The Green Deal in Scotland encourages homeowners and tenants to introduce energy saving measures to their properties. It has been promoted as a solution to solving some of the problems which put off individuals financing energy saving improvements to their homes. 

When Green Deal finance has been obtained there is no requirement to repay the loan in the standard way, instead the money is recouped by the energy supplier by way of added charges to their energy bill. Another feature is that the obligation does

The Scottish Government is still working on its proposed Procurement Reform Bill and recently issued an update on progress. Does this mean all change for public procurement in Scotland? It was hoped that the draft Bill would be introduced to Parliament in advance of the summer recess 2013. However, the Government has confirmed that the introduction of the Bill has now been postponed until after the summer recess.

This is primarily due to the new EU draft Procurement Directive, which is currently working its way

Where a decree has been awarded in favour of a creditor and payment is not forthcoming after a charge for payment has been issued, a creditor may consider applying to make the debtor bankrupt to recover sums due. How can you use bankruptcy to recover debt in Scotland?

If a debtor is declared bankrupt, their full estate including their home will be handed over to the appointed trustee (usually the accountant in bankruptcy). It is the duty of the trustee to sell the debtor's assets

A Court of Session decision in the case of Patersons of Greenoakhill Limited v Biffa Waste Services Limited highlights the significance of getting contract clauses right first time. This case demonstrates that cost implications to businesses can potentially be significant when mistakes in drawing up clauses in commercial contracts are made.

Patersons operated a landfill site and also had a controlling shareholding in a waste collection business. Biffa sought to purchase the waste collection business.

Patersons proceeded with this transaction on the basis that Biffa

S172 of the Companies Act 2006 states that a company director must:

"act in the way he considers, in good faith, is most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole"

When it was introduced, this section of the Act created a great deal of concern, was it a step too far in terms of directors' statutory duties?

However, it seems that the controversy surrounding this section was ill-founded, as we have been living with it