Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) On Commercial Leasehold Property
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) replaced Stamp Duty in December 2003. It is payable in respect of transactions involving the transfer of interests in land including the grants or assignments of leases. It is a “personal/ corporate” tax and involves the tax payer in making a tax return in respect of the land transaction in which they have been involved and if appropriate paying the tax due. As such the “regime” involves the standard current penalties for late submission etc.
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Company Liquidation (Winding Up)
The Directors of a Company that cannot pay its debts can choose to put the Company into voluntary liquidation. Indeed Directors have statutory responsibilities not to permit a Company to trade insolvently. If they allow the Company to trade insolvently they can become personally liable for the debts.
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Bankruptcy
If you are in debt you can in fact apply to the Court for your own bankruptcy. You have to have sufficient money left to pay the Court fee and the Trustees deposit, but you can make yourself bankrupt. This should only be done after you have taken debt advice and generally speaking that should come from an Insolvency Practitioner or at least having seen the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) as they may be able to help you reach an informal agreement with your creditors.
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Enforcement
Once you have your judgment, the Court does not take its own action to collect the money for you. There are various applications you can instruct us to make to get the money from the debtor. The crucial issue will again be what information you have about the debtor and their financial affairs. We will charge you for the enforcement work at our hourly rates and we will discuss with you whether it is cost effective to proceed.
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Exclusion of Landlord and Tennant Act 1954
Under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) a Tenant generally has a statutory right to renew its tenancy at the end of the term, if the Tenant has occupied the premises for the purposes of his business.(known as
security of tenure). In most cases this is easy to determine but in some cases what does or does not constitute a “business” needs to be carefully looked at.
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Covenant to Repair Fact Sheet
The repairing covenant is one of the most important obligations for a Tenant. It is an obligation to keep the Premises in a proper state of repair and to hand the Premises back to the Landlord at the end of the Lease in that proper state of repair.
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Giving away your home
31st October 2008
By giving your home to another person or persons you are giving away your legal title to it. The house will belong to them absolutely and will become part of their estate. It will be subject to their Wills, their matrimonial affairs and disputes. It will be theirs to mortgage, or sell as they wish. It may also give them a liability for Capital Gains Tax purposes.
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Express Private Trusts
29th January 2010
If I put something aside for someone how can I make sure they do not waste it?
An express private trust is one way of ensuring that someone you particularly want to benefit will and that those assets or monies can be protected. A Trust can be created in favour of individuals either in your lifetime by a deed or declaration, or on your death in your Will.
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HIP Fact Sheet
28th March 2008
1. What is a Home Information Pack (HIP)?
The Government introduced Home Information Packs in an attempt to improve the process of buying and selling homes. Put simply, it is a collection of documents designed to provide information about a property at the earliest opportunity.
All homes marketed for sale in England and Wales require a HIP.
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Searches
26th March 2008
As part of the conveyancing process we carry out many enquiries and investigations to check matters which may affect the property or land, either in the past, now, or in the future. Conveyancing searches are carried out to gather information from the records held by many different organisations. As part of the investigation into the history of the property we carry out searches and enquiries of the Local Authority, the Land Registry and other regional bodies.
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Glossary of Terms
24th March 2008
Use our guide to find your way through the words and phrases commonly used in conveyancing
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Part 36 offer guide
6th October 2006
Either party can make part 36 Offers in civil disputes. They can be made before Court proceedings have been issued or whilst they are underway. If a Defendant makes a Part 36 Offer before Court proceedings are issued, that Defendant then has to pay the money that they were offering in the Part 36 Offer, into Court as soon as formal Court proceedings have been issued. The Court pending either a settlement or full Order following the full final Trial will hold the money.
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Acting for a child or patient
5th October 2006
The Court does not allow a child under 18 years of age (“a minor”) to bring Court proceedings in his or her own name. Therefore, the child has to sue through the name of an adult who is referred to as the “Litigation Friend”. The same provisions apply to patients under the Mental Health Act.
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Allocation Questionnaires and Directions in Civil Proceedings
4th October 2006
Once a Defence has been filed in proceedings in either the County or the High Court, the next stage is the filing of Allocation Questionnaires. This is a document forwarded by the Court to each side. The Court sets a deadline by which the completed document must be returned to them.
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Mortgages and Remortgaging
1st October 2006
A mortgage is security for a loan made to you to help you buy your property. The amount owing is
repaid over a period of years. Until the loan is repaid in full, the mortgage makes certain that the lender
will eventually receive full repayment.
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