Two sisters have been ordered to pay their dead father’s partner £325,000 from his estate, worth approximately £1m. The court heard that James Redmond had made a will 20 years ago leaving everything to his two daughters. However, since making the will he had formed a relationship with Carole Anne Taylor after meeting her at
The government has continued its crackdown on unfair letting fees by announcing that tenants in the private rented sector will no longer be forced to pay excessive fees for minor damages, The announcement is part of the Tenant Fees Bill and is a further measure to bring an end to costly fees imposed by a
Two sisters have been allowed to correct an error in a family trust that would have prevented them from benefiting in the way intended when the document was drawn up. The sisters were aged 58 and 56. When their mother died in 2005, they had inherited equally her 50% share of the house that she
Tenants and leaseholders can now access official guidance on their rights when renting their home. The online rental guides, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, are part of a continuing crackdown on poor practice by a minority of landlords and agents in the private rented and leasehold sectors. The Citizens Advice
A developer has won the right to build in open countryside despite opposition from the local planning authority. The case involved developer George Barlow and Cheshire East Council. Barlow had applied for planning permission to build 10 houses on open land. The authority failed to make a decision within the prescribed period, so Barlow appealed.
The High Court has settled a dispute between two brothers after one accused the other of using undue influence to persuade their mother to leave him her house in her will. The case involved an elderly woman who moved in with her son after her husband died. However, she later wanted to move back to
Two homeowners have won a claim against Network Rail after the company failed to keep Japanese knotweed under control on its land. The plant grows very fast and can damage the structure of buildings due to its widespread roots. Some of the weed growing on Network Rail land spread to the properties of both Stephen
The National Landlord’s Association (NLA) has criticised government proposals to introduce 3-year minimum tenancies. Ministers say 3-year tenancy terms, with a 6-month break clause, are necessary to help renters put down roots, and to give landlords longer term financial security. The average amount of time tenants stay in a property is four years, according to
When agreeing break clauses on commercial properties it’s important to ensure the terms are clear and unambiguous. Otherwise costly disputes can arise, as happened in a recent case involving Goldman Sachs and Procession House Trustee Ltd. Goldman had taken out a lease for a term of 25 years from 1999, at a rent of over
The developers of an app for smartphones have won an injunction preventing Google from withdrawing or suspending services until a dispute can be settled at a full court hearing. The case involved a company called Unlockd Media Technology Ltd, which developed an app delivering advertisements for the Android smartphone operating system. The app was available