Blog
19th October 2018
Last week we were given the delightful news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting their first baby. This exciting royal announcement followed soon after the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson’s wonderful display of co-parenting at the recent nuptials of their youngest daughter – it was touching to observe their overwhelming pride and emotion as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder while their daughter Princess…
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12th October 2018
When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in March 2017, the pre-referendum campaign had made little mention of the implications for investors. The vote to leave resulted in a significant fall in the value of sterling and, in a no-deal Brexit scenario, sterling can be expected to fall again until the markets have adjusted to the new situation. For all its intransigence,…
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05th October 2018
For accident victims who have suffered life-changing injury the fight for justice can be a long and arduous process but, despite the constant reminders their injuries bring, most of our clients are focussed positively on getting their lives back – although many find it hard to come to terms with the limitations of the criminal justice system. Too frequently, it seems, drivers who have caused…
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28th September 2018
Attorneys and deputies currently have limited authority when it comes to making gifts from a protected party’s estate. By law, they can only make decisions for a person who is no longer able to do so and unlikely to be able to do so in the future. In general, gifts can only be made to a charity or to a family member, friend or acquaintance…
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24th September 2018
Before buying a leasehold property it is important to understand there are fundamental differences between leasehold and freehold property ownership. Buying a leasehold property does give you the right to own the property – but only for the length of your lease. Many leases have long lives, up to 999 years in some cases, although where there is a leasehold interest there will also be…
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14th September 2018
Last week almost 100 members of the legal community in Chichester took part in a sponsored walk around the city to raise money for the area’s free-advice agencies. Many local lawyers volunteer regularly to assist them – for my part I cannot praise highly enough the valuable work carried out by our local Citizens Advice bureau. Access to justice for everyone regardless of their financial…
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07th September 2018
Members of the public might consider that, on returning from their long vacation, our MPs will set about the most urgent tasks. You might not consider that one of the first matters that they will be dealing with is the Civil Liability Bill. The Government, following many years of insurance company lobbying and discussion, is seeking to impose a tariff on whiplash damages and increase…
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03rd September 2018
Many business tenants have an automatic right to renew their lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 unless their landlord can demonstrate that one of the seven specific grounds for opposition set out in Section 30(1) apply. As long as the tenant did not agree to dis-apply the Act when taking on the lease, then they may believe they are safe for the long…
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27th August 2018
If I had been given a pound every time a client came to me, unaware they had breached a covenant in their legal title, I would be looking forward to an early retirement. So what are covenants and how can they affect a property owner’s enjoyment of their home? Put simply, a covenant is defined as an agreement between two parties to do, or not…
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17th August 2018
As the retail behemoth House of Fraser continued its fight for survival last week, some good news was reported that made the company and its landlords raise their heads in hope. Following House of Fraser’s invocation of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) against a backdrop of rent reductions and the closure of a number of stores, potentially including Chichester’s own long-established outlet, the business was…
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