Legal Q&A

Condition C Where the buyer is a private person, one requirement of the increased rates ( Condition C) is that, by the close of the completion day for their transaction, they hold a ‘major interest’ in a residence other than the one acquired. In some situations, this test is satisfied despite the buyer not holding any such interest at all......

Under section 133 of the Highways Act 1980 ( Hi A 1980), a local highway authority may, where a footway forming part of a street that is a highway maintainable at public expense is harmed as a result of any excavation or other operations on land adjoining (as defined by Hi A 1980, s 186) the highway, carry out the necessary repairs and reclaim the expense thereby incurred from either the landowner or the person responsible for the damage. See Commentary: Damage to footway by excavation: Halsbury's Laws of England [378]. In addition, Hi A 1980, s 130 confers a broader power to assert, uphold and safeguard the rights of the public to use and enjoy the highway as such accordingly. See Commentary: General duty of highway authority: Halsbury's Laws of England [372]......

Meaning of ‘covenant’ Definition and construction of covenant: Halsbury’s Laws of England [448] states that a covenant is a promise contained in a deed, binding the parties, or any one of them, to do, or to refrain from doing, a particular act. The term may nonetheless be read so as to include provisions in an agreement under hand where, absent such construction, the wording would be deprived of effect; for example, where a document refers to the “covenants” of a lease that is not executed by deed......

A fundamental feature of any lease is that the tenant enjoys exclusive possession for the term. Refer to Commentary: Distinction between lease and licence: Hill and Redman’s Law of Landlord and Tenant [290]–[341]. The landlord has no general entitlement to enter the demised premises and must rely on an express right to gain access and undertake repairs. As stated in Commentary: Rights of entry to carry out works and recover costs: Hill and Redman’s Law of Landlord and Tenant [3569], ‘ Clauses which expressly reserve rights of entry to the landlord for particular purposes will be strictly construed and the court will be reluctant to imply additional rights in the landlord’s favour. Thus a covenant allowing the landlord to enter demised premises to carry out works was held not to confer a right to enter to carry out works of...

Where no particular limitation exists within the deputyship order concerning the deputy’s sale or acquisition of land, the stated general authority will typically and ordinarily encompass fully the authority to purchase and dispose of property for the benefit of the protected person ( P)......

Provided she meets specific criteria set out in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999 ( MAPLE 1999), SI 1999/3312, an employee has a right to both ordinary and additional maternity leave......

This Q& A reviews alternative employment for fair dismissal purposes and examines what counts as suitable alternative employment for statutory redundancy payment purposes. It addresses both fair dismissal and statutory redundancy payment considerations. Reason for dismissal The same definition of ‘redundancy’ is applied for the purposes of determining: the entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment whether, in the context of an unfair dismissal claim, the reason for dismissal is redundancy Under that definition, an employee is dismissed by reason of redundancy where the dismissal is wholly or mainly attributable to: the employer ceasing, or intending to cease, carrying on the business for the purpose for which the employee was employed by them the employer ceasing, or intending to cease, carrying on that business in the place where the employee was so employed the requirements of the business for employees to...

A post-termination restriction (or restrictive covenant) A post-termination restriction, also called a restrictive covenant, in an employment contract is unenforceable from the outset unless the limits it places are reasonable, having regard to the interests of both the parties and of the public......

This is a Q& A about whether it is necessary for dependants to apply to switch categories at the same time as their relevant points-based system ( PBS) migrants. The Points Based System ( Dependant) Guidance states, as a general rule, that where the principal migrant changes employer or education provider, receives a new certificate of sponsorship and applies for leave to remain to work or study with their new sponsor, their dependants are not obliged to apply for leave to remain at the same time......

Pinpointing when a planning permission issued under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990) takes effect, in circumstances where works have already begun, is frequently hard to assess. Consents made under TCPA 1990, s 73 constitute a fresh planning permission, leaving the initial permission untouched and unchanged, and enabling the developer to decide which permission it prefers to put into effect in each case......

A request for a financial order included within a divorce or dissolution petition/application counts as an application for financial relief for the purposes of section 28(3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 ( MCA 1973) or paragraph 48 of Schedule 5, Part 10 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 ( CPA 2004) (see Jackson v Jackson). Consequently, to safeguard capital claims, it is not essential to have additionally lodged a Form A before remarriage or before starting a further civil partnership, though it remains sensible practice to do so......

If an individual does not exhaust their inheritance tax nil rate band ( NRB) on death—perhaps because a large share of the estate passes to a surviving spouse or civil partner—the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, sections 8A to 8C, sets out provisions allowing the unused NRB, wholly or partly, to be transferred and applied to increase the survivor’s NRB when that person dies. The mechanism preserves a proportion of the first estate’s NRB, which can then uplift the allowance available to the surviving spouse or civil partner on their death. The uplift is determined by a statutory calculation in IHTA 1984, section 8A(3) and (4)......

