Drivers are being warned to be on their guard about increase in car parking scams. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) wanted to create more awareness of text messages telling consumers that they have an outstanding parking charge, and sometimes threaten that if they do not pay it in time, they will be banned from
When it comes to home insurance, it’s not just the big-ticket items that matter—numerous small and surprising details can also play a pivotal role in maintaining your coverage. Finance expert, Gary Hemming from ABC Finance reveals some often overlooked aspects that are as critical as they are unexpected. Type of Lock: A Small Detail with
A new survey from Acas has found that seven out of ten employees (70%) are not aware that the law is changing to make it easier to request flexible working at work. The YouGov poll was conducted in January this year and found that 43% of employers were also unaware of the law change. All
New research published by the Law Society reveals millions are still unable to access justice when they need it. In its response to the call for evidence for the Civil Legal Aid Review, the Law Society has called on the UK government to urgently increase the fees paid for civil legal aid work, which have
Drivers are being warned over ongoing social media scams, tricking victims into thinking they’re eligible for compensation. It comes after the aftermath of the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal that erupted in 2015, with many diesel vehicle owners in the UK finding themselves potentially eligible for compensation. It primarily revolved around car manufacturers installing ‘defeat devices’ that manipulated
Trading Standards experts are urging people to be on the lookout for common romance scams. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning the public to avoid being left broken-hearted by scammers this Valentine’s Day, as new data shows a record rise in romance scams. According to Lloyd’s Bank, romance scams are at an all-time
Unlike their petrol counterparts, electric cars have specific needs and nuances that, if not carefully considered, can lead to major costs. James Granton, motoring expert from Zego Van Insurance has highlighted the importance of attention to detail – even the seemingly minor modifications can have a substantial impact on your policy. High Insurance Premiums: A
Strong winds are not just uncomfortable; they are a hazard. They can destabilise vehicles, reduce a driver’s control, and increase the likelihood of accidents, particularly on open stretches of road like motorways. It’s crucial for drivers to understand the risks posed by strong winds, especially when navigating the country’s motorways. Dom Watt, a renowned motoring
More than nine in 10 tradespeople (92%) say they or someone they know have been a victim of theft. That is according to new research by commercial insurer NFU Mutual. In the last 12 months alone, 53% of those surveyed said they had experienced tool or equipment theft, just shy of half had materials pinched,
Families argue about leaving the lights on in empty rooms more than once a week on average. Half of all UK households (50%) argue about leaving the lights on, while homes with children under the age of 18 have a row about the habit 58 times a year on average, reveals research from Uswitch.com. Although
Changes to your home like updating lighting features could increase its value and appeal. Bert Hofhuis, Every Investor expert, has shared these tips for homeowners wanting to add value to their homes a breakdown of easy and accessible ways to add value to your home. Paint and Colour Refresh Impact of a Fresh Coat: A
Buying ‘bogus’ insurance from a Ghost Broker could leave shoppers with anything but a good deal this Black Friday, warns the Insurance Fraud Bureau. With the two biggest shopping events of the year just around the corner, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers are warned to stay alert to fake car insurance deals offered by
Some homeowners across the UK could be unknowingly overpaying their council tax. The key lies in the council tax band of your property, which might not be as accurate as you think. Home experts Halton Stairlifts delve into why you might be in the wrong council tax band, how to check if you are, and
Couples who are married or in a civil partnership are being urged to spend just 30 seconds to see if they can claim Marriage Allowance and boost their finances by up to £252 a year. By using HMRC’s online Marriage Allowance calculator couples can find out instantly if they are eligible. Couples who may be
Here’s some possible disappointments that could compromise both its performance and your safety. “Storms do not discriminate between conventional and electric cars. Damage lurks beneath the surface, often escaping the naked eye,” says Dominic Wyatt, a seasoned expert from the International Drivers Association. Water Intrusion Regardless of whether your vehicle is propelled by petrol or
Motorists are being warned that event verbal road rage or arguing with your passengers can land you with a fine. International Drivers Association expert, Dominic Wyatt said people should keep calm, respectful, and remember that traffic dispute carry the potential for a £1000 fine in the UK. The Verbal Assault Legislation in the UK The
How does Japanese Knotweed affect the price of a property and should you buy a house if the invasive plant has been spotted nearby? Recent Environet research has been released, showing the hotspots for Japanese Knotweed across the UK. Compare My Move has put together some advice on how to deal with Japanese Knotweed and
