Disability discrimination Under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) and EqA 2010, Sch 1, Pt 1, cancer is considered (without more) to be a disability for the purposes of EqA 2010. See Practice Note: Disability. Consideration will need to be given to the different types of discrimination and other prohibited conduct set out in EqA 2010. See the section of Practice Note: Disability discrimination entitled ‘The basic types of discrimination and other prohibited conduct’, and the more detailed Practice Notes referred to in that section. For the purposes of

Under the general prohibition contained in section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, a person cannot carry out a regulated activity, or purport to carry out a regulated activity, in the UK unless they are either: • an authorised person, or • an exempt person An activity is a regulated activity if it is: • an activity of a specified kind which is carried on by way of business, and • relates to a specified investment or property of any kind For more information about carrying on regulated activities in the UK by way of business, see Practice Notes: • What are regulated activities? • What does 'by way of business' mean?

Trespasser or oral tenancy It seems unlikely that the sister in law is in occupation as a: • trespasser (albeit a tolerated one) given the circumstances and length of her occupation; or • under a lease on the basis that leases can only be made orally when: ◦ it is for a term not exceeding three years ◦ it is not of an incorporeal hereditament ◦ it is to take effect in possession, and ◦ it is at the best rent reasonably obtainable without taking a fine See Law of Property Act 1925, ss 52 and 54 and our Q&A A landlord let a property to tenants on an assured shorthold tenancy

Where there is a land transaction between a vendor and a purchaser which is a company and the vendor and purchaser are connected, then a special rule applies to determine the chargeable consideration. As set out in section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, a company is connected with a person where the person has control of the company. In broad terms, control is defined by reference to share capital, voting power and rights to income and assets. It is assumed that the director is also a shareholder of the company and controls the company for these purposes. For

The most important principle to grasp in a case such as this is that the amount chargeable to inheritance tax (IHT) is not the value of what was given away, it is the reduction in value of the individual's estate as a result of the disposition, at the date it was made. This follows from the wording of section 3(1) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984). Unfortunately, the relevant HMRC form (form IHT403) does not make reference to this fact and refers merely to the 'value' of the assets given, so the point is not as obvious as it could be. This principle is relevant when considering the gift of a share of a property because the value of a share of a property is almost always less than the relevant proportion of the value

Primary Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) and Class 2 NICs are not payable by a person after they have reached pensionable age, irrespective of when they were earned, provided that the earnings would normally be payable at that time (sections 6(3) and 122(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (SS(C)R 2001), SI 2001/1004, reg 28). See: • the section of Practice Note: Employment status—why it matters entitled: Rates and structure of NICs

You have asked: An individual owns a property which they want to leave to the current tenant (who occupies under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)) on a life interest trust. How should the AST be terminated on the landlord's death (for example, by Will or by letter of wishes to the executors)? If the tenant pays rent under the AST to the trustees (to which the tenant is entitled as life tenant of the life interest trust), what effect does this have on the AST? If the testator were to leave a life interest in the property

Public footpath There are a number of public rights of way available within England and Wales, all of which may have slightly different rules and restrictions. These include public footpaths which are open only to walkers. Since a right to cycle over the land concerned could have been lawfully granted, it can be acquired by prescription. Easements may be acquired through prescription, which entitles someone to an easement once they have exercised rights over another person’s land for 20 years, without using force or stealth or acting pursuant to a licence. For further information, see: • Practice Notes: ◦ Acquisition

The sale of the new property would not trigger an entitlement to reclaim the SDLT attributable to the higher rates. Whether or not there is such an entitlement turns on whether there is a qualifying disposal of the old main residence. The legislation requires the disposal of the old main residence to be made by the

Under section 575(6) of the Capital Allowances Act 2001 (CAA 2001), a company is connected with an individual if: • that individual has control of the company, or • that individual together with persons connected to them have control of the company So the individual will be connected with their brother’s company if they and their brother together control the company. If the individual and the company are connected to each other, the buyer cannot claim an annual investment allowance or first-year allowance for its expenditure under the sale. If the seller has to bring a disposal value into account, the expenditure

Effect of bankruptcy generally Although any beneficial interest in a property (and, where the property was solely-owned, the legal title as well) that vested in the bankrupt prior to the bankruptcy order will vest in the trustee in bankruptcy (trustee), the trustee's real concern is with the beneficial interest, being the unencumbered value in the property. Under section 284 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), any disposition of the bankrupt's property in the period between the presentation of the bankruptcy petition and the vesting of the bankruptcy estate in a trustee under

Where an individual makes a gift of property (not just land, but property in the wider sense), that property is only a property subject to a reservation if at any time in the relevant period, the property is not enjoyed to the entire exclusion, or virtually to the entire exclusion, of that individual and of any benefit to him by contract or otherwise (see section 102(1)(b) of the Finance Act 1986 (FA 1986)). Occupation for a few weeks each year by such an individual of land which he or she has given away may therefore fall within the 'virtually to the entire exclusion' exception. See Example 1 in IHTM14333. See also HMRC interpretation RI 55 (November 1993) Inheritance tax-gifts with reservation. If