Legal News and Comment
Cohabiting families are the fastest growing type of family in the UK. Couples who are neither married nor in a civil partnership, but who live together are called ‘cohabitants’. Cohabitants have fewer legal rights than married couples and it may therefore be important to seek a cohabitation agreement which is…
A letting agency has been successfully prosecuted under consumer protection legislation for granting “sham licences” to tenants.
The letting agency in Islington had told two tenants that each had a licence rather than an assured shorthold tenancy and their deposits were not protected in a tenancy deposit scheme. …
Read more: Letting Agent prosecuted for giving tenants “sham licences”
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 restricts the ability of landlords and letting agents to charge certain fees to tenants and prospective tenants of assured shorthold tenancies (excluding social housing and long leases) and student accommodation in England. It also applies to residential licences (with limited exceptions).
The provisions of…
Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower and subsequent large-scale testing of aluminium composite material cladding from similar buildings across the country, the government has announced an independent review of building regulations and fire safety.
The Grenfell Tower fire raised serious questions about the fire safety of high-rise residential blocks…
Read more: Government announces independent review of building regulations and fire safety
A recent ruling by the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that a lease of a student unit which included the right to use communal space was not a separate dwelling for the purposes of section 38 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
The unit was intended to be…
Read more: Service charge legislation does not apply to student units