Service Charge Demands

Legislation protects residential tenants from excessive service charges. Before entering into contracts to provide services or carry out works relating to residential properties, you should consider whether you need to consult with your tenants. If you fail to consult when required, you will only be able to recoup the statutory maximum, unless you receive dispensation from the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). What is a service charge? A service charge is an amount payable by your tenant as part of or in addition to their rent. Service charges may vary according to the costs or estimated costs incurred in connection with the matters for which the service charge is payable. Service charges must be reasonable You can request that your tenant pays you a service charge for costs you incur for: Services Repairs…

Dismissing An Employee

Dismissing An Employee Lawyers Malton, York & Wetherby When a business wants to make a change to the terms and conditions of its employees, it often goes through a process of consultation, seeking agreement to the changes. If, after the consultation period, all or some of the employees do not agree to the proposed changes, the business may be able to dismiss these employees fairly for some other substantial reason (SOSR), offering employment on new terms and conditions. In a recent case, a company asked its employees to take a 5% pay cut after a fall in the company's sales and profits. Following a company-wide consultation, only two employees refused to agree to the change. The company terminated their employment and offered new terms and conditions on the reduced pay. The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that…

Settlement Agreements Sept 2011

A settlement agreement is the formal name given to a termination agreement between an employer and an employee. Although marked "Without Prejudice" (ie off the record), once signed the agreement becomes binding upon you and your employer. The effect of you signing a settlement agreement is that in exchange for a termination payment and any other benefits which your employer agrees to give you, you will be giving up most, if not all, of your employment-related legal rights. This means that once you have signed the agreement, you will not be able to bring any claim in respect of your employment or its termination in an Employment Tribunal, County Court or High Court. For example, you cannot bring an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim, any form of discrimination claim, any breach of contract claim or claim for…

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

This checklist explains what a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) is and what a landlord's obligations are under a TDS. What is a TDS? A landlord under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) must protect a tenant's deposit by using an authorised tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) operated by an approved scheme administrator. A TDS has two main objectives: To ensure that, when a tenant pays a deposit, it will be protected and returned to the tenant at the end of the AST, except when the landlord has a legitimate claim on it. To resolve disputes between landlords and tenants using dispute resolution rather than via the courts. There are two types of TDS: There are two types of TDS: A custodial TDS requires a landlord to pay its tenant's deposit to a…