Are you a property factor? Are you owed over £5,000 in factoring debt from an owner? If so, a petition for sequestration may be a way to recover these debts. Sequestration, otherwise known as bankruptcy, is a means for debt recovery, where the debt is £5,000 or more, and is commonly identified as the process where a debtor is deemed insolvent. Sequestration is often identified as the most drastic form of debt recovery that a creditor may wish to take against a debtor.

If an

The Scottish Ministers have recently revised the public procurement thresholds for Scotland to ensure they are in line with the World Trade Organisation's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). The updated thresholds apply to procurement exercises which commence on or after 1^st January 2024, and will remain applicable until 31^st December 2025.

As with the last threshold revisions made for 2022 to 2023, where VAT may be payable under a contract, purchasers must ensure that an allowance for VAT is included within the estimated value

Anyone accepting the role of an Attorney is accepting a position of trust.  You have been appointed by the granter of the Power of Attorney (POA) to effectively step in their shoes and make decisions on their behalf when they can no longer do so themselves.  If called upon to take up the role as Attorney any action or decision you take must comply with the guiding principles of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000:

1. Any action must benefit the granter of the POA;

Scotland’s trust law is over 100 years old and is to be updated to bring it in line with modern practices.

The Trust and Succession (Scotland) Bill is currently working its way through the Scottish Parliament. There are 3 stages towards turning a bill into an Act:

1. Introduction – the bill is proposed and consultation takes place; Parliament then decides if the Bill is to be rejected or can proceed to stage 2.
2. Amendments – where proposed amendments are debated and provided by MSPs with

The First Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) is the forum for disputes between landlords and tenants in the private rented sector. The Tribunal has the power to grant eviction and payment orders, enabling landlords to recover their properties and obtain payment of rent arrears or tenancy debts.

At TC Young Solicitors, we act solely for landlords and letting agents, providing guidance through this time consuming and complex process. We ensure from the outset that landlords have a clear outline of their options

On 26 October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received Royal Assent.   The Act has been put in place to tackle money laundering in the UK.  There are major changes coming to Companies House in terms of the Act, which will change Companies House role from a recipient of information to a more active gatekeeper in the fight against financial crime.

Over the last few months, we have been producing a series of blogs to highlight the forthcoming reforms that the new Act will bring

The recruitment of volunteer Committee Members can be challenging for a number of RSLs and, whilst our RSL clients are keen to encourage a wide range of interested individuals onto their Committee, an individual’s ability to become a Committee Member (being a member of the Committee of Management) is not absolute. Most RSLs adopt the Scottish Federation for Housing Associations (SFHA) Charitable Model Rules which state that an individual will not be eligible to be elected or appointed to an RSL’s Committee of Management where:

It is not uncommon for landlords and tenants to enter various tenancy agreements in respect of the same property, especially where the tenant has been in occupation for a number of years. Both parties may well have had good intentions, but signing subsequent agreements can have unintended or unforeseen consequences.

A recent decision of the Upper Tribunal has clarified in which circumstances parties signing a new agreement will constitute renunciation of the earlier lease.

In McCallum v Wright (2023 UT 25), Mr McCallum had occupied

Where a Scottish public authority (including Registered Social Landlords (RSLs)) receives a Freedom of Information (FOI) request relating to one of their "FOI functions"such information must be provided, except where an exemption applies under The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). FOI requests often contain elements of third-party personal data, meaning that RSLs must consider their legal obligations under FOISA, together with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

Section 38(1) of FOISA provides for exemptions of personal data

When a child order, such as a Child Arrangement Order, Special Guardianship Order or a Specific Steps Order, is granted in England or Wales in respect of a child who then moves to, or is relocated within Scotland, how is the order of the English or Welsh Court registered in Scotland?

This is a question which is often asked of our Court of Session Agents. We are experienced in successfully assisting agents from English and Welsh jurisdictions in having orders registered. Our Court of Session

There are many circumstances in which a party may wish for a private limited company to be restored to the Register of Companies (“the Register”). One such example could be where the title to a property is held in the name of a dissolved company and that title requires to be transferred. In that circumstance, the company would require to be restored to the Register before the title could be transferred. Other examples could include where there are other assets which are held by the

The Scottish Parliament has this week approved legislation to extend the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (COLA) for a second time, meaning the legislation now remains in place until 31st March 2024.

This blog will summarise what the latest extension means for the private rented sector.

The eviction moratorium remains in place. This means that private landlords are still able to serve notice on their tenant and raise eviction proceedings. However, enforcement of eviction orders granted by the Tribunal under specific grounds

Introduction

The recent Sheriff Court case of Riley v Student Housing Company provides helpful clarification on data controller requirements in terms of GDPR regulations.

Background
The Pursuer was a former employee of the Defender. Another employee, Mr Adamson raised employment tribunal proceedings against the Defender. Mr Adamson made allegations that the Pursuer had verbally abused him during the course of his employment.

The tribunal decision in favour of Mr Adamson was widely reported in the media. The Sun newspaper personally named the Pursuer within their

Deadline for existing host/operator applications: 1 October 2023

 The mandatory licensing scheme for short term let properties commenced on 1 October 2022 in Scotland.

After 1 October 2022, new operators of short-term let accommodation required to have a licence before taking any bookings or receiving guests.

 Existing hosts or operators (operating before 1 October 2022) were permitted further time to apply for a licence.  However, they are only permitted to continue to accept bookings and receive guests while their application is being determined

This is the question that faced judges in the Inner House of the Court of Session recently in the case of Kirkwood v Thelem Assurance [2023] CSIH 30.

Dr Kirkwood had been injured by a motorist while she was on Holiday in France in 2015. She raised an action for compensation in the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the motorist’s insurer. She instructed an English firm of solicitors to represent her, who in turn instructed a Scottish firm to assist as local agents.

Powers of Attorney are often associated with the elderly and younger adults may ask, why would I need a Power of Attorney? Powers of Attorney are important legal documents that everyone, regardless of age, should consider putting in place now, as a safety net for the future. Unfortunately accidents or illness can occur at any age - granting a Power of Attorney ensures that someone you trust is able to manage your affairs and make important decisions about your health and wellbeing if something was

At the time of issuing this blog, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is still progressing its way through Parliament and is currently at the 3^rd reading in the House of Lords.

To reiterate information from our earlier blog on this subject (which can be found here - Companies House Reforms - Verification of Directors and PSCs), this Bill has been proposed to tackle money laundering in the UK, which is costing more than £100 billion each year.  There are major changes coming

Continuation of Rent Cap and Eviction Moratorium 

On 1st June 2023, Scottish Ministers published plans to extend the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2023.  The publication can be found here Plans to extend protections for tenants - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Additionally, Scottish Ministers published the draft regulations which, if approved by the Scottish Parliament, will give effect to these plans by extending the eviction moratorium in both the social and private rented sector to 31st March 2024. 

The Regulations can be found here. The

Taking effect from 16^th December 2022, the rate of Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) tax increased from 4% to 6%.

This is often known as “the second home tax”, where it accounts for the full purchase price of a “second home”.

Here is a brief reminder of the general rules in relation to this tax.

What is Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) tax and when does it apply?

Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) tax is an additional amount of Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT)

Scots Law has always had problems in providing creditors with fixed security (i.e. a security ranking prior to all other claims) over assets other than land. Examples include:

• Security over physical assets such as vehicles, plant machinery and stock (corporeal movables).
• Security over intangible assets such as intellectual property rights and shares (incorporeal movables).
• Security over obligations by third parties to the borrower - primarily, through trade credit (claims).

That is because:

a) Physical assets can only be secured if they are in the creditor’s