Vehicles are being stripped for parts wherever they are parked, rather than being stolen and dismantled at another location. This technique is fast, does not rely on the criminals transporting or storing vehicles, and is also harder to protect against. Clive Wain, vehicle theft expert and Head of Police Liaison at Tracker said: “When the
An increase in the average cost of car insurance places it as the ‘third most expensive household bill’. The average cost of car insurance is now £776, after increasing by £119 (18%) in the past 3 months alone, according to the car insurance price index. Based on more than 6 million quotes over the quarter,
A warning has been issued after scammers have been posing as family members to steal information. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) revealed both parents and youngsters should be on their guard against a new spate of text messaging scams ahead of the summer holidays. In the scams, a text message purporting to be from
More than 500 homes were burgled each day in 2022, according to new research. In total 192,336 domestic burglaries were reported to the police in England and Wales last year, equivalent to 527 home burglaries each day – a slight increase from 2021 when there were 523 burglaries each day. Churchill Home Insurance, based data
People claiming Tax credits are being warned to be on their guard against fraudsters. The HMRC has issued a new alert, providing details of a number of new scams reported that aim to trick people into handing over money or personal information. Criminals use deadlines – like the tax credits renewal deadline on 31 July
With household bills and general cost of living ever increasing here are some top tips and tricks to minimise water usage. The Water Saving Week campaign highlights the growing importance of taking care with how we use water, to not only support the wider economic picture but also save you money. James Bell, Resident Service
The number of drivers charged with speeding offences has reached an eight-year high, reveals a new survey. In 2022, 236,480 motorists were convicted in court for speeding offences in England and Wales, a 16 per cent increase from the total in 2021 (203,545), says Churchill Motor Insurance. Last year’s figure represents the most drivers convicted
The pandemic has drawn families away from UK cities says a report released by the Royal Town Planning Institute. Increased interest in large family homes in rural areas suggests that families were looking for more space during the pandemic. But data collected by the Institute shows that first-time buyers, often younger and locally-based, are being
Parents have been urged to take extra precautions to keep their children safe on social media this summer. Social media is fuelling a a rise in online crimes and the past year has seen a surge of cyber offences against children in the UK, with 30,000 reports recorded by police. This is a 66% increase from
A plumbing register asked its members for their top advice for customers moving into a new home. This is what they said. WaterSafe, the UK national accreditation body for approved plumbers, has put together its five top tips to help people moving home. • Find and test your internal stop tap – where your water
Millions of households across England faced a 5% council tax increase this month. If you are considering moving, it’s essential to know the potential outgoings of a new home and other crucial questions to ask when viewing a property to avoid any red flags later in the buying process. Anna McEntee from the home insurance
Parents have been urged to ensure their toddlers and young children wear seatbelts when travelling in the back seat of their cars. Road safety technology experts at Snooper said youngsters can be tempted to undo their own seat belts during journeys, so it is important for parents to make sure they haven’t unclicked. The plea
Drivers are being warned of a new type of crash for cash scam, dubbed ‘clip for cash’, which has been spreading across the country. The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) warned unlike traditional crash for cash scams where fraudsters cause a collision, this involves scammers accusing
The Isles of Scilly is the local authority with the least energy efficient homes in England and Wales, new analysis has revealed Uswitch’s ranked 331 local authorities which found that Wales makes up five of the ten of the local authorities with the least efficient homes. All of the areas with the hardest to heat
The Migration Bill could lead to ‘violations of right to life and threaten protections from torture and slavery’, the Law Society has said. The controversial proposals to curb Channel crossings would see refugees arriving by boats removed and banned for life from claiming asylum in the UK. Powers would be granted to detain migrants for
More than 24.5 million people (46%) are financially disengaged, claims new research. The study by from Legal & General Retail also shows that one in 20 adults – the equivalent of 2.4 million2 people – were previously financially engaged before changing their behaviour. Key reasons for this change include feeling financially secure enough to be
Several UK cities have been identified as having higher rates of road rage incidents than others. The International Drivers Association surveyed 10,000 motorists and requested 43 FOI requests from UK police forces to find out the UK’s road rage hotspots. Participants were asked when driving, which common road rage behaviours do you find yourself doing,
As with other social media platforms, like Instagram and Facebook, TikTok’s algorithm selects content suitable for users which coincides with their viewing habits. The team of addiction specialists at Private Rehab Clinic, Delamere, have shared their insight on why TikTok is so addictive and how to recognise when your usage develops into addiction and tips
