Legal Q&A

An apprentice qualifies for the lower apprentice rate of the national minimum wage ( NMW) (currently £3.50 per hour) This entitlement applies where the individual is a worker who either: Is employed under: A contract of apprenticeship An apprenticeship agreement (as defined by section 32 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 ( ASCLA 2009), since repealed but subject to transitional and saving provisions) An approved English apprenticeship agreement (as described in ASCLA 2009, s A1(3)) Or is regarded as employed under a contract of apprenticeship by virtue of taking part in one of these government schemes: England:...

SRA standards and regulations Where an individual represents a client in a matter, they must ensure the client is notified of all information material to that matter that they possess, except where exceptions are applicable......

An easement is a right enjoyed by one piece of land (the dominant tenement) over adjacent land (the servient tenement). There are numerous varieties of easement; rights of way are the best known, yet they cover rights to take water, and rights relating to storage, parking, access and the like. Easements are attached to the land and are registrable, which means they will bind later owners of the servient land and will continue to benefit the dominant land even following a change in ownership, making them proprietary rights, as opposed to a licence personal to a landowner from time to time......

Assured shorthold tenancies An Assured Shorthold Tenancy ( AST) is a form of assured tenancy that permits a landlord to rent out a dwelling, while still keeping the ability to recover possession of the property once the term finishes. This differs from regulated and other assured tenancies, where the occupier might have a right to remain in the home when the term ends. For further detail, see Practice Note: A summary of types of private residential tenancies, under the heading A summary of types of private residential tenancies— Assured shorthold tenancies. As to how an AST arises, the starting position is that any residential letting granted on or after 28 February 1997 will, by default, be an AST, unless the landlord has served a notice on the tenant confirming that the tenancy will not be an AST......

In answering this Q& A The research is confined to situations in which a company has duly executed one counterpart of a contract, yet the witnessing clause for the other party’s execution is completed incorrectly......

Before reaching a decision on a planning application, a local planning authority ( LPA) must run a consultation period to gather opinions on the proposed development. This encompasses public consultation. It is open to all members of the public, who may submit representations. To make that process work, the LPA is required to publicise the planning applications it receives. Statutory provisions Section 65 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990) enables a development order to require that notice is given of any application for planning permission and to make provision for publicising such applications, and it bars an LPA from considering an application unless those requirements are met by virtue of that section. The Town and Country Planning ( Development Management Procedure) ( England) Order 2015, ( TCP( DMP)( E) O 2015), SI 2015/595 is the current...

Under section 203 of the Highways Act 1980 ( Hi A 1980) A ‘private street’ is, for the purposes of section 203, a street that is not a highway maintainable at the public expense. Where a highway authority constructs a highway, it becomes maintainable at the public expense (by the highway authority) from the point it is first opened for use. Any highway created after the Highways Act 1835 took effect is only maintainable at public expense if, at some time, the relevant public authority has adopted it for maintenance. Adoption may occur following a request by the owner or be undertaken by the authority itself, and it is mandatory where confirmed under a private street works code or a similar procedure. See Practice Note: Maintenance liability for highways......

In numerous matters, one or both sides in a legal dispute appear without lawyers, representing themselves in the proceedings. This occurs for a range of reasons; frequently, the cause is an inability to obtain legal representation because of limited personal finances. Every section of the legal profession, under its respective code of conduct and in line with its duties to the court, is obliged to treat litigants in person with fairness and respect. In addition, the Judicial College Guidance offers further direction to the judiciary on the role of the judge when a case features a litigant in person within proceedings of this kind......

Remuneration principles Rule 18.16 of the Insolvency ( England and Wales) Rules 2016 ( IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, sets out the governing principles on remuneration. It confirms an office-holder’s entitlement to remuneration ( IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 18.16(1)). Under IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 18.16(2), remuneration must be determined on one or more of the following bases: a percentage of the value of property or assets realised and/or distributed; time properly expended; or a fixed amount; or a combination of those bases. Where an office-holder proposes to take all or part of the remuneration on a basis described in IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 18.16(2), the office-holder must, before deciding which of those bases are to be fixed, deliver to creditors a fees’ estimate, together with details of the expenses the office-holder considers will be, or are likely to be,...

Request under section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ( LTA 1985) The section 21 request under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ( LTA 1985) seeks a summary of 'costs incurred'. These are the 'relevant costs' tied to service charges that are payable, or have been demanded as payable, by the leaseholders of a dwelling. ' Relevant costs' means actual or estimated expenditure incurred, or to be incurred, by or on behalf of the landlord or any superior landlord in relation to matters for which a service charge is payable – LTA 1985, s 18. Such relevant costs may fall within the period for which the service charge is due, or within an earlier or later period, and may encompass overheads. Where service charge accounts are compiled on a 12-month accounting basis, any written summary can refer only to those accounts that were 'made up' in...

Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 ( HA 2004) sets out the obligations on landlords who take a deposit in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy. Every deposit must be handled in line with an authorised scheme ( HA 2004, s 213(1)), and the scheme’s initial requirements must be met within a period of 30 days from receipt of the deposit ( HA 2004, s 213(3))......