You have made a Will. Congratulations! This puts you ahead of the almost 60% of the Scottish population who do not have Wills in place.
In your Will, you have appointed an Executor; the person charged with implementing the terms of your Will and carrying out their legal duties as your Executor. However, in light of a case involving a man who murdered his mum, but because he is named as the Executor in her Will he can attend to administering her estate, some people
Many people choose a loft conversion as a means of obtaining more space without having to move home. This blog provides some advice on what you should be thinking about before making the decision to extend and how to ensure that the loft conversion is safe and legal.
If you live in a house this shouldn't be an issue but for top floor flats (including upper cottage flats) you should check the title deeds (or ask
'It's in the diary.' 'Let's catch up over coffee.' These are typical phrases which are uttered when we hear the words - 'business development'. What are we really looking to gain from having countless lunches and coffees with contacts we may not have seen or heard from in a while?
In these uncertain times, businesses can no longer afford to cherry pick where their business comes from. Work may be referred continuously from one reliable source or may come from the man in
There are many people who are providing care for loved ones in their own homes. The Scottish Government recently circulated an updated Carers' charter explaining the rights of adult carers or young carers in Scotland. This came on the back of the introduction of new legislation, The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, which came into effect from 1 April 2018. What are your rights as a carer in Scotland?
The legislation was introduced to enhance the rights of carers in Scotland to help improve their
You have been appointed as a Continuing (financial) Attorney and now need to trigger the powers granted to you.
It is all change right now in the world of repairs for private landlords in Scotland.
We recently saw new Gas Safety Regulations come into force on 6 April 2018 and more changes have been implemented with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Modification of the Repairing Standard) Regulations 2019. Please find below a summary of the changes that came in to force on 1 March 2019.
At first glance, the changes to the repairing standard seem to look like a loosening of the requirements, particularly
As we approach 29 March there are changing levels of uncertainty around what might happen when the UK leaves the European Union, it is a good time to consider what options your business might have to take ahead of a possible Brexit.
The current position is that at 11pm on 29 March 2019 the United Kingdom will leave the E.U. This is known as the 'withdrawal date'. A European court has ruled that the UK can decide to halt the process and stay in the
Are you a Registered Social Landlord engaged in property factoring? Are your factoring practices robust and ready for upcoming changes to the Property Factor's Code of Conduct?
The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 is 6 years old and created a statutory framework providing protections for homeowners who receive services from a property factor. As part of that framework, a Code of Conduct was introduced which sets minimum standards of practice for registered property factors in their business with homeowners.
The Scottish Government has been active
Earlier this month, Acas issued guidance on age discrimination and information for workplaces outlining important points for businesses to consider including steps to take to avoid age discrimination in the workplace and examples of how age discrimination might occur.
Age is one of the nine protected characteristics within the Equality Act 2010. This means that an employee is protected against discrimination because of age. It is important to remember that this discrimination doesn't only occur when a 'young person' receives better treatment than an 'older
A servitude is a right that a landowner has over neighbouring property which allows the holder of the servitude (or benefitted proprietor) to do something with another person's property, which would not normally be allowed. Whether created by a specific grant, by reservation, or indeed through uninterrupted use for the prescriptive period of 20 years the servitude right runs with the land. Common examples include:
Servitudes were once restricted to
The recent case of Clancy Docwra Ltd v E.On Energy Solutions Ltd has highlighted the need for consistency between a contract and any additional documents appended to it.
E.On appointed Clancy Docwra as a sub-contractor to excavate trenches for the installation of an underground district heating network. They had started the works when they encountered adverse ground conditions which consisted of underground brick walls and rubble. The parties disputed what entitlement, if any, Clancy Docwra had to receiving additional costs in relation to the further
The Scottish Government has recently published updated versions of the model Private Residential Tenancy Agreement, Easy Read Notes, and Statutory Terms Supporting Notes. This update takes account of changes to data protection laws, as well as other minor edits and clarifications.
The new versions should be used going forward.
You can access the updated information at the Scottish Government's website links below.
Model Tenancy Agreement:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-model-private-residential-tenancy-agreement/
Easy Read Notes:
Statutory Terms Supporting Notes:
The downloadable output of the Scottish Government's model tenancy agreement
On 11 November 2019 all Scottish RSLs will become subject to Freedom of Information (FOI). This will give members of the public the right to request information that RSLs hold.
Whilst RSLs are currently required to respond to public requests for environmental information, the draft 'Order' published by the Scottish Government on 08 February will mean that RSLs (and in some cases their subsidiaries) need to provide a wide range of information if requested, subject to that Order being approved by parliament. This is
The day is finally here; you've worked hard, made years of payments and now you've got that all-important letter from the bank/lender confirming that you have fully paid off your mortgage. Pop open the champagne, enjoy the moment and have a think about how you are going to spend that extra money each month. But wait, you notice on the letter there's something about discharging the mortgage, what does this mean?
The concept is fairly simple, when you use a mortgage to buy a property
Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are entitled to terminate a Scottish Secure Tenancy and recover the property where a tenant (or someone residing with or visiting them) has been convicted of a criminal offence. Provision for this is made in Ground 2 of Schedule 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. What changes are coming into force regarding evicting criminal tenants in 2019?
There are currently two conditions which must be met before an RSL is entitled to serve a Notice of Proceedings and begin eviction
As most people are aware, the government set up a very generous scheme at the end of 2015 known as Help to Buy ISAs where young people who had never owned a house before (first-time buyers) could save for a house and be given a free 25% bonus on top of their savings when they became able to purchase of a property. A Lifetime ISA, or 'LISA' as they're regularly referred to, offers a very similar deal but with considerable differences which you should
The Scottish Government is due to introduce new legislation regarding fire and smoke detectors in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (Tolerable Standard) (Extension of Criteria) Order 2019 is due to come into force on 1 February 2021 and will extend the 'tolerable standard' set out in section 86 of the 1987 Act.
The changes in the Order will apply not just to properties which are occupied by tenants, but all residential properties. Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and owner
LIBOR (the London Inter-bank Offered Rate) is at the heart of private funding to the housing sector. Post-2022 however, banks will no longer be required to provide LIBOR quotations and thought needs to be given as to how that may affect Registered Social Landlords who have loans that continue beyond 2022 or indeed are taking out loans now.
The most likely replacement is the Sterling Overnight Interest Average (SONIA) administered by the Bank of England. SONIA is based
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase of property in Scotland on the 1st April 2015. Since then there have been many updates, amendments and guidance notes issued. The purpose of this blog is to provide an update on the current threshold and tax banding for LBTT, the new First Time Buyers Relief and the increase to the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS).
LBTT Threshold and Banding
The threshold for paying LBTT on the purchase of residential
Why consider an equity release mortgage?
The average person can expect to live for around 20 years following retirement and for many people equity release is an attractive option as it offers either a lump sum or a regular income which could be used in a number of ways:
