Following on from our blog on Monday regarding the Coronavirus and its impact on the private rented sector, it is abundantly clear that the pandemic is causing unprecedented worry to both landlords, letting agents and tenants.
There appears to be a lot of speculation and panic about what the government will do to help tenants. We will continue to blog and provide informed updates at this difficult time with a view to putting an end to some of the worrisome speculation.
Below is a short
All throughout my high school years I was asked what I wanted to do when I left, my answer was always “I’ll just go to college or university.” I left high school still undecided in what I was to do. Looking for work is always a daunting process, and I had no idea that modern apprenticeships even existed. After hours of internet research I came across the modern apprenticeship scheme. I signed up and instantly received notifications about potential interviews.
Transitioning from seeing my
Each day our news feed is filled with updates and reports regarding the spread of the coronavirus. Guidance from the UK Government is to stay at home for 7 days if you have a high temperature and a new continuous cough.
What can landlords and letting agents do if tenants are self-isolating?
The key here is to ensure you open effective lines of communication. Landlords and agents should ccommunicate with tenants to let them know what they can expect from their landlords/letting agents
Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) may already be concerned about their ability to respond to requests within the statutory 20 working day timescale due to the possible implications of Covid-19. Will Covid-19 affect your FOISA deadlines? In light of the continued spread of the virus, the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) has published a statement addressing the obligation on public authorities to comply with the timescales set out in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs).
On 1st May 2019, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 was amended to provide Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) with a mandatory ground of eviction where a tenant is criminally convicted. However, almost one year later, there remains a cloud of judicial uncertainty surrounding these cases.
Section 16(2)(aa) of the 2001 Act establishes what is effectively a two-part test for RSLs to have a “mandatory” ground for eviction:
Freedom of Information (FOI) applied to RSLs as of 11th November 2019 — but did you know that the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 now also applies?
As you will be aware, RSLs are now defined as a Scottish public authority under the new FOI provisions. As the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 applies to a Scottish public authority by way of the definition in the FOI Act of 2002, RSLs will now fall under the scope of the Climate Change Act. The Act
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has made some recommendations and proposals to overhaul Inheritance Tax (IHT). Whilst these proposals may look good on the surface, the devil is in the detail.
A welcome proposal made by the OTS is the reduction of the seven-year gifting rule to five years. This would see individuals being able to make gifts to their children and only have to survive five years for it to fall outwith their estate for IHT purposes. Perhaps the suggested change to five
Currently, employers are only required to give new employees a written employment 'contract' stating their main terms and conditions within two months of starting work.
Following the governments Good Work Plan, the requirements will change for those starting work on or after 6 April 2020. In summary, the changes are:
In the recent case of Casamitjana v League Against Cruel Sports an employment tribunal ruled that ethical veganism can be a philosophical belief worthy of protection under the Equality Act 2010.
It is well known that the Act (which protects against discrimination, harassment and victimisation) covers religion and religious beliefs. It is less well known that it can also extend to certain philosophical beliefs.
In concluding that the claimant's beliefs were worthy of protection the tribunal took into account his dedicated and strict adherence to
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:
When a sole director of a company dies, there can often be difficulties. However, those difficulties are, perhaps, more evident where a sole shareholder dies who is also the sole director of a company.
The general position is that where a company has a number of directors and one of the directors dies, the surviving directors can continue to manage the organisation. If the sole shareholder of a company dies, the directors can continue to manage the company until the deceased shareholder's beneficiaries have the
The First-tier Tribunal recently considered the date to be stated in a notice to leave on or after which the landlord can expect to make an application to the Tribunal for eviction.
By way of background, where a landlord wishes to recover possession of a Private Residential Tenancy, the landlord must serve a notice to leave. The legislation sets out various requirements for the notice to leave. One of the requirements is that the notice to leave states a date on or after which the
Airbnbs and Short-Terms Lets 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 are being used as Short Term Lets equating to an estimated 140,000 visitors to the area per year, around 4.5 times the local resident population.
The increasing popularity of Airbnbs and
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance in relation to sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace. In this blog we will look at the guidance, and what it means for employers.
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination and harassment because of, or related to, one or more of the nine protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation).
There is no length of service requirement for an
The recent First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) decision of Ritchie v Finlayson highlights the importance of providing sufficient evidence when making a claim against tenants for damage to the let property and contents.
When a tenant vacates a property there may be times when the property is not left in the same condition as it was at commencement of the tenancy. This could be a result of wear and tear or it could be as a result of failure on the part of the
In January 2020, the government confirmed that paid parental bereavement leave will be introduced for eligible employees on 6 April 2020. Here we look at the new entitlements, and discuss how employers can support staff going through a bereavement.
Quite amazingly, there has been no legal obligation for employers to provide paid time off for grieving parents. The Employment Rights Act 1996 affords employees the legal right to take 'reasonable' time off to deal with an emergency, which includes the death of a child.
