An individual may apply for a debt relief order (DRO) under Part VIIA of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). For further information on how a DRO is obtained and its effect, see Practice Note: Debt relief orders (DROs). A DRO has effect in relation to 'specified qualifying debts' (IA 1986, s 251G). A specified qualifying debt is a debt which is a 'qualifying debt' (see IA 1986, s 251A) and is specified in the DRO. Qualifying debts are: • debts for a liquidated unsecured amount payable immediately or payable at a certain future time • debts

Recovering possession of commercial tenancy where there are rent arrears but no forfeiture clause In order to be entitled to forfeit the breach will need to be one which gives rise to the right to forfeit. The right to forfeit must arise either on the basis of: • an express term of the lease (one will not be implied), or • the breach being of a nature to be considered breach of an express or implied condition of the lease (less commonly relied on) For

This Q&A describes the remedy of appropriation conferred upon a security holder of shares by the Financial Collateral Arrangements (No 2) Regulations 2003, (SI 2003/3226) (FCAR) and how that remedy can be used in practice. For information on taking security over shares, see Practice Notes: Types of security and Taking security over shares. If the holder of security over shares wants to enforce that security, it has a number of options available to it. These are described in Practice Note: Enforcement—share security. Summary Exercising the power of sale allows a security holder to sell shares and apply to the proceeds against the secured liabilities. There may, however, be circumstances where the security holder does not wish to sell the shares immediately on enforcement of the security. In these circumstances, the remedy of appropriation allows the security holder to take outright title to the shares (in a manner similar to foreclosure under a mortgage) without the need to obtain any court order. Circumstances where appropriation may be desirable There are several

For the purposes of this Q&A, it is assumed that the relevant partnership is a limited partnership established in England under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 (LPA 1907). LPA 1907 defines a limited partnership as consisting of: • one or more persons called general partners who are jointly and severally liable for all debts and obligations of the partnership, and • one or more persons called limited partners Like a general partnership, a limited partnership does not have separate legal personality and exists as a relationship between partners that is governed by other provisions of LPA 1907, the Partnerships Act 1890 (PA 1890) and any limited partnership agreement that may be entered into among the partners setting out the rights and duties of the partners among themselves. The above

Revoking byelaws before 3 March 2016 Revoking or amending byelaws was previously covered by the Local Government Act 1972. This procedure still applies to byelaws made before the coming into force of the Byelaws (Alternative Procedure) (England) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/165 on 3 March 2016; see reg 19. Making byelaws The power under the previous rules to make byelaws implies, unless the contrary intention appears, a power to revoke, amend or re-enact them in the same manner and subject to the same conditions or limitations; see Halsbury’s Laws: Revocation of Byelaws. For details on how a byelaw was made under the previous rules, see Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972), ss 236(4)–(6) and Halsbury’s Laws: Procedure for making byelaws and Arnold Baker Local Council Administration: Byelaws generally/Procedure. Under this system byelaws must be made under a common seal of the authority and do not have effect until they are confirmed by the confirming authority. See also LGA 1972, s 236(7) and LGA 1972, s 236(8) as to the date at which byelaws

How are markets established? Many market rights (often called market franchises) derive from ancient Royal charters; others operate under local Acts of Parliament. By virtue of the royal prerogative, the Crown has always had the power of granting to a subject the right of holding a market or fair, and in former times this power was exercised frequently. A market or fair which depends for its legal existence upon a grant from the Crown is a franchise. See Commentary: Grant by the Crown: Halsbury’s Laws of England [804]. Alternatively, a market may be established by local Acts. The right to hold a market or fair may be created by statute, and in that case differs from a franchise granted solely by the Crown, since it is not liable to become forfeited to the Crown nor to be called in question by any process of scire facias. See Commentary: Markets

When can an inquiry be called in relation to a highway improvement? The Secretary of State may hold an inquiry when they consider it necessary or desirable to do so in discharge of its functions under the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980) and Part I of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. An inquiry must be called if requested before making a reconstruction or improvement of a private bridge HiA 1980, s 93(2) or an objection is made to certain schemes or orders in connection

A common gripe at 'Young' Arbitration conferences is the difficulty of getting a first appointment as an arbitrator, do you think this is fair? It is a difficult question. While there is little empirical evidence on the subject, in Western Europe, the more precocious arbitrators I know seem to have seen their arbitrator career take off in the latter part of their thirties or in their early forties. Is that old? It is debatable… • On the one hand, you need to have the right skillset before you can be considered for appointment, and this, I think, requires suitable experience of arbitration as counsel, tribunal secretary or otherwise. You can acquire a good theoretical understanding of arbitration by taking a degree or diploma in arbitration like the ones we have been offering at Queen Mary University for the past thirty years, but ultimately there is no substitute for experience. • On the other hand, the statistics published by the leading arbitral institutions confirm that there are hundreds upon hundreds of relatively small international

Parish council execution is covered by section 14(3) of the Local Government Act 1972 which says: ‘Notwithstanding anything in any rule of law, a parish council need not have a common seal, but

Guaranteed rent The usual meaning of a rental guarantee in a residential property context is that a seller/developer of a property will guarantee to the buyer a certain rental income on the property for a specific period of time. The buyer/property owner then leases back the property to the developer who then sublets the property to a third party. The developer then pays the property owner the guaranteed sum each month and keeps the commission or the profit made on subletting (if any). Practice Note: Rent guarantees and Precedent: Rental guarantee schedule, whilst drafted from a commercial perspective, give further detail on the concept and pros and cons of using a rental guarantee. The terms of the rent guarantee

STOP PRESS: From 6 April 2017, the Insolvency Rules 1986, SI 1986/1925 were revoked and replaced by the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024. The content in this Q&A may have been affected by this change. What happens to the bankrupt's property? One of the main functions of the trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) is to get in, realise and distribute the bankruptcy estate. Therefore, early steps must be taken by the trustee to ascertain what assets vest, where they are, how they can be secured and how they can be realised. The assets that will vest in the trustee are the assets that belong to the bankruptcy estate. These will include all assets where the bankrupt had a legal or beneficial interest at the time the bankruptcy order was made. The main asset will usually be the bankrupt's home, which he may own entirely, or jointly with his spouse, or partner. For further reading on this, see: Overview Document, Practice Notes:

Whether abatement applies depends on the nature of the legacies, which in turn depends on the construction of the Will. There are three types of legacy: general, specific and demonstrative. A general legacy is a gift of non-specific property or money provided out of the testator's general estate that is not a defined or identifiable part of that estate.