Legal News

Imprecise drafting in a will is a recipe for litigation and dispute later on. A recent High Court decision on the interpretation of an ambiguous clause in a man's will illustrates the kinds of issues that can arise. The man had made a will in 2007 leaving...

Businesses whose premises are compulsorily acquired are entitled to compensation for loss of profits and any reduction in the value of the business, as well as the value of the premises themselves. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) found that compensation...

When applying for a boundary determination, it is crucial to gather as much evidence as you can in support of your application. Recently, a couple's application for a determination of part of the boundary between their home and neighbouring land was...

The law affords people a high degree of testamentary freedom, and those seeking reasonable financial provision from an estate must satisfy the courts that it was unreasonable that adequate provision was not made for them. Recently, the High Court ruled that...

If a building is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) within the meaning of Section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 , can dwellings within the building also be houses for the purposes of the selective licensing scheme in Part 3 of the Act? The Upper Tribunal...

The High Court has ruled that a will made by an elderly woman with dementia, in which she disinherited one of her sons, was invalid due to lack of testamentary capacity and want of knowledge and approval. The woman's previous will, made in 2018, divided...

In certain circumstances, owners of leasehold flats have a legal right to buy the freehold of the building together with other leaseholders. This process is known as collective enfranchisement. For collective enfranchisement to be available, the building...

The High Court has dismissed a landlord's appeal against a decision that a pub company was entitled to a new tenancy of its premises, the landlord having failed to establish that it intended to carry out works on the premises and could not do so without...

Figures from the High Court have shown that the number of disputed probate claims is continuing to rise. A total of 1,217 disputed probate cases were filed at the High Court in 2025, an increase of 12.7 per cent from the figure of 1,080 in 2024. There were...

At the third time of asking, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has granted an application to modify a restrictive covenant to permit a second dwelling to be built on a plot of land. The land, on which a small partly thatched cottage had originally stood, had been...

A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from a deceased person's estate must be brought within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration being issued, unless the...

Landlords would be well advised to check the terms of their leases before undertaking any projects that may cause problems with issuing service charge demands. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that a local authority landlord must wait to collect...

Disputes over ownership of land all too often become protracted and lead to costs out of proportion to the value of the land involved. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled on a dispute over a strip of land with an area of just 2.2 square metres. The...

Dependants who have not been adequately provided for in a deceased person's will may be able to make a claim for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 . Recently, the High Court considered such a claim by...

Where a mortgage lender claims possession of a property that has been let without the lender's permission, the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 gives tenants the right to apply to the courts to postpone the date for delivery of...