Charities may be aware that Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) are asking all charities to report Notifiable Events. Whilst there is no legal requirement to report an event, OSCR are keen to encourage charities to report to them when there has been a significant event which may or may not have a negative impact on an individual charity or the wider charity sector.
Types of notifiable events can be as follows:-
In the current economic climate, contractor default is even more prevalent in the construction and engineering industries. Therefore, Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) should always look to protect their position when entering into construction contracts by taking active steps to guard against the risk of potential insolvency of contractors. Parent Company Guarantees v Performance Bonds - What option is best for you?
This is usually done by the contractor entering into a parent company guarantee or a performance bond which acts as security for losses sustained
The European Commission has released its updated public procurement thresholds that applies to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) from 1 January 2020. Every two years, the European Commission updates the financial thresholds at which the EU Directives apply.
The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 set out specific procedures for awarding contracts in excess of the threshold values. Generally, when the value of a contract exceeds the thresholds (see below), it is a mandatory requirement that you publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (2001 Act) allows the landlord of a Scottish Secure Tenancy to recover an abandoned property without the need for court proceedings. Section 17, 18 and 19 of the 2001 Act deal with this procedure.
The procedure can only be applied where the landlord has reasonable grounds for believing that:
To ascertain if this is the position the Registered Social Landlord (RSL) should carry out diligent inquiries and
You have studied hard, attained your law degree and you are finally ready to be a Trainee Solicitor. Now, all that is left to do is to find a traineeship! But, how exactly do you do that?
Importantly, the answer to this is not the same for everyone. For some, the answer is more straightforward than others. They may have always have dreamt of being a high-flying Commercial Solicitor and know that this is what they intend to pursue. For others, they may fancy themselves
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 relying on this ground as soon as a tenant entered into arrears. The landlord would then delay raising proceedings until such time as three consecutive months of arrears had accrued.
As we wake up this morning we are presented with the seismic shift in the landscape of UK politics with the Conservatives taking control of the House of Commons with a landslide victory. Whilst the reality of what lies ahead in the next 5 years remains to be seen, there will of course be an impact on employment law as a result of this election.
In their manifesto, the Conservatives proposed to create a single enforcement body for employment rights to enforce employment law
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.
A servitude is a real right which attaches to land and is independent of ownership. It can only be created over
Choosing who you wish to implement the terms of your Will can be a difficult decision. After all, this is the person you will trust to ensure that your estate is administered according to your wishes. An executor is a person who is appointed by someone who is making a Will (also known as the testator) to carry out their instructions as set out in their Will.
If you have been appointed as an executor, several considerations should be borne in mind. Firstly, as an
It's rarely in the best interests of a landlord/tenant relationship to have to move a disagreement over deposits to court proceedings. In some instances though, it is an inevitable result of a landlord not adhering to the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Between December 2017 and June 2019, there were over 200 cases where the tenancy deposit regulations had been breached and an award was granted against the landlord by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber (FTT).
The regulations state
When you, or someone close to you, has been diagnosed with a deteriorating health condition thinking about day-to-day practicalities can be difficult, for example managing finances.
To allow someone to manage your day-to-day banking (but not open or close accounts or apply for overdraft) can be arranged by means of a Third Party Mandate. The account holder signs a mandate allowing the third party to pay bills and assist in managing the account on a day-to-day basis. This type of arrangement is suitable for someone
The Energy Efficiency (Domestic Private Rented Property) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 are proposed to come into force on 1 April 2020.
The purpose of these regulations is to tackle the the least energy-efficient properties in Scotland.
These regulations outline minimum standards of energy efficiency landlords must meet for domestic private rented properties. EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) are used to measure this standard.
The regulations provide that a landlord is not permitted to let a domestic property if the energy performance indicator for the property is below
Since 2012, landlords in Scotland have been required to lodge security deposits in one of three approved tenancy deposit schemes. Landlords should by now be well aware of their obligations to lodge deposits within 30 working days and to provide tenants with specific information relating to the tenancy and the deposit. The scheme is regulated by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011.
On 11 November 2019 the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 made a number of changes to the 2011 provisions. Perhaps,
You have made a Will. Congratulations! This now means all of your affairs are in order, your Will can be easily interpreted upon your death and your family will understand your reasons for what you have chosen to include in your Will. Well, not necessarily. It can, at times, be difficult to understand someone's Will after their death and it may be that a Letter of Wishes can clarify matters.
A Letter of Wishes is as it says: a
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
There can be many reasons for someone requiring a move to a care home from being less able to do the things you used to do, recurring falls or starting to feel lonely. Care homes have trained staff on hand, which may help to remove risks you may face at home. It is perfectly normal to have conflicted feelings about a care home move for yourself or a family member. So what are the things you should think about before moving into care accommodation?
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.
