United Kingdom: Estate Management

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has expanded liability for unlicensed HMO and selective licensing offences to include superior landlords and freeholders, not just immediate landlords. This article examines what constitutes a 'reasonable excuse' defence and outlines practical steps freeholders should take to protect themselves from potential enforcement action and rent repayment orders.

Rebecca Lee shares her journey from law firm receptionist to qualified solicitor, discussing her passion for helping clients through life's most challenging moments in wills and probate work. She reflects on career highlights including managing a £4.2 million estate and her commitment to charitable fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Property owners with buildings containing multiple flats under a single title can unlock significant financial and strategic advantages through title splitting. This legal process creates individual leasehold interests for each unit, enabling more flexible refinancing options, easier sales, and clearer management structures, though it requires careful navigation of legal requirements including the fundamental rule that you cannot grant a lease to yourself.

This week, the Government set out an ambitious legislative package through the King's Speech. Here, we consider the two key messages relating to the living sector: leasehold reform and the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Father and son had farmed land together for decades; they had formed a successful partnership in 1983.

The Competition and Markets Authority (the "CMA") has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to conduct inquiries into the workings of a market. The framework is a two-stage one: a preliminary market study...

Rand v Tran is a recent case where a constructive trust was implied due to the common intention of the parties, as evidenced by their respective contributions – Mr Rand was entitled to a 50% ...

In the recent case of James v James, a disgruntled farmer's son, left out of his father's will, brought a proprietary estoppel claim and attacked the validity of the will yet failed to gain anything from either challenge.

You will know that it is a requirement to provide a copy of this to your tenant if the letting is not a social tenancy.