Homeowners in Liverpool are enjoying the quickest sales in the UK, according to research by property website Zoopla. Several major cities are among the fastest moving markets in the UK as the pandemic-driven trend for buying in rural and coastal areas comes to an end. Homes in lower-cost and well-connected suburbs are being snapped up
UK adults are most likely to turn to online and TV experts when it comes to planning their financial future, says a new survey. More than a third (35%) said they use this source when managing their finances, followed by comparison sites (30%) and family members (29% says research by Quilter. The research suggests that
There are different rules when it comes to paying business rates for empty properties and certain properties are exempt. According to rulings you may not have to pay business rates on: agricultural land and buildings, including fish farms buildings used for training or welfare of disabled people buildings registered for public religious worship or church
Shoppers have been warned ahead of the busiest online shopping periods of the year. Lloyds Bank issued an urgent warning to Christmas shoppers to be wary of fraudsters this festive season. The warning comes as research from the bank revealed that the number of online shopping scams increased by 20% in December last year, compared
With temperatures set to plummet in the coming month homeowners up and down the country will be looking to control heating bills. Now, NFU Mutual is warning people to take steps to prevent pipes from freezing and avoid repair bills which can run to £8,000 and beyond. As people look to tackle the cost-of-living crisis
Motorists are being urged to check they’re covered as police launch national crackdown on uninsured driving. Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver and tragically, each day at least one person suffers an injury so severe that they require life-long care. Therefore, on 21-27 November all police
With the lack of sunlight during the winter mornings, Brits struggling to get out of bed are being advised on how to wake up easier. Waking up during the darker winter mornings can become quite a challenge, as the limited amount of sunshine can significantly impact the circadian rhythm. Adapting the bedtime routine by having
More than 12,000 Brits had their registration plates cloned over the past 18 months, according to new figures. Data from the DVLA has revealed the staggering number of drivers reporting that they have received fines, penalties or letters for misdemeanours involving vehicles that were displaying their reg – but that they didn’t recognise. The stats,
Ofwat has called on water companies to trial creative and targeted ways in calculating customers’ charges to help make sure those who need support can get it. In the midst of cost of living concerns, the regulator is pushing companies to think differently about how they work with customers and develop models of differentiation in
Following the release of the Forbes 2022 World Billionaire List, it became apparent – many of the billionaires are able to speak a second language. To investigate further, a new study by Preply has revealed the world’s ‘richest’ languages by identifying the top three languages spoken by the world’s wealthiest people. The data revealed that
Experts have shared a few tips on how to fix a cold radiator which may help to heat your home more efficiently. Boiler Central have explained why radiators might be cold at the bottom and how to fix this common problem. Radiators have a job of keeping the house warm, so when a radiator is
A new study has looked at diversity across legal dramas to see if equality is shared by shows. As part of a new study, the team at BPP University Law School analysed characters’ and their job roles across 30 different legal dramas, to reveal whether what we see on TV is reflective of steps being
The pandemic has drawn families away from UK cities says a report released by the Royal Town Planning Institute. Increased interest in large family homes in rural areas suggests that families were looking for more space during the pandemic. But data collected by the Institute shows that first-time buyers, often younger and locally-based, are being
The average length of time it takes to sell a home is increasing according to property website Zoopla. The average time between a home being listed and a sale being agreed was 22 days in May, up from an average of 20 days in March. It identified the South West of England as the fastest-moving
Less and less people are looking forward to receiving a wedding invite due to rising costs of attending someone’s special day. That is according to new research from SpareRoom, which also reveals that one in four (27%) Gen Zs and millennials would rather not be invited to a wedding, hen or stag do due to
First results of last year’s census shows the official population was 59,597,300 on Census Day, 21 March 2021 in England and Wales. This was the largest population ever recorded through a census in England and Wales – an increase of more than 3.5 million (6.3%) compared with Census Day 2011. The population is also ageing,
With the cost of living rising and debt being on the minds of many, working out what’s best for your finances can feel overwhelming. Laura Howard, money expert at Forbes Advisor, offers 5 tips to help keep your head above water. Ensure that a credit card is your servant, not your master Used to their
More than 8 million phones were lost or stolen in 2021- that’s over 1,000 every hour. What can you do to protect your most prized possession? Brean Horne, a personal finance expert at comparison site, NerdWallet, shares five precautions holidaymakers should take to protect themselves if their device gets lost or stolen abroad.
