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…

Changes to employment law from April 2020

April brings with it the usual annual increases to the national minimum wage and statutory pay for family-friendly leave and sickness absence. But the effects of Good Work: the Taylor review of modern working practices, published in 2017, are still being felt and changes are being introduced to protect vulnerable workers in increasingly flexible business models. As Gillian Reid, employment law expert with Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby explains, changes to IR35 tax rules are also expected along with the introduction of the right to parental bereavement leave. A raft of measures designed to protect vulnerable workers also come into force. Gillian rounds off with a word on Brexit. Employers should prepare for changes on the following dates:  From 1 April 2020 Increase in the national living wage for workers aged 25 and…

New Solicitor joins Ware Kay Residential Property Team

Leading law firm Ware & Kay Solicitors is delighted to announce the appointment of Solicitor Catherine Edge to its growing Residential Property Team in York. Catherine specialises in all aspects of residential property and expertly assists clients who wish to buy and sell both freehold and leasehold property for registered and unregistered land. She also has extensive experience of buying and selling at auction, purchasing buy-to-lets, landlord and tenant work, transfers of equity, mortgage transactions and property registrations. Originally from near Beverley in East Yorkshire Catherine arrives at Ware & Kay with over 10 years’ experience in Residential Property Law.  She completed the legal practice course at the York College of Law in 2005 before qualifying as a Solicitor in 2009 and starting her career at a local firm of Solicitors in York.  With a…

Wills and how to protect your wealth

What is a trust? A trust is a legal arrangement where individuals are chosen (known as Trustees) to look after assets for the chosen beneficiaries.  Trusts can take effect during a person’s lifetime or alternatively, they can be incorporated into Wills which take effect on death.  This article focuses on Will Trusts.   Circumstances where a Will Trust would be beneficial Most of us are unaware of the various ways in which setting up a Trust in a Will can help safeguard assets and protect beneficiaries including existing family members and also future generations.  Some key uses of Will Trusts are set out below: Vulnerable beneficiaries. This could be relevant if the beneficiaries of your estate are physically or mentally disabled, are insolvent or have issues with substance abuse, for example. Setting up a Will Trust…

Making a Will: Q&A

What is a Will? A Will is a legal document setting out what should happen to your assets after you die.  To be valid, a Will must be executed in accordance with certain legal formalities.  If you make a Will with Ware & Kay, we ensure that these formalities are complied with. Do I need a Will? If you have assets at present or you at least expect to acquire assets in the future, the answer is yes.  In any event you should make a Will if you have minor children, to make provision for their future needs.  A carefully drafted Will prepared by one of our legal experts would establish your wishes clearly and minimise the risk of disputes and distress caused to your loved ones following your death. What happens if I die…

Want your grandchildren to live with you?

If family circumstances mean that it is not possible for children to live with their parents, or a local authority has decided that the children ought to be taken into care, there is often a strong wish that the children should instead to go to live with a member of their extended family.  In this article, our family law team expert with Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby, explains the options where grandparents want to put themselves forward as carers. ‘The most usual route for a grandparent who wants their grandchildren to live with them is to apply to the family court for a Child Arrangements Order, explains Robert’  ‘This is an order which, if granted, gives grandparents the legal right to have their grandchildren live with them and to be involved in decisions affecting…

Building in your back garden

If you have a garden big enough for another property, you may be thinking about how a new building could allow you to downsize or to sell on and bank the profit. There are several things you need to consider first, outlined below. Physical constraints of your garden plot   Your garden must be able to accommodate a new home comfortably and have good physical access. There should also be no legal obstacles to access, so involve your solicitor early on. For example, if you do not own your current driveway but only have rights over it, do not assume your new build will automatically have the same rights. Access to services, such as electricity and water, is also important. Ideally, you should be able to connect into the existing mains supply. Although there is…

Safeguarding future of the family farm

Death and taxes eventually come to us all but for farming families succession planning can be particularly complex, given that agricultural businesses are held in a variety of ways and ownership can be split between the wider family. Emma Elwess, Director of Private Client Department at Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton advocates taking a holistic approach to succession planning in the agricultural sector to ensure the family business can thrive and be passed down to the next generation. ‘When it comes to safeguarding the future livelihood of your family, it makes sense to be prudent and take as much advice as possible to ensure your affairs are in order. There are a number of different professionals, such as land agents, accountants, and agricultural lawyers who can work together on the best ways of structuring…

Avoiding disputes in family owned businesses

When relationships between business owners break down the impact on the business can be far reaching. In a family business, commercial problems can become complicated by unresolved resentments and issues that lie under the surface and once families fall, those problems can be difficult and expensive to resolve. Anecdotal evidence suggests that only 1 in 6 farming family businesses have a written partnership or shareholders’ agreement in place. It is no coincidence that we have seen an explosion of cases before the courts involving farming families who have failed to document how the business is to be run in terms of management, retirement and succession. One of the simplest ways of avoiding conflict in family owned businesses is to reach an agreement at the earliest possible stage about how the family will deal with matters…

Effective Debt Recovery – What you need to know

It is tempting for businesses to be reticent about taking action to recover a debt from a ‘longstanding customer’ particularly one that places a lot of orders with you. But these customers may be affecting your cash flow and putting your business at financial risk. Taking action sooner rather than later is important to the operation of your business and it can also stop your customers seeing you as a ‘soft touch’, paying other creditors before you because they are shouting louder. Effective Credit Control To help ensure your company runs smoothly and cost-effectively. The following steps will help you implement effective credit control: Issuing regular statements to your customers and chasing for payments by email, letter and in person. Making sure that you put procedures in place to avoid the risks of…