Tuesday September 30, 2008 at 6:48pm
The latest issue of the Cousins Business Law ezine with a feature article entitled 'Should you rely on a gentleman's agreement' is generating lots of interest. It is amazing how many business owners and managers fall foul of the fact they didn't have the details of a commercial deal in writing.
The example we talked about in the ezine (of a multi-million pound property deal that went ahead based on a verbal agreement) may seem extreme, but you'd be surprised how often this happ....
(read more...)Friday September 26, 2008 at 3:47pm
Cousins Business Law commercial property solicitor Steve Petty is offering a free 20-minute telephone business lease review for both landlords and tenants.
In these difficult times a review of your lease arrangements could save you significant sums and be the difference between surviving and thriving. Not sure whether you need to review? Take a look at Steve’s six crucial questions
Lease review for LandlordsIf you are a landlord and can answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions....
(read more...)Thursday September 25, 2008 at 9:19am
The OFT has today published its market study into the homebuilding sector which says that while the sector is broadly competitive, many homebuyers experience faults or delays. As a result, the industry has agreed to develop its own code of conduct and redress scheme for consumers.
The OFT found that homebuyers can experience a number of problems, which include:
delays in moving in
faults in new homes, and
issues around the sales process including reservation fees, the clari....
(read more...)Monday September 22, 2008 at 11:56am
The latest ICAEW UK Business Confidence Monitor for the West Midlands reinforces many of the messages that we read daily in the national press and confirms the commentators' predictions for the impact of the credit crunch on the ‘real economy’. What started as a Financial Service sector problem has now started to impact all sectors in the ecomony.
Business confidence is in decline – showing a decline for the fifth consecutive quarter to reach a new record low.
Th....
(read more...)Monday September 15, 2008 at 6:08pm
It now seems accepted that Sharia Courts are legal alternatives to the traditional court system in the UK – as long as all parties agree. The UK courts have for a long time now been promoting ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ – whereby parties to a legal dispute are encouraged to settle their disputes out of court. Often this is achieved by negotiation, sometimes by Mediation (whereby an independent 3rd party tries to broker a settlement between the parties) and more rarel....
(read more...)Friday September 12, 2008 at 6:26pm
The Government is considering reducing the time limit for debt collection from 6 years to 3 years.
At the moment, firms have 6 years in which to issue court proceedings to collect debts. This is set to change and an announcement is expected to be made in the Queen's speech to Parliament in December.
Whilst it is true that the older a debt is, the harder it is to collect, there are often good reasons that a firm would delay issuing proceedings, including:
trying other means of collection f....
(read more...)Tuesday September 9, 2008 at 8:51am
The Government has published further details of the measures announced last week to support the housing market.
Let's take each of those proposals in turn: Home Buy Direct - the Government's scheme to help first time buyers. That 30% loan is interest free for 5 years but from year six, a 3 per cent charge will be levied. From year ten onwards, the Bank of England Base Rate will be charged, increasing by RPI plus 0.5 per cent each year. That's a real sting in the tail. Notice even the Government....
(read more...)Wednesday September 3, 2008 at 4:50pm
Distress is a legal term which refers to a landlord's power to recover a debt from its tenant by entering premises; seizing the tenant's goods to the value of the debt; then selling them to satisfy it. It has always been an effective remedy for landlords as the presence of bailiffs on the premises can be both an intimidating and embarrassing experience for a tenant . Tenants will be able to relax therefore when the law of distress is abolished later this year. In its place will be a new regime c....
(read more...)Tuesday September 2, 2008 at 12:25pm
The Government has recently announced that the UK will be opting in to the Rome I Regulation. This Regulation aims to clarify whose laws are applicable when a dispute arises concerning a contract between people or businesses based in different EU countries. The Regulation is due to come into force in December 2009. A similar Regulation, known as Rome II, applies to non-contractual disputes and comes into force in January 2009. The Regulations aim to give parties to a contract the freedom to deci....
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