The government has said the new Financial Services and Markets Bill, announced in today’s Queen’s Speech will support consumers by ‘protecting access to cash’. Cash remains an important payment method for millions of people across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and the government said it is committed to preserving it. The Bill will
There are so many decisions to be made when you are looking to invest and renovate in a property. Here are some tips from Evolving Home. Location The location of a property is crucial when deciding to purchase a property to renovate, or else you’ll have a tough time finding a house to make your
Families in the UK have made nearly 32,000 reclaims for overpaid inheritance tax in the past six year, official figures obtained by NFU Mutual have revealed. Inheritance tax is assessed on the value of a person’s estate on the date of death and the tax must normally be paid within six months. If, when the
Homeowners left in the shadows by neighbouring home extensions could claim for compensation or have them removed a new consumer guide published by the RICS says. With a mini boom in new home extensions following the pandemic, (Savills found that nearly 250,000 were given permission in the year up to September 2021 alone) those living
People are being warned of new scams and reminded of tell-tale signs that you may have been contacted by a scammer. The pandemic saw a sharp increase in scams which included promises of a payment from HMRC to support individuals during the lockdown or offers of a vaccination booking for a fee. The Local Government
Cars and furniture came out on top of most searched second-hand items on the internet. Shopping site For-Sale analysed Google data to find the number of searches per month that contained the key term ‘second hand’, revealing which pre-owned items are the most searched for in the UK. Claiming first place is ‘cars’, totalling an
A majority of people in the UK reject the rationale underpinning the government’s Nationality and Borders Bill which singles out those who make their own way to safety, a new poll by the Law Society says. Under the government’s Nationality and Borders Bill, refugees would be given only temporary protection, with very few rights (to
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned customers not to share sensitive personal information online to avoid their identities being used to commit tax fraud. Criminals are attempting to obtain customers’ Government Gateway logins and other personal details, enabling them to register for Income Tax Self Assessment and submit bogus tax refund claims before pocketing
House price growth showed signs of slowing, according to a leading property website. New listings were 5% higher than the five-year average during the month, signalling the start of a recovery in supply says Zoopla. The increase in homes coming on to the market was seen across all property types, including much in demand three
Shopworkers have spoken out about ‘violence, threats and abuse’ they face on an almost daily basis. Retail trade union Usdaw has published shocking statistics from their annual survey of nearly 3,500 retail staff, which shows that 90% have experienced verbal abuse and 64% were threatened by a customer. The survey also says 12% were assaulted
If you own property, you will be well aware of having to maintain it Sovereign Boss has prepared 7 tips on how to choose a reputable tradesperson to repair damages from potential leaks and damage caused. Homeowners are at risk of losing thousands of pounds if targeted by a rogue tradesperson, especially after bad weather
The most expensive and cheapest streets in Blackburn and Darwen have been revealed. House sales company Property Solvers tracked average sold price data from HM Land Registry since 2016 to see where the highest and lowest-priced homes are located across the BB2 and BB3 postcodes. On Billinge End Road (BB2), 10 properties sold for an
Cyber fraud is said to be most common in the Southwest of England, whereas arson and criminal damage most common in the Northwest The study by A-Plan Insurance has discovered the most common type of crime in England and Wales. The study analysed ONS data on the number and type of crimes committed between May
More than four in ten British homeowners transformed their spare bedrooms into offices, gyms, cinemas and more throughout the pandemic. Zoopla surveyed homeowners across the UK to understand how the nation’s room requirements shifted – and how our homes changed as a result. Among those who changed their homes, more than half (53%) said they
The southwest region of the UK is the country’s most dangerous place to work according to a survey by an insurance provider. The study by A-Plan Insurance examined the Labour Force Survey to reveal the region in the UK that is most susceptible to workplace injuries based on the most non-fatal injuries reported over the past three
The ‘Council Tax band’ was the most common question new buyers search for when they are looking to move home or get on to the property ladder. Barratt London wanted to know exactly the burning questions people moving home. ‘Changing address when moving house’ and ‘who to inform when moving home’ were also up there
The Range Rover Sport tops the most commonly stolen and recovered league table in 2021. That is according to the latest data analysis by stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) expert, Tracker Network UK Limited. Range Rover and Land Rover models dominated in 2021 with a total of seven models accounting for an astonishing 44% of all stolen
The average price of a detached home has increased by more than £60,000 since March 2020, research by the Halifax has found. The analysis, based on data from the Halifax House Price Index and conducted in partnership with IHS Markit, found that the cost of detached properties in the UK has risen at almost twice
The person in the driving seat of a self-driving vehicle would no longer be held responsible for accidents and infringements under law reforms proposed. The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (the Law Commissions) have published their joint report, making recommendations for ‘the safe and responsible introduction of self-driving vehicles’.
