Practical guides, templates explained and legal news for United Kingdom.
A gift of money or possessions has no consideration behind it, so a plain contract would be unenforceable. A deed solves that — but only if it is signed, witnessed and delivered exactly as section 1 of the 1989 Act requires.
·4 min read
Arguing about a £180 cleaning charge is the small dispute. If the deposit was never protected, or the prescribed information never served, the county court can order the landlord to pay you one to three times the deposit.
·3 min read
If your business is chasing a debt from an individual or sole trader, the Debt Claims protocol sets what the letter of claim must enclose and gives the debtor 30 days. Skip a step and the court can stay the claim and take it out of your costs.
·5 min read
A letter before claim is the last step before issuing proceedings in England and Wales. Where a business claims a debt from an individual, the Debt Claims protocol fixes the contents and gives 30 days. Everything else follows the Practice Direction.
·5 min read
From 1 January 2027 the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months, and the cap on compensatory awards disappears. Employees already past six months' service get the protection immediately.
·4 min read
A flexible working request can still be refused on one of eight statutory business grounds — but under the Employment Rights Act 2025 the refusal must also be reasonable, and the employer must explain in writing why it is.
·3 min read
The Act lands in waves — trade union changes in February 2026, sick pay and family leave in April, tribunal time limits in October, unfair dismissal in January 2027, zero hours and flexible working later in 2027. A dated list of what is already law and what is coming.
·4 min read
A section 13 notice fails on mechanics more often than on the amount. The wrong form, short notice, a misaligned start date or a second increase inside 12 months all leave the old rent payable.
·4 min read
Since 1 May 2026 a rent review clause in an assured tenancy is of no effect. Fixed uplifts, index-linking and market reviews are all dead — section 13 and Form 4A are the only route to a higher rent.
·3 min read
Form 4A is the prescribed form for a section 13 rent increase in England since 1 May 2026. Two months' notice, once in any 12 months, and the tenant can refer it to the tribunal before it takes effect.
·4 min read
The Act's three transitional deadlines — 1 May, 31 May and 31 July 2026 — have all now passed. A pre-commencement section 21 notice with no claim issued is spent, and the missed information sheet duty carries a penalty of up to £7,000. Where each stands today.
·6 min read
A will in England and Wales must be in writing and signed in front of two witnesses who sign in your presence. Most homemade wills fail on witnessing, not on wording.
·3 min read
A loan between individuals needs the amount, the interest, the repayment terms and what happens on default — in writing. Lending as a business to a consumer adds regulation on top.
·3 min read
A lodger agreement is a licence, not a tenancy. It needs the room, rent, deposit, notice and house rules — and it must not borrow clauses from a tenancy template.
·3 min read
A lodger shares living space with a resident landlord and is a licensee, not a tenant. That single distinction changes notice, deposit protection, eviction and tax treatment.
·3 min read
No-fault eviction ended in England on 1 May 2026. Possession now runs through a section 8 notice on a Schedule 2 ground, a court order and, if needed, bailiff enforcement.
·3 min read
A section 8 notice starts a possession claim under the Housing Act 1988. It must name the Schedule 2 grounds, set out the facts, and give the correct notice period for the longest ground relied on.
·3 min read
The AST was abolished for England on 1 May 2026. New and existing lettings are assured periodic tenancies — no fixed term, no section 21, and possession only on statutory grounds.
·3 min read
Since 1 May 2026 every new residential letting in England is an assured periodic tenancy. Fixed terms and section 21 are gone, so an agreement copied from an old AST template is now the wrong document.
·4 min read