For many, the prospect of making a Will to adequately provide for their family can seem a rather daunting task. However, when you are a business owner, the number of issues to be considered increases. With that in mind, why should business owners make a Will? Is it really that important?
Succession planning is often at the forefront of a business owner's mind to ensure that the business can carry on when they are no longer here. A Will should be
When proprietors within a tenement instruct a repair by dint of a Scheme Decision made in terms of the Tenement Management Scheme (Schedule 1 to the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004) any owner in such a tenement can, if they wish, arrange for the repair and then look to the other owners for a contribution to the cost.
In mixed tenure tenements where there are privately owned flats and units let in terms of affordable tenancies (social tenancies) a social landlord might find themselves in such
At TC Young, we offer modern apprentice opportunities in all of our offices. We have worked with school leavers for a number of years (before it was called a modern apprenticeship) and it is a recruitment method that we feel offers excellent training for school leavers. It is also a relationship that we continue to benefit from with individuals receiving training in different areas of the business.
A long time ago we had a plan:
There are presently 9 grounds on which a Registered Social Landlord may offer a prospective new tenant an SSST (a short Scottish secure tenancy). One of those grounds is that the property is to be let on a temporary basis to a person who is in receipt of a housing support service. This ground can only be relied on where none of the other grounds apply. It is also important to note that this ground cannot be relied on where
Today sees the introduction of a new Social Security Scotland benefit to assist those on low incomes to meet the costs of a funeral. The payment, known as Funeral Expenses Payment, can help pay for some of the costs of the funeral (burial/cremation fees, travel to arrange or attend funeral, death certificate & other documents). Up to £700 is available for other funeral expenses (e.g. flowers, coffin or funeral director's fees).
The payment will not usually cover all of the costs of the funeral. The
Home Reports provide buyers, solicitors and mortgage lenders with a clear market valuation of residential property on the open market for sale and give detailed information on the condition of the property.
The onus is now with the seller of a property in Scotland, who wishes to sell their residential property on the open market, to provide a home report to any potential buyers. Failure to do so could result in you being fined up to £500.
A Home Report comprises three separate reports these
Are you the owner of a property in a tenement? If you are, can you answer the following:
If you are unable to answer these questions, and repairs are required in your tenement, the starting point is to check the title deeds which relate to your property.
With the availability of websites such as Gumtree and Airbnb, we have seen a sharp rise in tenants engaging in unauthorised sub-letting.
Where the landlord of such properties is a Registered Social Landlord (RSL), the unauthorised sub-letting of a property for excessive sums of money (sometimes whilst the rental charge due to the RSL goes unaddressed!) goes against the principles of social housing.
The present legal position is that an RSL tenant can only sub-let the property with the prior written permission of the landlord.
With shared equity schemes, including Homestake and LiFT, now becoming increasingly popular some Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and their subsidiaries who are Rural Housing Bodies, have applied a Rural Housing Burden (RHB) on their shared equity developments. How does shared equity and rural housing burdens work?
What is a Rural Housing Burden?
The official definition is: -
A perpetual personal right of pre-emption contained within the title deeds of a property in favour of a rural housing body which allows the rural housing body the
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?
A welcome proposal made by the OTS is the reduction of the seven-year gifting rule to five years. This would see individuals being able to make gifts to their children and only have to survive five years for it to
If there are two or more joint tenants to a Scottish Secure Tenancy Agreement, they will be jointly and severally liable for all of that tenancy's contractual obligations. What this means for the landlord is that it can hold either one or all of the tenants responsible for any arrears. In effect, the Association, has a choice regarding which of the tenants to pursue. This can often be a practical decision. For example, if you
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
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 is a legal document which you ('the grantor') grant in favour of another person ('the attorney') to make decisions relating to your finances, property and/or welfare. In Scotland this is known as a continuing and welfare power of attorney (lasting and enduring power of attorney in England &
Dependent upon your family circumstances, it may be sensible to consider including a liferent provision in your Will. However, what is a liferent exactly and how may it benefit you?
A liferent can be used where you wish your spouse, for instance, to benefit from the income from your assets or be in a position to use those assets, without them having outright entitlement to/ownership of those assets. Instead, the assets will ultimately pass to others; most commonly, your children.
A
On 16 September 2019, The Private Landlord Registration (Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 came into effect, introducing a more comprehensive, rigorous application process in order to raise general awareness amongst landlords of their legal requirements and to provide better assurance to private rented sector tenants of landlord competence and compliance. In short, the regulations have changed the landlord registration process with the aim to improve standards within the private rented sector in order that homes rented to tenants are of good quality and are being
The government has just launched a consultation on how to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace. The consultation seeks views on how employers can be encouraged to better prioritise the prevention of sexual harassment.
Consideration is being given to a new duty to require employers to actively protect staff from harassment in the workplace. This would enhance current requirements by placing a preventative duty on employers to take action, for example, implementing an equality policy, raising awareness, providing training and dealing effectively with complaints.
The
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