A study analysed searches for popular holiday destinations, along with terms like “holiday to”, “flights to” and “hotel in” to see which locations came out on top. The study by LuxuryHotel.com found that the Middle Eastern city of Dubai was the UK’s favourite, with 106,650 searches a month from prospective holiday-goers. The term “flights to
London ended 2021 as Britain’s most searched-for location for buyers looking for their next home, just pipping Cornwall to the post. London is historically the most searched-for location on Rightmove. However, in January and February 2021, Cornwall replaced London with the highest number of searches as demand soared from buyers looking to make post-lockdown lifestyle
The number of people taking their first step on to the property ladder with a mortgage last year is estimated to have topped 400,000 for the first time since 2006. But Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), which made the calculations, said it is unlikely that first-time buyer numbers will continue to be seen at this level
The ongoing pandemic and recent increase in living expenses is causing the average UK personal debt to more than double in the space of just 12 months. The figures have been revealed in money.co.uk’s annual debt index. Around six in ten (59.7%) consumers admitted to being in debt right now, not counting mortgages, with the
New analysis has found that Erith, London is the hardest place to pass your driving test, in the UK. The study by A-Plan Insurance examined the pass rate percentage of major driving test centres in the UK – those that have conducted at least 900 tests since April 2020 – to determine the one with
The Government has published details on those wishing to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you have a family member settled in the UK. You can apply as: a partner – with your family visa; a partner – as a dependant on your partner’s work visa; a parent – with your family visa; a
Have you been thinking of moving home, but keep putting it off until 2022? With the new year just around the corner, A leading property website says it is seeing lots of home-hunters starting to put their moving plans into action. Rightmove says there are signs of a ‘closer to normal’ market in 2022 The
More than 13 years after the 2008 crash Durham and Hartlepool are the last two places in the UK where property prices are yet to recover to pre-crash levels, reveals research by home setup service Just Move In. Property prices have surged during the pandemic, with the average home hitting record levels, but parts of
People should be able to make a flexible working request from the moment they are offered a job, solicitors’ leaders have said. The Law Society of England and Wales submitted its response to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s consultation: Making Flexible Working the Default. Since 2014, all employees have had the right
Households have been urged to prepare for the risk of flooding after the Met office predicted a wetter than normal winter. According to money.co.uk, if you’re affected by flood or storm damage and you want to make a claim on your home insurance policy, there are several steps you must take immediately, in order to
Are you thinking of selling your home in the new year, but planning to wait until January? Sellers often wait until well after Christmas to get their home on the market, but estate agents are reporting that more people are getting a head-start on 2022 by preparing to sell now. Rightmove saw a 14% jump
The UK must open the new Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme for Afghans at risk as a matter of urgency, the Law Society of England and Wales has said. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “We have received scores of desperate messages from people who dedicated their lives to building Afghanistan’s justice system and upholding
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding people to be on their guard after nearly 800,000 tax-related scams were reported in the last year. Fraudsters use Self Assessment to try and steal money or personal information from unsuspecting individuals. In the last year alone, HMRC has received nearly 360,000 bogus tax rebate referrals. The Self
A stolen vehicle recovery expert has shared details on how to reduce the risk of theft and avoid insurance premium nightmares. With research showing the average cost of an insurance premium rises by £629 following the theft of car, stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) expert Tracker Network (UK) Ltd is offering advice on how to mitigate
House prices in the North West and Yorkshire could grow more than any other part of the UK according to latest research. New figures from estate agents Savills show the average cost of a home in the region is predicted to rise to £272,732 by 2026 compared to the current average of £229,572. The increase
Getting rid of stubborn frost can be a laborious task, but it is an important one. Many motorists don’t realise that driving with frost on your windscreen is against the rules of the Highway Code and is supported by law. This means that those who ignore these guidelines could find themselves charged with a number
Around 550,000 homes across Britain are estimated to be going through the sales process, says a property website. This is lower than the 700,000 homes changing hands in June, when home-buyers rushed to obtain the maximum discounts available under the stamp duty holiday. Rightmove said that, with fewer sales now being dealt with, there are
The government has announced plans to encourage households to swap gas boilers with low-carbon heating options, including heat pumps. A £5,000 grant will be offered to people living in England and Wales from next April as part of a £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Currently, 22 million homes in the UK are heated by natural
