The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill is designed to provide a series of practical improvements to problems which have arisen since the coming into force of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Key changes are:

Information held by OSCR

A criticism often been levelled at Scottish charity legislation is the paucity of publicly available information on the OSCR website. The Bill proposes to remedy this by requiring OSCR to make publicly available:

a) Statements of accounts for all charities together with independent

Private Sector Tenancy Update

Following publication of the draft Regulations, our earlier blog discussed the expected continuation of the rent cap and eviction moratorium, which have been in place since October 2022.

Last week, the Scottish Parliament passed the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Amendment of Expiry Dates and Rent Cap Modification) Regulations 2023 which will take effect from 1^st April 2023.

Therefore, it is now confirmed the eviction moratorium (in both the social and private rented sector) will remain in

More and more individuals’ estates are being subject to an Inheritance Tax liability. In fact, HMRC figures show £6.1 billion was collected in Inheritance Tax over the last financial year - an increase of 14% from 2020/2021. So, how do you plan early to alleviate your family’s worries after you pass away?

The starting point is you being aware of your available Inheritance Tax allowances.  With rising property values this blog will focus on the availability of the Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB).

What

The start of a new year is always a busy time for Family Lawyers dealing with divorce matters.  This year 9 January 2023 was even deemed as “Divorce Day”.  If you are thinking about divorce then you should seriously consider speaking to a family lawyer. 

GROUNDS OF DIVORCE

A family solicitor will explain the grounds for divorce and whether you can raise a divorce action.  The grounds of divorce in Scotland are:

1. 1 year separation with the consent of your husband or wife or
2. 2

In 2019 the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Modification of the Repairing Standard) Regulations 2019 took effect. 

See our earlier blog: Changes to the Repairing Standard for a summary of the changes that came in to force on 1 March 2019

Further changes are set to take effect on 1 March 2024.  The following will become requirements of the Repairing Standard:

• A requirement to have safely accessible food storage and preparation space
• The heating installations will be amended to require that there is a fixed heating system
• Flats,

Scottish Ministers have published the draft regulations which will extend the eviction moratorium in both the social and private rented sector to 30 September 2023. 

The Regulations can be found here.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2023/9780111056417

Landlords remain entitled to serve notice and raise eviction proceedings. The moratorium only delays the enforcement of eviction orders granted on particular grounds. There remains a number of grounds that are exempt from the moratorium. 

Rent Cap

Further, these draft Regulations extend the rent cap in the private rented sector.  From 1 April

We are often asked by clients for advice on debt recovery. Obtaining a Payment Decree from the Court (or Order for Payment from the First-tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber) might be the first step. Once a Decree is granted, it is a matter for the creditor to pursue the debtor until money is actually recovered.

Earnings arrestments tend to be more successful than bank arrestments, due to uncertainty as to what funds might be in the debtor’s account on any given date.

With an

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is progressing its way through Parliament and is at the report stage in the House of Lords.   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 to Companies House in terms of the Bill, which will change Companies House role from a recipient of information to a more active gatekeeper in the fight against financial crime.

The changes will affect all UK

In England when an adult lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves, someone on their behalf can make an application to the Court of Protection in England, for a decision to be made about the incapable person’s welfare and/or finances.  A Deputy may then to be appointed by the Court.  The Deputy acts as the incapable adult’s decision maker. 

In certain circumstances, the Deputy may be granted powers to relocate the Adult to Scotland if they believe it is in the Adult’s best interests.

The

A recent decision involving the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Poland has highlighted the increased responsibilities on organisations to protect any personal data that they hold on behalf of individuals. This case highlighted in particular the necessity of having a written contract in place covering certain data protection matters where one organisation is processing personal data on behalf of another.

The circumstances of this case involved an organisation - acting in the capacity of a data controller, passing data onto another organisation -

Two consultations are currently underway at the moment, both with an aim to enhance and improve Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in Scotland. The first is from the Scottish Government who are currently seeking views on FOI in its consultation on access to information rights in Scotland, and the second consultation involves a proposal for a Private Member’s Bill to reform FOI. As RSLs are subject to certain FOI laws, you should be aware of these consultations and the opportunity you have to express your

The Scottish government have published (19/01/2022) the formal regulations which will lead to the expiry of the “rent cap” in the social rented sector.

The Regulations can be found here
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2023/8/made

This follows the announcement last week that it would be brought to an end after agreement was reached, following discussions between the government and the housing organisations representing registered social landlords across Scotland.

The regulations indicate that the rent cap will now expire on 26 February 2023. This will allow all social landlords time

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 introduced an eviction moratorium (applicable to the majority of eviction grounds) in addition to a rent freeze, with increases capped at 0%. These emergency provisions applied across both the social and private sector and were to be in place until at least 31^st March 2023.

Routine reporting  is a requirement of the Act to ensure Scottish Ministers consider whether the provisions remain necessary and proportionate in

The Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) has recently published their 2021-22 report (which can be viewed here) noting a  significant increase in FOI appeals within the past year. The appeals received during 2021-22 rose by 29% on the previous year, with an overall total of 626 appeals received throughout the year. So how exactly does the appeal process work?

The Appeal Process

When individuals are unsatisfied with the response they receive from a public authority regarding an FOI request, they have the right to have

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act was passed on 6th October 2022. It is the first Act of the Scottish Parliament to receive Royal Assent from King Charles III and became law on 28th October 2022. But what does it mean for landlords?

The Act was introduced to the Scottish Parliament as emergency legislation in order to protect tenants during the cost of living crisis. It introduces a rent freeze and eviction moratorium until at least March 2023, with potential for further extension

Emergency legislation introducing a rent cap and a temporary moratorium on evictions until 31 March 2023 has now become law.

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection)(Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October and will become law as the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection)(Scotland) Act 2022 from 28 October. 

It follows the First Minister's statement to the Scottish Parliament on 6 September in which she introduced her “Programme for Government” for the coming year.

In the programme, the Scottish Government indicated that they intended:

“

On 30 September 2022, the limit for pursuing sequestration was lowered from a minimum balance outstanding to the creditor(s) pursuing sequestration of £10,000 to £5,000.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the limit was originally increased to £10,000 to support those suffering financial hardship. A reduction in the limit for sequestration means that creditors can now use sequestration as a form of diligence for recovering debt of £5,000 or above.  

What is Sequestration?

Sequestration is the Scottish legal term for personal bankruptcy.

An individual

In September 2021, we blogged to advise Private Landlords that proposals to introduce a new licensing scheme for short-term lets would be laid before the Scottish Parliament.

On 19 January 2022, The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 (“Licensing Order”) was passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Licensing Order came into force on 1 March 2022.

This blog will provide an update on everything we know about the Order and how it works in practice. 

What is the Licensing Order?

On 6 September 2022, the Scottish Government announced that emergency legislation would be introduced to freeze rents and impose a temporary moratorium on evictions throughout winter in an effort to combat the cost of living crisis. The measures are expected to apply to both the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and will remain in place until 31 March 2023.

Our Court team has received a number of queries from private sector landlords in relation to the emergency legislation. Here are some

On 6 September 2022, the First Minister announced that emergency legislation would be introduced to freeze rents and impose a temporary moratorium on evictions throughout winter in an effort to combat the cost of living crisis. The measures are expected to apply to both the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and will remain in place until 31 March 2023, but could be extended.

Our Court team has received a number of queries in relation to the emergency legislation. Here are some