In September 2001, the Scottish Government introduced legislation to provide free personal care for those who were assessed as requiring it and were over 65. 'Personal care' means care which relates to day to day tasks and the needs of the person cared for (for example, washing, eating etc.).

1^st April 2019 sees the introduction of 'Frank's Law', which will broaden the availability of free personal care to those under 65. This means that those living with early onset dementia, Parkinson's Disease,

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use)(Amendment) Regulation 2018 came in to force on 6 April 2018. A year on, it is worth reminding landlords of its terms. This amendment addressed the often unnecessary and unintended financial burden of over-compliance with the 12 month gas safety check.

Instead of having to begin the process early, in anticipation of access problems, landlords were given more flexibility in meeting the requirements of the legislation. An MOT style system was introduced which allowed landlords to carry out their

It's Lent - the Christian period of time for reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. With that in mind, what better time than to focus your mind on your affairs and having everything in order so that you and your family have a secure and comfortable future. This can be sorted with both a Will and Power of Attorney.

Your Will

Your Will is probably one of the most important documents that you can make. It is vital if you wish to protect

No one likes to contemplate their own death or the death of a loved one. The importance of preparing a will is often overlooked or postponed or those who do have wills overlook the importance of reviewing their wills.

In preparing a will you provide written instructions on how your estate should be distributed on death and who should do so. Often the Executor will be the person who will make funeral arrangements. This need not be the case. Should you wish, you can make

If you have undergone gender reassignment surgery, you will be dealing with an overwhelming number of changes and will be starting to create your new identity. To make things easier, the Registers of Scotland (ROS) will change your title deeds to reflect your new identity. They will not only change your name as owner, they will also change your name as borrower in respect of any securities registered over your title. Please note however you will also have to inform your security lender of the

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.

1. Check you own the roof and roof space

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?

The purpose

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.

1. Check the document has been registered with the Public Guardian's Office. The document requires to be registered to be operational.
2. Check the powers you have been granted. Ensure you have specific powers to deal with managing bank accounts.
3. Attend the bank to register the registered Power of Attorney (POA) document. Call the bank or drop in to check if they have a staff

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:

1. Pedestrian and vehicular access; or
2. The right to run pipes and cables over neighbouring property.

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:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/easy-read-notes-scottish-government-model-private-residential-tenancy-agreement/

Statutory Terms Supporting Notes:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/private-residential-tenancy-statutory-terms-supporting-notes-essential-housing-information/

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