Relationship breakdown: whose debt is it anyway?

The average household in the UK now has debts of around £58,000 according to The Money Charity.  Trying to keep on top of this can be a major source of stress and according to the relationship counselling service, Relate, debt is cited as the reason one in ten couples decide to separate, divorce or dissolve their civil partnership. Disagreements over who is responsible for the debts are common in separating couples. One of you may have a loan or a credit card in your name even though you both benefited from the expenditure which might have been a big item such as repairs to the house, or a holiday, or just to keep on top of everyday bills. After separation, it is not uncommon for one half of the couple to claim that this debt was…

Selling your apartment and avoiding some pitfalls

According to recent news stories, some owners are struggling to sell their homes because they live in an apartment block with exterior cladding. Coupled with mounting criticism of the leasehold system, you may worry that selling your flat will prove more difficult than you had hoped. Leasehold flats are a long-established feature of this country’s property market.  In most cases, selling your leasehold apartment should not be too different from selling a freehold house, although there may be additional issues to address and the process may take a little longer. Recently, there has been widespread coverage of some of the problems associated with leasehold properties. These have ranged from escalating ground rents to exorbitant service charges. If you have concerns, it is a good idea to talk to your solicitor early on so that she can…

Johanne Spittle featured in Yorkshire Post (Property People)

What are the prospects for the property sector in Yorkshire and Humber? There will inevitably be some readjustment in the property sector post Covid as individuals and businesses make permanent changes to the way they live and work. As the property sector adapts to these changes, I am optimistic that our region is ideally placed to take advantage of new opportunities that will emerge such as the growth in online shopping and the demand in the logistics sector. What is the best project you have been involved in? As a property litigator my projects tend to be based on things going wrong for other people, I think ‘best project’ might be a misdescription! I have been involved in some fascinating cases; one of the most rewarding was a dispute over the design of a landmark sustainable…

Can employers insist employees get vaccinated?

The rollout of the vaccination programme has been welcomed as the beginning of the end for the Covid-19 pandemic. For many employers, ensuring their workforce is vaccinated is an important step in getting their business back to operating as usual. However, the effects of ‘vaccine hesitancy’ and the anti-vaccine movement may mean that some employees refuse to be vaccinated. ‘How employers respond to choices around vaccinations brings into play employment law, data protection law and human rights,’ says Gillian Reid, Head of Employment with Ware & Kay, and who answers some of the key questions for employers. Can we require employees to be vaccinated? In short, probably not, although there may be a stronger case for workers in health and care settings. In the UK, it is not compulsory to have the Covid-19 vaccine and the…

Meet the Boss Johanne Spittle – Head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Johanne Spittle is the Head of Dispute Resolution. She graduated in law from the University of Sheffield in 1983 and became a solicitor in 1986. She has lived in North Yorkshire since 1990 joining the firm in 2019. What job would you like to have other than your own? I am fascinated by the property related disputes that I deal with, particularly having to piece together what happened to land hundreds of years ago; it is a bit like having to solve a historical whodunit and so maybe in another life I would be a historical detective or a crime writer!   Greatest achievement? Combining being a partner in a law firm with three children and retaining a sense of humour was definitely an achievement. But most recently it was sitting and passing an exam in…

Do I need to change my existing Enduring Power of Attorney into a New Lasting Power of Attorney?

Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) were replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) on 1 October 2007. Although new EPAs cannot be created, or existing ones amended, EPAs are still valid. EPAs only cover decisions regarding your finances and property, they do not cover health and welfare decisions. If you wish for your attorneys to be able to make decisions regarding your health and welfare, you would be advised to make a new LPA for health and welfare decisions. This would then allow your attorneys to make decisions on your behalf regarding issues such as your daily routine, medical care and where you live. An LPA for health and care decisions can also allow your attorneys to refuse or consent to life sustaining treatment. Not only does an LPA have more options, it also gives more…

Residential landlord update – what does 2021 have in store?

The last 6 years have seen an explosion of new regulation for residential landlords and 2021 looks like it will be no exception. Here are some of the changes ahead that we have identified as being of potential significance for landlords. The ongoing implications of Coronavirus Act 2020 for recovering possession The Coronavirus Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 25 March 2020 and came into force on 26 March 2020. The Act 2020 was passed as an emergency measure in response to the spread of COVID-19. With the aim of protecting residential tenants from eviction, notice periods in relation to possession proceedings for certain residential tenancies have been extended. Notice periods in notices seeking possession of properties let on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) served under S8 and S21 of the Housing Act 1988 have been…

Divorce and separation in farming families

The Covid-19 pandemic made 2020 a difficult year for most people, but with Brexit predicted to hit the agricultural sector especially hard, farming families may be under considerable strain as we enter 2021. Couple these factors with the enormous stress Christmas can place on a relationship and it does not take a crystal ball to see a swathe of separations and divorce petitions emerging from farming families in the new year. Deciding what to do about dividing property, sorting financial affairs and making arrangements for children during separation is always stressful, but it can be particularly complicated where agricultural assets are concerned. Robert Bellhouse, specialist family law solicitor at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby explains the key things you need to know about farming divorce. Division of assets for farming families When a couple…

When can you refuse a bad commercial tenant a new lease?

The court provided useful examples of the sort of conduct that might allow a landlord to refuse a new lease, even though the tenant has security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“the Act”). The judgment can be found here. Background When granting most leases to be used as commercial premises, the landlord and tenant need to agree to follow a special procedure, known as ‘contracting out’, otherwise the tenant’s lease will not end at the end of the period stated in the lease. The lease is continued by law and the tenant has a right to apply to the court for a new lease, if terms cannot be agreed. The landlord can only end the lease under certain circumstances set out in the Act. The most common are that the landlord wishes…

Diversification and Farm Business Tenancies

Farmers are having to diversify part of the farm in these current times to stay financially afloat. This will likely increase due to the decline in subsidies. So how do Tenant farmers go about trying to diversify and what does this mean for Landlords? If you are a tenant farmer and you wish to diversify the farm or part of it to a non-farming activity e.g. Glamping pods, B&B, Farm Shop etc. it is likely you will need to obtain your Landlord’s consent to do so. Agricultural tenancies usually permit the tenant to use the Holding for agricultural purposes only and may contain restrictions against taking out any part of the holding from agricultural use. Tenants may choose to ignore the tenancy agreement and pursue diversification in any event but should be warned that the Landlord…