Free of charge meaning

Call or put option? Under a ‘call’ option, the purchaser holds the reins, as it can demand a transfer of the property. By contrast, a ‘put’ option leaves the seller in charge, enabling it to compel the purchaser to complete a transfer. Accordingly, the purchaser must take particular care that the transfer provisions—especially on valuation and, where relevant, insurance—are as advantageous as possible. Seller's charges If the property is charged when the option is granted, the mortgagee might defeat the option by using its power of sale. To guard against this, ensure the mortgagee either: becomes a party to the agreement (uncommon in practice), or gives written consent to the grant of the option In both scenarios, the mortgagee should confirm that, if the purchaser exercises the option, it will take the property free of the charge; or, if the mortgagee sells under its power, it cannot dispose of the property free of the option. Is the exercise of...

Free and open source software (OSS) Free and open source software (OSS) is a collective term for software released under a licence that gives the recipient rights to use, alter, and share it—whether in its original form or a derivative—usually without charge or royalty, and for which the software’s source code is accessible. This stands in contrast to the software licences lawyers are more accustomed to, which may seek to stop the licensee from accessing the source code, using the software across multiple users, locations or computers, and from making and distributing copies. Free and open source software (often called ‘FOSS’) emphasises freedom rather than restriction. Although it is typically provided free of charge (gratis), the ‘free’ in ‘free software’ is intended to indicate liberty, not price. Another acronym, ‘FLOSS’, is occasionally used, where the ‘L’ stands for ‘libre’. While there are many advantages to employing OSS (and many widely adopted OSS projects are stable, well-developed and cost-effective), there are some downsides, as well as considerations to weigh during...

This checklist is intended chiefly for assignments of commercial leases. It is not comprehensive and cannot anticipate every scenario across all deals. Always consider whether additional points require attention. It proceeds on the basis that: the lease concerns commercial premises let at open market rent to an occupational tenant, with the landlord providing the insurance the assignor uses the premises for its business and the assignee likewise plans to occupy for business purposes the lease is a head lease and the premises are free of any underleases the lease is not secured by a fixed charge (which would be rare in practice), and no premium is payable Where the assignment forms part of a broader or more intricate arrangement, consult Sale of commercial property (seller)—checklist and Practice Note: Transferring commercial property—a practical guide. When acting for the assignee, refer to Assignment of a rack rent lease (assignee)—checklist. Preliminary matters See also Practice Note: Transferring commercial property—a practical guide—Preliminary...

Overriding principles The DMCC’s core requirement is that a product’s “total price” must be shown prominently in every invitation to purchase (ITP). (For what constitutes an ITP, see here.) The total price covers all amounts the consumer will inevitably pay, which therefore includes any compulsory delivery charges. There is a limited DMCC exception. Where, owing to the nature of the product, a compulsory delivery charge cannot reasonably be worked out in advance, every ITP must explain how that charge will be calculated. This explanation must appear with the same prominence as the total price and must enable the consumer to determine the overall cost. Typically, equal prominence means placing this information beside or immediately below the total price. Before relying on this carve‑out, traders should be satisfied that the compulsory delivery charge genuinely cannot be calculated beforehand. The CMA has indicated that the exception will be applied narrowly...

The consumer groups claim that Meta, parent company of Facebook, violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by creating a smokescreen to obscure its data harvesting. Groups within BEUC (the European Consumer Organisation) — which represents 45 independent consumer groups across 31 countries — have submitted complaints to their national data protection authorities. A ‘consent-or-pay’ paywall enables internet users to access a website free of charge if they consent to the use of cookies — blocks of data generated by a web server. Users who refuse consent can visit the site only if they pay...

Domestic The Department of Finance launches a public consultation on the transposition of the (EU) Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive The Department of Finance has recently opened a public consultation on the transposition of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (EU) 2025/1 (IRRD). The IRRD entered into force on 28 January 2025 and must be transposed into Irish law by 28 January 2027. It is intended to deliver a harmonised approach to recovery and resolution across the European Union, ensuring insurers and the relevant authorities are better prepared for periods of significant financial distress. The key objectives of the IRRD are to: protect policyholders, beneficiaries and claimants preserve financial stability secure the continuity of (re)insurers’ critical functions...

