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Me too – the Government addresses sexual harassment in the workplace.
28 Nov 2023The problem of sexual harassment in the workplace has been placed front and centre by recent scandals ranging from Hollywood to British…
Section 5 Right of First Refusal Provisions in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987: Prosecution for Failing to Comply
16 Nov 2023The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (the Act) plays a crucial role in safeguarding the rights and interests of tenants in residential…
The Impact of ESG Considerations on Corporate Governance and Lending Practices
27 Oct 2023In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations have emerged as pivotal factors influencing corporate governance and lending…
Top 5 things to know about wills
Private Clients, Wills, Trusts and Probate
20 Oct 2023Making a will is one of the most important decisions you can make to safeguard the future. A will ensures your legacy…
Harold Benjamin’s Legal Director on why his new role is like ‘Coming Home’
12 Sep 20232023 marks a very special year in Harold Benjamin’s long history. In September, it will be 70 years since the firm was…
Embedding Sustainable and Eco-friendly Design in Residential Property Development.
Construction, Development and Planning, Residential Property
05 Sep 2023The push towards net zero carbon emissions and carbon neutral buildings is growing. Developers are focusing on constructing or retrofitting properties to…
2023 Developments in Employment Law
30 Aug 2023Employment legislation in 2023 has had an emphasis on family and work life balance, although the enacted laws will not apply immediately….
How Renewable Energy is affecting the Commercial Marketplace: The Problems facing Landlords and SMEs and the Solutions to tackle them
Business Law, Commercial Real Estate
14 Aug 2023The appeal for businesses to look for renewable sources of energy and “go green” has significantly grown in recent years. Businesses nationwide…
Harold Benjamin tours the historic Houses of Parliament with Lord Popat
08 Aug 2023Harold Benjamin’s Young Solicitors Group, together with our managing partner, Vijay Parikh were invited to tour Parliament by Lord Popat earlier this…
Illegal cannabis farming by tenants – A growing problem for landlords
Real Estate, Residential Property
19 Jul 2023The illegal cultivation of cannabis in let properties is a growing problem which can result in legal and financial problems for a…
83 is the magic number
Real Estate, Residential Property
13 Jul 2023The extension of leases of residential flats is a complicated area of law. At the time of compiling this article (June 2023) it is…
Banking – Has anything really changed?
25 May 2023The recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic in the US, as well as Credit Suisse in Europe,…
Family business: How to avoid disputes down the line
Business Disputes, Business Law
14 Apr 2023There are many advantages to having a family-run business. Often there is a better cultural fit and common shared values, with a strong…
Intestacy: the common misconceptions
Estate Planning, Private Clients, Uncategorized
06 Apr 2023When a person dies without leaving a Will, they are said to have died intestate. As they have not provided directions as…
Companies House Changes: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
Business Law, Corporate & Commercial
23 Mar 2023The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will soon become law and with it comes various changes at Companies House to further…
Settlement Agreements: A clean break
Corporate & Commercial, Employment
16 Mar 2023An employer may offer an employee a settlement agreement when they want to terminate the employment on mutually agreed terms. …
Why do I need a solicitor to re-mortgage my home?
Real Estate, Residential Property
28 Feb 2023If you are planning to re-mortgage your home with a different lender, then you usually will need a solicitor or licensed conveyancer….
Lending against cladded buildings
21 Feb 2023With news that the six largest lenders in the country will be offering mortgages on medium and high rise buildings with identified…
Trends in the workplace
16 Feb 2023Significant world and national events – the pandemic, the fall-out from Brexit, the war in Ukraine, 3 prime ministers in 7 weeks,…
Share of Freehold – How to give the taxman a windfall by doing nothing.
Lease Extensions, Real Estate, Residential Property
09 Feb 2023For the purpose of this article, let us assume Basil owns the freehold of a house called Fawlty Towers comprising 3 flats…
Conditional Exemption for Heritage Property: what is it and how does it work?
Estate Planning, Fine Art, Wills, Trusts and Probate
29 Sep 2022The Conditional Exemption Tax Incentive Scheme provides an opportunity to defer payment of Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax when an item…
Anti-competitive practice and land agreements
Commercial Landlord & Tenant, Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate
21 Sep 2022The cost-of-living crisis has made the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMAs) recent investigation into supermarkets’ land agreement practices even more important….
Holiday Pay headaches
16 Sep 2022During this long, hot summer the Supreme Court was busy considering how holiday pay for employees who work irregular hours should be…
The new Register of Overseas Entities – An overview
Auctions & Investment Property Advisory, International, Real Estate
06 Sep 2022From the 1st August 2022 the Register of Overseas Entities was created at Companies House and requires that Overseas Entities (broadly being…
Lost the will, find a way!
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts and Probate
31 Aug 2022It is very easy to misplace a document, not least something as important as a will. If you are dealing with the…
Welcome to the new world of (no) ground rent (sort of).
