For first-time buyers or those who have been out of the property market for a while, the steps involved in purchasing a property can be daunting. So how do I buy a home in Scotland? Each transaction will differ depending on the circumstances, but the initial steps are:-
We are often asked - when can I get a divorce in Scotland and how long does it take? You can get divorced in Scotland if your marriage has broken down irretrievably.
What options are open to me?
The answer to "how long does an eviction action actually take in Scotland?" is much along the same lines as "how long is a piece of string?"
Obtaining an Order for Possession in Scotland is not a particularly quick process. If your application is straightforward and is not defended by your tenant, the following can be used as a general guide:-
Under the procurement regulations, an organisation engaged in a procurement exercise should allow a 'standstill period' of 10 days to elapse between notifying the tenderers of the successful party and awarding the contract. If an unsuccessful tenderer raises a legal challenge to the procurement process during the standstill period, the organisation cannot proceed to award the contract without first obtaining an order from the court.
In a recent case from Northern Ireland (Rutledge Recruitment and Training Limited v Department for Employment and Learning)
Although the deadlines for the Feed in Tariff in March 2012 and the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) in December 2012 seem a long way away, are RSLs running out of time? Housing Associations would benefit from thinking about it now due to the lengthy lead in time. This is due to the number of parties currently involved:
A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) is a new legal body (with effect from April 2011) for charities registered in Scotland.
What is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation?
How do you go about choosing trustees and executors in your Will?
The person or people appointed by you to administer your estate when you die are required to fulfil their role of ingathering your estate by:
- paying off debts and expenses (from your funds, not theirs!)
- distributing the estate in accordance with your Will or, if no Will, in terms of the laws of intestate succession.
Without a Will the people appointed by law may be people you do not like, do
How can landlords use the small claims court in Scotland to recover debt from a tenant? We work closely with Landlord Accreditation Scotland and one of their regular training sessions involves how to pursue a tenant for money through the courts using the small claims procedure.
It's supposed to be an easy way for people to recover money without a solicitor, but caution should be taken as there are some hidden dangers that landlords should be aware of:
The Court Rules
Small claims were designed
Are Home Reports here to stay or should Scotland scrap Home Reports?
There are grumblings amongst MSPs. The Scottish Tories want them scrapped. David McLetchie MSP, Scottish Conservative Chief Whip, said: "In the best of times, Home Reports were an expensive luxury. However, nowadays figures showing that the housing market is struggling to return to where it was a couple of years ago they are madness".
Why have Home Reports?
The single survey for the Home Report was intended to be:
We asked our blog readers whether a conviction for supplying Class A drugs within a social rented house (antisocial behaviour) should be made a mandatory ground for evicting a tenant. 97% of those who voted were in favour. Is evicting tenants for antisocial behaviour a good thing?
In 2011, Grant Shapps, Housing Minister in the UK Government launched a consultation document; it asks whether a new mandatory power of eviction should be available not just for drugs offences but for all antisocial behaviour?
We
Our lettings service LetLaw received a query from a landlord who asked whether it was necessary for him to have a written tenancy agreement with his tenant.
The short answer is yes! Section 38 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 makes it a legal requirement for a private landlord to provide a tenant with a written tenancy agreement. If the landlord fails to do so, the tenant can apply to court for this documentation to be provided.
A tenancy agreement shouldn't be viewed as a
After many years of campaigning by trade unions, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 are due to come into force on 1 October 2011 (and are not retrospective).
In general terms, agency workers will qualify for treatment equal to directly employed workers - that is equality in terms of basic employment conditions; after 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer regardless of whether they have been supplied by more than one agency for part of that period of time. Basic working and employment
Will law reform change the impact of dying without a Will in Scotland? Society and family structures have changed considerably since the current law on succession came into force in 1964 and there is widespread support for the law to be updated to reflect this.
Current Rules
Where a person dies without a Will (intestate) his spouse/civil partner has prior rights to his estate:
The law in Scotland allows anyone to change his or her forename or surname legally at any time providing this is not to defraud. We are often asked how to legally change your name in Scotland.
Marriage, Divorce and Civil Partnership
Following marriage or a civil partnership you can use your birth name or your spouse's or partner's. A marriage or civil partnership certificate is sufficient proof to instigate this change.
If you divorce or dissolve a civil partnership an extract decree of divorce or
When going through a procurement process how do you ensure you are getting your framework agreements right?
What are framework agreements?
A framework agreement is a "contract" under the procurement regulations, but it is not a contract in the traditional sense. It is an agreement whereby a number of contractors are appointed to the framework, and the client may award specific contracts to any one of those contractors during the lifetime of the framework. However, there is no obligation on the client to do so.
What is a landlord's gas safety responsibilities? The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require a landlord to ensure that any gas fitting (and any flue which serves any relevant gas fitting) is maintained in a safe condition.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) issued a safety letter in October 2008 regarding a potential risk regarding flues for gas boilers which were located in internal walls and which run through areas such as a ceiling void. Clearly such flues cannot be easily visually inspected.
Although the law on boundary walls/fences is relatively straight forward, the issue of ownership or maintenance, in practice, is sometimes a difficult and sensitive issue. A seemingly minor disagreement can quickly become a full-scale boundary dispute involving solicitors' letters and threats of court action.
With any boundary queries:
Powers of Attorney and Guardianship are often confused and I am regularly asked for advice on which is more appropriate. So Power of Attorney vs Guardianship, what's better? Although both concepts are regulated by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and have similar effects, there are significant differences between the procedure for each.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a legal document appointing someone to act for and make decisions on behalf of the granter. The Power of Attorney
In 2010 the Coalition government introduced proposals that will mean the demise of lifelong tenancy agreements. These proposals however will not affect Scotland as housing is a devolved issue for the Scottish parliament.
The plans are being debated at Westminster as part of the Localism Bill but current proposals include:
- the creation of a new tenancy in the social sector called the "flexible tenancy".
- a fixed tenancy for a minimum of two years. Tenants would not be guaranteed any extension to that initial
As a private landlord, you really need to be on the ball to avoid the pitfalls of Scottish tenancy law. One of the biggest danger areas involves the perils of picking the wrong date. This can occur in a number of circumstances. So how do you get the notice to quit date right?
The Short Assured Tenancy Agreement Scotland