The cost of car insurance in the UK is at the lowest point in six years new data reveals. That is according to the latest car insurance price index from Confused.com, powered by Willis Towers Watson. Based on more than six million quotes per quarter, it’s the most comprehensive car insurance price index for new
A leading property sales portal has found people are searching for homes near to train stations as the gradual return to offices begins. With a quick route into the office rising up the priority list again for commuters, Right Move says it has seen a big jump in buyer searches for homes near commuter stations
What are your options if you want to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK if your relationship has broken down because of domestic violence or abuse? Here is the official advice from the Home Office. Domestic violence and abuse can be emotional, psychological, physical, sexual or financial. It includes threatening or controlling
Members of the Windrush generation have been paid over £30.6 million in compensation the Home Office says. The Windrush Compensation Scheme paid more than £1.5 million in the month of August – bringing the total amount paid and offered to more than £36 million. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I have been clear that I
News that small law firms will be exempt from the UK government’s economic crime levy has been welcomed by The Law Society. But the body also warned the levy will still have an unjustified and negative impact on legal services. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “The legal profession is at the forefront in
Nearly five million people have been allowed to continue living and working in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme so far, say government figures. The Home Office says as of the end of June, 4,908,760 people had been granted an immigration status to remain in the country after freedom of movement ended following the
The government should rethink plans to limit costs that can be recovered in civil litigation cases, the Law Society of England and Wales has said. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “The vulnerable and the less well-off would too often be unable to seek redress if fixed recoverable costs were extended to cover cases
The UK food and drink sector is calling for a ’12-month Covid-19 Recovery Visa’ to help alleviate the workforce shortages that are causing serious disruption across the whole of the supply chain. The report has been sent to government ministers highlighting the impact the pandemic and the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy is having on the
The government has set out a series of reforms which it says will allow businesses to access skilled talent from abroad quicker and easier. Reforms outlined in the sponsorship roadmap will continue to ease burdensome administrative processes, which organisations sponsoring workers must go through. Through a range of technological and system improvements, the visa sponsor system will:
If you’re considering moving home, here is what’s happening in the market right now. Rightmove have tracked asking prices every month, from when sellers first list a property for sale, to when they find a buyer. Here they take a look at how many buyers are viewing and sending enquiries to estate agents. 1. Asking
Councils in England, Scotland and Wales will have access to a share of £5m to help them provide the housing and support to Afghans who have worked for this country in Afghanistan. The Afghan LES (Locally Employed Staff) Housing Costs Fund will provide a top up to help councils meet the costs of renting properties
Those eligible to make an application through the EU Settlement Scheme are being urged to apply. Statistics released (Thursday 12 August) shows a further 144,100 applications were concluded in July. By 31 July 2021, 6,073,600 applications were received to the hugely successful scheme, with 58,200 applications received in the last month. Preliminary nationality data shows
With record numbers of people looking to move, Righmove’s latest research shows that sellers have the best chance of finding a buyer now than at any other time in the past ten years. Rightmove have compared 13 million property listings and tracked the journey of a property going up for sale, to it being marked
For Brits, driving in the EU has, for many years, been straightforward. Once you were used to driving on the right-hand side of the road, you were free to drive through Europe. However, now the UK has left the EU, driving into Europe is not as simple as it once was. That said, not every
Those who apply late to the EU Settlement Scheme, and joining family members, will have rights protected while their application is determined, the government has announced. More than 6 million applications were made to the hugely successful EUSS before the 30 June 2021 deadline for those resident in the UK by the end of the
The average price motorists are paying for their motor insurance now stands at a five year low according to the ABI’s latest Motor Insurance Premium Tracker. The Tracker is the only market survey that looks at the price consumers pay for their cover, rather than the price they are quoted. The ABI’s latest Tracker for
Police are urging anyone with any suspicions about modern slavery to come forward – after officers’ investigations led to the jailing of two men who exploited foreign car wash workers. Detectives say the convictions at Carlisle Crown Court show how these crimes can take place anywhere, with victims sometimes working in public-facing roles. Sitar Ali,
The number of domestic Energy Performance Certificates for new builds has gone up 16% over the last 12 months. This now means 85% of new homes in England and Wales are in the highest energy efficient bands with an energy rating of A or B. EPCs are mandatory for all domestic buildings and provide new
