Huge numbers of legal disputes could be avoided by the parties to loan agreements committing these to writing and providing for security. A charge on a property is the obvious way in which familial lending can be secured. So long as there is a sufficient equity in the property after the redemption of the first charge (which in almost all circumstances will be a mortgage to a bank or building society), the lender knows that they will get their monies back when the property is sold. Case study A client proposes to lend £70,000 to a family member, to be secured by way of a second charge. The charge will provide that, on redemption, the lender will be entitled to the sum advanced plus a percentage of any uplift in value

If a power of attorney (POA) is to be granted by an English company for use overseas this can be achieved either: • by creating the POA in the foreign jurisdiction, drawn up according to and governed by local laws and signed in the presence of the relevant notary, or • by creating a POA in accordance with the requirements of English law but then having it professionally translated (if required), certified by a notary and legalised/apostilled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Notaries and notarisation A notary is a qualified lawyer whose primary concern is the authentication and

We have assumed that this Q&A is referring to a business-to-business contract, which is not subject to specific sector or industry regulation. Requirement for consent of some or all parties A contract variation is a subsequent change to an original contract. The parties to the original contract may agree the change at the time of the variation, or a future variation could have been provided for by the parties at the time of the original contract through the identification of trigger points or processes resulting in change. An existing contract may be varied in writing provided that the usual rules for the creation of a binding agreement are

An agreement for lease is a contract relating to the grant of a lease and is commonly used where there are various matters that need to be dealt with prior to the lease being entered into. These may include where the premises are not yet vacant or the prospective landlord has not completed on the purchase of the intended premises, or where works to existing premises or the construction of the intended premises are still being carried out. A unilateral notice is an entry at HM Land Registry intended to protect the rights of a third party; in this scenario the intended lessee. The purpose of such entries is to give notice of an interest so as to prevent that interest from being affected by a later disposition.

Corporate Crime analysis: Emma-Louise Fenelon, barrister at 1 Crown Office Row, discusses the practical implications of Worthington v HM Senior Coroner for the County of Cumbria, which considered the scope of Jamieson inquests and whether non-causative findings should be included within the record of inquest.

Property Disputes analysis: This case concerned the granting of a remediation order under section 123 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) to require the landlord to remedy serious fire safety issues in a block of flats. The case is of interest as it provides some guidance as to how the First-tier Tribunal may go about deciding whether to grant such an order under a new piece of legislation that practitioners are still getting familiar with. In particular, the Tribunal balanced the prejudice caused to the landlord in making the order against the prejudice caused to the leaseholders in not making the order. The case also shows that remediation orders are not just there as a stick with which to beat reluctant or absent landlords who are not prepared to carry out life-safety critical remediation work. The Tribunal granted the remediation order in this case even though the landlord was ready and willing to carry out the remediation works voluntarily. Written by David Harris, professional development lawyer at Browne Jacobson LLP.

Whether or not the shareholders of a company will be notified that the company is being struck off will depend upon whether the strike off is taking place by way of voluntary application by the directors of the company or via the Registrar of Companies’ powers to strike off companies that appear to no longer be in business or operation. In the event of a company making a voluntary application to be struck off the register

If there will be a guarantor of the tenant’s obligations under the lease, then a prudent landlord should require the tenant’s guarantor to be party to any rent deposit deed. Although a landlord will usually collect the rent deposit monies at the time that the rent deposit deed is entered into (thereby allowing the landlord, in the event of a default by the tenant, to have immediate recourse to the rent deposit monies from the date of the rent deposit deed),

From a criminal law perspective, can witness statements in criminal proceedings be used in other proceedings? Section 17 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) confirms that any material which has been disclosed in accordance with CPIA 1996 may only be used or disclosed by the defendant in connection with the proceedings for whose purposes the disclosure was made as well as subsequent connected proceedings. This means that the defendant to criminal proceedings is restricted to using and disclosing information disclosed served by the prosecution under the CPIA 1996 during the prosecution itself and any appeal which might follow. However, the defendant may use or disclose such information to the extent that it has been communicated to the public in open court (unless the object or information is communicated in proceedings to deal with contempt of court). If a defendant wants the court's permission to use disclosed prosecution material otherwise than in connection with the case in

A witness summons may be issued by the court requiring a witness to attend court to give evidence, or produce documents to the court, or both. Whether or not a witness summons should be issued and served will depend on the facts of the case, for example if a witness has previously proved unreliable in relation to the proceedings, their assurance that they will attend court may potentially still be considered insufficient. The potential risks and costs of an adjourned hearing if a witness fails to attend may be a consideration. The court must be satisfied that the witness is likely to be able to give

Whether Building Regulation approval is required to install air conditioning depends on the exact specifications of the air conditioning unit and the type of building in which it is to be installed. It is worth speaking to the relevant building control body to obtain accurate advice on the requirements. Requirements relating to building work The Building Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2214 (the 2010 Regulations) states that 'building work shall be carried out so that…it complies with the applicable requirements contained in Schedule 1'. Schedule 1, PART L 'CONSERVATION OF FUEL AND POWER' states that: Reasonable provision shall be made for the conservation of fuel and power in buildings by— (a) limiting heat gains and loses— (i) through thermal elements and other parts of the building fabric; and (ii) from pipes, ducts and vessels used for space heating, space cooling and hot water services; (b)

In a business lease renewal, the deadline for the landlord or tenant to make an application to the court for the grant of a new tenancy, or for the termination of the current tenancy, is the date specified in the landlord's section 25 notice or the date immediately before the date specified in the tenant's section 26 request (the end of the ‘statutory period’): section 29A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954