Firms sometimes extend low-interest (or interest-free) borrowing to directors or staff as part of a remuneration package, or on particular occasions, to assist the individual with major financial outlays. As with any other form of employment reward, where a loan is made by a third party rather than by the employer, the disguised remuneration rules in Part 7A of Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) must be considered first, since those provisions take precedence over most mechanisms for charging employment income to tax (including the benefits code). For further information, see: Disguised remuneration and EBTs—overview and, also, regarding the loan charge within the disguised remuneration rules, refer to Practice Note: Disguised remuneration—history of the loan charge. If no third party is involved (eg where the employer itself advances the loan), or an exemption from the disguised remuneration regime applies, the provisions in the benefits code for employment-related loans outlined below may instead govern the position for the particular loan in question...

What is the Pensions Advice Allowance? Following consultation in 2016/17, the government brought in, from 6 April 2017, the Pensions Advice Allowance. It enables eligible pension scheme members to withdraw a fixed sum from their pension pot tax-free to cover holistic retirement advice. At the member’s instruction, the scheme may therefore reduce the value of the member’s pot by the advice fee and pay the funds straight to the member’s adviser. This measure stemmed from the Financial Advice Market Review, which highlighted an advice gap affecting people who require retirement planning support but cannot meet the cost from net-of-tax income or savings. It is available in addition to other existing advice allowances and payment routes for advice. These include adviser charging, which does not permit pension monies to be used to fund holistic retirement advice. For further details, see Other types of pensions advice measures below. The government’s aim is to help those preparing for retirement to use the Pensions Advice Allowance to fund holistic...

This Practice Note considers the following commercial and legal issues arising from the use of free and open source software: What is free and open source software? History Upstreaming and forking Free and open source licences Distribution of modified works (and the reciprocal effect) Linking and incorporation Software as a service (SaaS) Compliance requirements Licence incompatibility Bare licence or contractual licence Patents Trade marks Corporate transactions Software bill of materials Software licensing to the end user Enforcement Free and open source software (sometimes called ‘FOSS’) is a collective term for software released under a licence granting recipients the rights to use, adapt, and share it—whether unchanged or modified—without fees or royalties, with the source code made available. In contrast, the software licences most familiar to lawyers may seek to stop the licensee from accessing source code, using the software across multiple users, locations or computers, and from making and...

For an overview of Irish data protection law and its principal concepts and rules, refer to Practice Note: Ireland—Data protection basics. Data Subject Access Request (Pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018) I am lodging a data subject access request via a third party—my solicitor (details set out below). Kindly provide my solicitor with copies of my complete medical records, in both hard copy and electronic form, inclusive of all radiology. Given these files ought to be easily located by reference to my personal data outlined below, this request is reasonable and the materials should be supplied free of charge within one month. This request is made to advance a [ civil personal injury claim ] against a third party. Appointed medical experts may rely on the records to assess my injuries and symptoms and to review any pertinent prior medical history. For the avoidance of doubt, this is a data subject access request made on my own behalf...

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Section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) Under section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985), a residential tenant may require their landlord to furnish a summary of costs relating to service charges for the last accounting year; if accounts are not kept by accounting years, the previous 12 months. The landlord is obliged to comply with the tenant's request within one month, in any event, or, if later, within six months of the end of the relevant 12‑month accounting period...

State Aid: The Basics Guide The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills’ July 2015 guide, State Aid: The Basics Guide, explains that state aid arises wherever public resources are used to give organisations an edge over others, potentially distorting competition and harming consumers and businesses across the EU. The concept is deliberately wide, as an “advantage” can be delivered in many ways, for example: grants loans tax breaks the use or sale of a state asset free of charge or for less than market value Public authorities, including local authorities in England and Wales, are accountable for ensuring their policies and projects comply with these requirements. During the implementation period following Brexit, state aid rules continue to apply in the UK. The annex to the Department for Education’s November 2019 publication, Securing Developer Contributions for Education, notes that unlawful state aid can occur in relation to developer contributions towards education...

This Q&A considers a landlord’s ability to deal with their premises following service of a notice under section 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993). Once a section 13 notice is served, a statutory process begins that enables flat tenants to act together to buy the freehold of their building. The rights created by that notice ought to be safeguarded by entering an agreed or unilateral notice on the freehold title, or, where the landlord’s title is unregistered, by registering a class C(iv) land charge...