House sales surged to record levels in June as buyers looked to beat the stamp duty deadline. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said an estimated 213,120 sales took place in June – the highest monthly UK total since the introduction of the statistics in April 2005 reports PA. The figure was 216.1% higher than June
Professional jobs are on the up, but the lack of diversity is stalling progression in professional services. Hybrid and flexible working could provide an opportunity to change the current status quo in the legal profession, according to the Law Society of England and Wales. The Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation report 2021 found
Victims who are homeless due to domestic abuse will be prioritised for accommodation from their council it has been announced Under the government’s landmark Domestic Abuse Act councils will have to find accommodation for people made homeless through domestic abuse, helping to ensure victims do not remain with their abuser for fear of not having a roof
Those from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to face complaints from the regulator than their white colleagues, a study by the Bar Standards Board says. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published a new statistical analysis of the outcomes of complaints made about barristers in England and Wales, and the likelihood of barristers being subject to
Changes in the movement of people to and from the European Union, which will come into effect next year, require urgent preparation and clarification, the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has said. In a letter published today to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, the committee refers to two
More Nightingale courts will shut this week, the government has said, despite demands from the legal profession for more court capacity reports the Law Gazette. Courts in Birmingham, Hull, Lancaster, Middlesbrough and Stafford will close at the end of the month. HM Courts & Tribunals Service said it will consider replacement venues in locations where
Companies in England now owe local councils almost £2.5 billion in unpaid business rates, according to new analysis. Many firms have seen their debt piles climb higher over the past year after being forced to shut their doors for long periods or having faced disruption from pandemic restrictions. The Government has offered retail, leisure and
More than 300,000 applications for the EU settlement scheme are waiting to be processed just weeks before the deadline for entries. EU citizens and their families are asked to apply to the Home Office scheme by the end of June, in order to continue living and working in the UK now the Brexit transition period
With the demand for properties continuing to increase what do the experts say? The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has warned that the gap between supply and demand in the housing market is the highest it has been since 2013. 32% of those in the property industry reported an increase in people looking to
Some people in London are paying a typical premium of nearly £50,000 to be close to transport links. Those in Glasgow and Manchester face paying around £11,000 more on average, Nationwide Building Society found. Nationwide compared house prices within 500 metres of the nearest metro or railway station with similar properties 1.5 kilometres away. It
House prices went up by 10.9% annually in May making it the strongest growth in nearly seven years, according to an index. The house price growth recorded in May followed a 7.1% annual increase recorded in April, Nationwide Building Society said. Across the UK, property values hit a new record average of £242,832 – up
The UK Government is being urged to extend the deadline for a scheme allowing EU citizens living in the UK to apply for settled status. The current deadline is June 30 and Jenny Gilruth, Scotland’s Europe Minister said thousands of those eligible in Scotland have not yet applied reports PA. Applying to the EU Settlement
The number of people offered protection in the UK, in the form of asylum, resettlement and other types of leave, fell by more than a half in the year to March 2021, figures show. A total of 8,640 people were granted protection, down 58% from 20,331 in the previous year reports PA. It is the
Britain’s pandemic property market boom is set to roll on as government support for the roaring market continues says a poll by news agency Reuters. House prices rose at the fastest annual rate in nearly 14 years in March, official data showed on Thursday, after a tax cut and a mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time
The CPS has reviewed a full year’s worth of cases charged under the coronavirus legislation. Prosecutors checked 1,821 finalised cases under the Coronavirus Act and Health Protection Regulations between 26 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. A total of 549 incorrect charges were identified, which were either withdrawn by prosecutors at the first court hearing
A young farmer from Leicestershire has become the 300,000th homeowner to use the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme since its launch in 2013. Sam Legg, 19, from Asfordby, bought the 300,000th Help to Buy home and is now urging others to join the government scheme. Chair of Homes England Peter Freeman said: “Today’s milestone
Crisis, along with over sixty-five other organisations have released a joint statement condemning UK Government plans to use rough sleeping as grounds for removing someone from the country. Home Office guidance published last month outlines that the policy should only be used in cases where someone has refused or disengaged with support and is engaged in
House prices have risen by 8.2% annually in April, passing a record high set the previous month, according to the Halifax Across the UK, the average house price in April was £258,204. Property values increased by 1.4% month on month. Halifax predicts that the pace of house price growth will slow later in the year.
