What are Ware & Kay’s arrangements for making a Will during the coronavirus pandemic?

Ware & Kay has offices in York, Wetherby and Malton, and although these are closed to the public we have robust plans in place to minimise any disruption and to protect our clients, our staff and the wider community.  Our staff are fully equipped for homeworking, and can be contacted by email and telephone, or through our online contact form.  Solicitors from all three offices have already been advising existing and new clients on reviewing and making Wills during the pandemic.  We can send you a questionnaire to complete and return to us, followed by a conversation by telephone or video call.  We will then send you the draft Will by email or by post, respond to any queries you have, and then post you the original Will with instructions for you to sign this at…

Penny Eedle retires from Ware & Kay after 25 years

 Solicitor & Head of Residential Property Department Penny Eedle is retiring from Ware & Kay Solicitors after 25 years with the firm. Penny has provided invaluable property advice to many clients over her legal career and has been instrumental in building up and running a successful residential property department in the York office. Holly Stevens will be taking over the role of Head of Residential Property and will be developing the department going forward. Penny qualified as a Solicitor in 1984 having studied law at Newcastle University. She joined the firm in 1995 and became Head of the Residential Property Department in 2003 looking after a busy team of fee earners and experienced support staff. Penny has seen the firm develop into a thriving multi-office practice and is a highly respected Residential Property Solicitor in…

COVID-19: Business as Usual at Ware & Kay

  View the pdf version here.

New restrictions on evicting commercial tenants

Landlords and tenants of residential property are already likely aware that evictions of residential tenants are soon to be suspended for at least the next three months. What has been less well-publicised is that the Government is also bringing forward emergency legislation to prevent many, if not most, evictions of commercial tenants. The text of the new Coronavirus Bill can be found here. Section 82 will have a large impact on commercial landlords and their tenants. The Bill is currently making its way through Parliament and may be changed. It is likely to come into force very soon. The Bill as it stands will suspend landlords’ right to forfeit the lease and take back their property because of non-payment of rent until at least 30 June 2020, with power to extend this. It appears that this…

Guidance for employers regarding the coronavirus from ACAS

With more cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), being reported in the UK each day, employers will be wondering how to handle the issue especially as they may need to react fast if a situation develops in the workplace or if there are concerns about the health of a particular employee. Gillian Reid employment law expert at Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby, advises employers to get prepared with some sensible precautionary measures and highlights where to keep up to date on the latest guidance. The best way for employers to keep abreast of the current advice is by visiting the following websites regularly: Government guidance for employers and businesses This website, with information from Public Health England and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, provides guidance on: the novel coronavirus, COVID-19; how to help…

Possible impacts of COVID-19 on property transactions

For clients in the midst of trying to buy, sell or rent a property, the coronavirus outbreak is causing particular uncertainty at all stages in the process. We want to reassure you that our property law team will continue to operate as normally as possible to keep all property transactions on course during this difficult and uncertain time. According to Holly Stevens in the property team at Ware & Kay in York, there are a number of things to consider, depending on where you are with your property transaction. Property viewings If you are still in the early stages of looking to buy or sell your property, take sensible precautions. Before showing prospective buyers or renters around a property, or before going on a viewing: ask if anyone is unwell or is in isolation when…

Finding your way through land rights

It can come as something of a shock if someone is always strolling across your land without permission and you find that you have no right to stop them because they actually have a legal right to be there. Andrew Little, commercial property law expert at Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton, explains how such legal rights of way or easements can be made by express grant, implied grant or by prescription. An express grant is where the right is spelt out in writing, usually in a deed at the time of sale of the property. An implied grant may not be specified in any deed but is implied by law; they usually arise if someone could not access their property if the easement was not granted. Easements by prescription are ones which can be particularly prevalent…

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

As uncertainty mounts about Coronavirus in the UK, we wish to reassure all of our clients and contacts that it is business as usual. We have robust plans in place to minimise any disruption and will continue to operate as normal whilst also protecting our clients, our staff and the wider community. We are committed to supporting our clients and contacts throughout this period whilst monitoring updates and following Government advice.  We have drawn up plans that will enable us to continue serving our clients and contacts including equipping our staff for home-working. All our clients will be able to maintain contact with our staff via telephone and email however, we have decided for everyone’s protection that we are unable to make client appointments at any of our offices from Thursday 19th March.  We will however…

“Relationship-Generated Disadvantage “Landmark or Dead End?

Lawyers are heralding as a landmark decision, the judgement in RC v JC given earlier this month. A woman who sacrificed her career as a Solicitor to look after her children was given an additional sum of money on Divorce. The wife, a Cambridge graduate and trainee Solicitor stepped back from her budding legal career for the good of her family, whilst the husband, also a Solicitor, continued to pursue his career. The couple were married for ten years and had two children. Their bitter court dispute was over the finances of the divorce.  Mr Justice Moor stated the wife of the marriage viewed herself as a “parent who would take primary responsibility for the children. The husband’s career took precedence, it is unusual to find significant relationship-generated disadvantage that may lead to a claim…

The end of Assured Shorthold Tenancies and the Rented Homes Bill

The Rented Homes Bill had its first reading on 22 January 2020. The first thing the Bill does is to abolish assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England. ASTs were created by the Housing Act 1988 to strengthen the rights of landlords and increase the supply of private rented accommodation. An AST is a type of assured tenancy; its advantage from the point of view of a landlord is that, in addition to the grounds for seeking possession that are available to all assured tenancies, possession may also be obtained using the procedure set out in Section 21. The advantage of an AST for a tenant is the possibility of referring excessive rents to a rent assessment committee. The demise of the AST is intended to ‘reset the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and…