Read our latest articles, news briefs and legal updates across all our different services.
The government has announced that 600 acres of publicly owned land is being made available to build new homes. It has identified 80 sites that will be put up for sale over the next 18 months. It is estimated these sites will support more than 5,000 homes as well as land for industry and business.
284,000 landlords risk being fined over tenant deposits New research has revealed that 284,000 landlords are at risk of being fined because they have failed to protect tenants’ deposits in an approved scheme. The survey by the Centre for Economics Business Research (CEBR) suggests that more than £500m worth of tenancy deposits are being held
Two company directors have been held personally liable for the costs involved in mounting a no-hope defence against a winding-up petition. The court heard that HMRC brought a petition to wind up the company based on an alleged liability for VAT of £1.6m, and because of a number of tax issues. The company applied for
The High Court has removed an arbitrator from a construction dispute because he may have been biased towards one of the parties involved. The case involved a developer and an integrated services company. A dispute arose during a construction project and the matter had to go to arbitration. The arbitrator was appointed by the Chartered
A football club has won a dispute with a contractor brought in to improve the standard of its pitches. The court heard that Yeovil Town played in League 1 but hoped to be promoted to the Championship, the league above. It hired a contractor to bring its pitches up to Championship standard. The work was
Shop staff are to be given more freedom to opt out of Sunday working following a government decision to devolve some control to local councils. The new measures will enable councils to “zone” any relaxation of Sunday trading laws so they will be able to prioritise high streets and city centres. This will enable them
A landlord has a won a dispute with his local council over accommodation for students in two houses in multiple occupation (HMO). The landlord had been granted HMO licences by the authority in relation to the two properties. Each property had a bedroom in the attic, but the licences prohibited the use of those rooms
New reporting forms have been introduced to improve protection for people using lasting powers of attorney (LPA). LPAs enable you to appoint someone to be your deputy and look after your interests should you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself at some point in the future. Deputies can be appointed to make decisions
The government has confirmed that it’s to press ahead with plans to force large companies to publish their gender pay gap data. The figures will have to include the difference in bonus payments made to male and female employees. The information will then be collated and published in league tables. The new measures are part
ACAS has published useful new guidance for employers on how to conduct workplace investigations involving disciplinary issues. The guidance stresses the need for investigations to be carried out correctly in accordance with the law. Failure to do so could result in an employer having to pay compensation if sanctions taken against an employee are later