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Aviva and Persimmon have agreed to end unfair leasehold practices, following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It means that Aviva has committed to remove certain terms from its leasehold contracts that cause ground rents to double, and Persimmon will now offer leasehold house owners the opportunity to buy the freehold of
A nurse who was dismissed for refusing to work weekends has won a landmark ruling that could affect thousands of women with children. Gemma Dobson was a community nurse with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS. She had worked fixed days because she had three children, including two with disabilities. However, she was dismissed after the
A mother who wrongfully removed her two sons from their home after separating from their father has been ordered to return them to Lanzarote. The two boys, referred to only as X and Y, were three years and 18 months old, respectively. The father was Italian but had lived in Lanzarote since he was seven
Two adult brothers have failed in their attempt to be given a share of their deceased father’s estate after being left out of his will. The High Court ruled that it was clear that the father had made provision for them while he was alive and did not want them to receive anything further. The
The introduction of no-fault divorces, which was due to take place this autumn, has been postponed until next year. The courts minister Chris Philp made the announcement in response to a parliamentary question. He said the provisions of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 must be put back because not enough progress had been
First time buyers are being offered discounted homes as part of a new government housing scheme. The First Homes scheme will help local first-time buyers on to the property ladder by offering homes at a discount of at least 30% compared to the market price. That same percentage will then be passed on with the
The High Court has upheld a marketing company’s restrictive covenant preventing its sales advisors from competing with it for a six-month period. The case involved Credico Marketing Ltd v Lambert. Credico provided direct marketing services which were conducted by independent sale advisors (ISAs) by methods such as door-to-door sales. It did not contract directly with
A broker who traded while insolvent and took money from her company for herself while failing to pay creditors £140,000 has been disqualified for seven years. Kathleen Shepherd, aged 58, from Southampton, was the sole director of Shepherd Site Services Limited, a company which acted as a broker to provide waste management services to the
The government is extending protection against evictions and winding-up petitions for businesses that are still struggling because of Covid-19. Legislation will be introduced to ringfence outstanding unpaid rent that has built up when a business has had to remain closed during the pandemic. Landlords are expected to make allowances for the ringfenced rent arrears from
A finance consultancy was entitled to €855,000 commission for its part in acquiring investment money for a large property development. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving EMFC Loan Syndications and The Resort Group. The Group had engaged EMFC to assist it to raise financing of up to €130