If the deceased died intestate Parts III and IV of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 ( AEA 1925) apply to: all movable property belonging to the deceased, wherever it is located, provided the intestate was domiciled in England and Wales; and all immovable property of the deceased situated in England or Wales, whether or not the deceased was domiciled here Who inherits the residuary estate on intestacy is determined by the estate’s value and by which categories of family members have survived the deceased. Where a spouse or civil partner survives, he or she is entitled to the statutory legacy (of £250,000 where the deceased also left ‘issue’)......

Practice Note: Suitability grounds for refusal and cancellation of permission notes that, under the Immigration Rules, Part 9, para 320(7B): Unless an exemption applies, or the relevant re-entry ban has expired, any application made under a route within Parts 2–8, or under Appendix Armed Forces, must be refused where the person has previously breached UK immigration law by: overstaying, unless the overstay was 90 days or less (where it began before 6 April 2017) or 30 days or less (where it began on or after 6 April 2017) and, in either scenario, they left the UK of their own accord and not at public expense Where any of the above circumstances apply, any further application to re-enter the UK will be refused until the following re-entry ban has run: one year, if the individual departed the UK voluntarily and not at public...

For the purposes of this Q& A, it is assumed that: the leasehold property forms part of the unadministered Estate the Estate bears the primary responsibility to pay the service charge the beneficiaries in occupation have a right to occupy the leasehold property Whilst the Estate is being administered, legal ownership of the deceased’s unadministered assets is vested in the personal representatives ( PRs) for the purposes of administration and to carry out that administration. In the meantime, no beneficiary, whether taking under the deceased’s Will or by intestacy, has any proprietary interest in any particular or identifiable asset comprised within the unadministered Estate, nor any enforceable claim to such an item. See Practice Note: Beneficiaries’ rights and remedies. The PRs hold extensive powers to administer and manage the deceased’s Estate......

Practice Note: IHT—gifts with reservation of benefit Please consult the Practice Note, which summarises the GROB rules in section 102 of the Finance Act 1986 ( FA 1986), detailing when a transfer can fall within a reservation of benefit, the exceptions to that framework, and the way the regime operates in practice. Because the donor holds the property in co-ownership with the donees, the terms of FA 1986, s 102B assume particular importance in this context and should be carefully considered here accordingly......

You may wish to consider separately: the implied term the fairness of a dismissal which prejudices Permanent Health Insurance ( PHI) rights, under the statutory law on unfair dismissal Where PHI benefits depend on employment continuing, the High Court has implied a term preventing dismissal during incapacity, save for summary dismissal (gross misconduct) or another compelling ground (eg redundancy). In Briscoe v Lubrizol, the Court of Appeal signalled a broader carve-out, permitting dismissal for ‘reasonable and proper cause’. Even so, such a term is not always to be implied. In Lloyd v BCQ ( EAT) no implication was made where: a later written contract omitted any reference to the PHI scheme and contained an entire agreement clause there was, overall, no contractual entitlement to scheme benefits the contract expressly permitted dismissal for prolonged illness For more detail, including...

Ordinary residence Section 39(4) of the Care Act 2014 ( CA 2014) states that a person provided with accommodation under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 ( Me HA 1983) is, for the purposes of the Act, to be treated as ordinarily resident in England or Wales, and the local authority accordingly has a duty to arrange the services required by Me HA 1983, s 117. That responsibility continues until the integrated care board or Local Health Board and the local social services authority are satisfied that the individual no longer needs aftercare... Although CA 2014 does not set out a definition of ordinary residence, the phrase bears its everyday meaning. In this context, ordinarily resident refers to a person’s home in a specific place or country which they have chosen voluntarily, and it involves matters of both fact and degree......

Background Part 20 exists to ensure counterclaims and other additional claims are handled in the most practical and efficient way ( CPR 20). Claim The route for any counterclaim varies according to whether proceedings are under Part 7 or Part 8. A probate claim must be started under the Part 7 procedure ( CPR 57.3(b)). For Part 57 purposes, a ‘probate claim’ covers an application for a decree affirming or denying the validity of a purported will ( CPR 57.1(2)(a)(iii)). Counterclaim Where a defendant maintains that they have any claim concerning the grant of probate of the deceased person’s Will, they must advance that position by serving a counterclaim ( CPR 57.8(1))......

Changes to CPR PD 22 took effect on 6 April 2020. The revisions modified the mandated wording for the statement of truth that authenticates documents to be deployed in civil proceedings. Nevertheless, under both the old and new versions the signatory must still confirm their belief that the 'contents' of the pertinent documents are true—or, under the updated formula, that the 'facts stated' in the relevant document are true......