Lease Extensions, Residential Property
16 Aug 2022The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, which came into force on 30th June 2022, has the following practical effects for flat…
Some take-away’s from the “Wagatha Christie” trial
Business Disputes, Dispute Resolution
09 Aug 2022The tweet by Coleen Rooney which concluded with.. ‘It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account,’ will go down in history as one of the…
COVID-19 Rental Arrears
02 Aug 2022In the case of A Company, Re, a commercial tenant failed to challenge a winding up petition brought by its landlord for…
Acquisition of a private company limited by shares – a brief overview of the process
Business Law, Corporate & Commercial
26 Jul 2022The two most common ways to purchase a business are either:- An asset purchase: this involves the purchase of all or some…
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) – Do I need it?
Powers of Attorney, Private Clients
19 Jul 2022Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were unable to make your own financial and welfare decisions due to…
Nutrient Neutrality – What is it and how is it relevant to property developers
30 Jun 2022Following a European Court case nutrient neutrality has turned into an issue which must be taken into account by property developers with…
Restrictive Covenants – are they worth the paper they’re written on?
Employment, Intellectual Property
21 Jun 2022It is understandable for an employer to want to protect its business in the event that one of its senior employees or…
Room for improvement in drawn out property disputes
Business Disputes, Commercial Landlord & Tenant, Real Estate
17 Jun 2022The system encourages and assists delays in the progress of landlord-tenant cases, writesSteven Ross…
Is your art in the right place?
Fine Art, Wills, Trusts and Probate
05 May 2022For some wealthy individuals a great deal of their income is spent on art or other luxury assets. Levels of spending can…
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 – What to expect
Real Estate, Residential Property
03 May 2022As part of its program of Law Reform, the government recently passed the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 which comes into…
Inheritance Tax and the Acceptance-in-Lieu Scheme: What is it and how does it work?
Estate Planning, Fine Art, Wills, Trusts and Probate
26 Apr 2022As a general rule assets of a deceased over the value of the nil rate band (currently £325,000) are chargeable at 40%…
Get your ducks in a row: Drafting rent review provisions in leases
Commercial Landlord & Tenant, Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate
20 Apr 2022Rent review provisions in a lease set out the terms on which the annual rent payable will be reviewed. The way in…
“Share of Freehold”: not necessarily a sweet deal
Private Clients, Real Estate, Residential Property
12 Apr 2022Residential flats are often advertised for sale as “share of freehold”. This suggests that the flat buyer will acquire a share of…
Companies face even tougher times ahead as remaining temporary insolvency measures come to an end
Commercial Landlord & Tenant, Commercial Real Estate, Insolvency
08 Apr 2022At the start of the pandemic, the Government enacted the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) in order to introduce a…
Criminal Defence Costs Incurred Solely for Purposes of Trade
24 Mar 2022Only expenses that are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of trade can be deducted from a business’s tax liabilities. That…
High Court Declares ‘Illiterate’ Business Tycoon’s £100 Million Will Invalid
23 Mar 2022Your assets are your own and, when making your will, you have complete freedom to leave them to whomever you choose. As…
Creation of Unintended HMOs – Issues to Consider
David Eder 21 Mar 2022At the best of times, Houses in Multiple Occupation (‘HMOs’) cause conveyancers and lenders sleepless nights; however, a recent decision by the…
COVID-19 – Premier League Triumphs in $200 Million TV Rights Dispute
21 Mar 2022The COVID-19 pandemic caused grave disruption to the 2019/2020 Premier League season – but it did not fundamentally change the format of…
Teenager’s Wishes and Feelings Prevail in Finely Balanced Adoption Case
Family Offices, Private Clients
18 Mar 2022Children may not have the capacity to make important decisions for themselves, but that does not mean that family judges ignore their…
Affordable Housing Shortage Proves Decisive in High Court Planning Case
Real Estate, Residential Property
17 Mar 2022The chronic shortage of affordable homes is a powerful driver in favour of permitting building projects that might otherwise be considered objectionable….
Contested Wills – Challenging a Will
Marina Vincent 16 Mar 2022How to challenge a Will, or object to Attorneys/Deputies. Sometimes, there may be grounds to challenge a Will, or make a claim…
Internet Piracy – Gaming Giant Nintendo Granted Websites Blocking Order
Business Law, Technology & Data Protection
15 Mar 2022Companies that spend vast sums on developing products have every right to feel aggrieved when they are subjected to wholesale internet piracy….
Houses in Multiple Occupation – Landlords Overturn Rent Repayment Order
Commercial Landlord & Tenant, Real Estate
15 Mar 2022Landlords who rent out houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) without a required licence are exposed to the double whammy of criminal prosecution…
Fear of COVID-19 is Not a Philosophical Belief
11 Mar 2022A fear of contracting COVID-19 or infecting others with the virus is both worthy of respect and readily understandable. However, an Employment…
11 Key points to consider before signing a commercial contract
James Oxley 11 Mar 2022The corporate and commercial team at Harold Benjamin are frequently asked to review contracts prior to signature. This is sometimes a high-level…