Seven out of the top 10 property price hotspots are in the North West of England, according to a Rightmove study. Wallasey in Merseyside saw prices up by 15.6% annually on average and nearly £24,000 higher than a year ago. Nationally, asking prices are at a record high of £327,797, an annual rise of 5.1%
The average house price has gone up by nearly £16,000 the Nationwide Building Society has said Property values hit a peak of £238,831 in April and the average price had increased by £15,916 over the previous 12 months. House prices jumped by 2.1% month on month, marking the biggest monthly increase since 2004. The report
The Domestic Abuse Bill has passed both Houses of Parliament and been signed into law. What does it mean for victims? The Government says the Domestic Abuse Act will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators. For the first time in history there will be a
Nearly £150 billion-worth of home sales took place across the UK in the first 15 weeks of this year, according to a property website. The £149 billion total of sales recorded represents nearly double the value of homes sold subject to contract in the same period in 2020 and 2019, Zoopla said. The research also
‘It used to be the case that there was very little accommodation in the legal professional clothing market for women generally,’ says criminal barrister Maryam Mir who helped to design a Hijab for female Muslim barristers. That was indicative of the fact that women generally were not properly represented at the bar. Women now make
A new government-backed mortgage scheme to help people with 5% deposits get on to the housing ladder is now available to lenders. First announced at the Budget, the scheme will help first time buyers or current homeowners secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit to buy a house of up to £600,000 – providing
The number of properties offloaded by landlords fell to a seven-year low in 2020 as the coronavirus crisis meant investors had limited opportunities to sell up, research has found. Across Britain, an estimated 131,900 properties were sold by landlords in 2020, marking the smallest number since 2013, according to estate agents Hamptons. Looking just at
Thousands of crucial frontline health workers and their dependents will be granted free visa extensions. Free one-year visa extensions will be automatically granted to eligible overseas health and care workers whose visas were due to expire before 1 October 2021. Since starting the free extensions last year, the Home Office has extended the visas of
Families coming to live in the UK from Hong Kong using a new visa route will benefit from a support package worth £43 million, the Government says. New welcome hubs will help arrivals from Hong Kong to access housing, education and employment to build a life in the UK, according to the Ministry of Housing,
People have been urged to apply for a British passport to allow more time for it to be processed. The government said while it is still illegal to holiday overseas and the “Stay in the UK” regulation remains in place, by applying for a passport now, people can make sure nothing stands in their way
The overhaul of the UK’s asylum system will “punish” people seeking safety and put more lives at risk, refugees living in the country have said. As reported by PA, the Home Secretary announced “the most significant overhaul of our asylum system in decades” and people who arrive in the UK illegally will no longer have
Court fees across the civil and family jurisdictions are set to increase as the government seeks millions more to fund the service. The Ministry of Justice this week opened a consultation on a plan to increase fees by around 8% across the board – including at the Court of Protection. The income threshold for receiving
Building owners could face unlimited fines following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety, the Home Office has announced. As part of the government’s work to ensure people are safe in their homes, these limitless fines will be handed out to anyone caught obstructing or impersonating a fire inspector as well as to
Hundreds of coronavirus laws have been brought into force in the last year, amounting to some of the most sweeping powers curtailing freedoms in peacetime history. Rules on why people could leave their house, what they could do, where they could go and who they could see while being bound by orders on wearing face
Councils in England will have more freedom on how they spend the money from homes sold through Right to Buy (the sale of a council house), to help them build the homes needed in their communities, under reforms announced (20 March 2021) by Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP. The package will make it
The Home Office has launched (Thursday 11 March), a modern slavery statement registry online, to provide a platform for organisations to share the positive steps they have taken to tackle and prevent modern slavery. The registry will enhance transparency and accessibility, by bringing modern slavery statements together in one place and will make it easier to
Social housing residents will be helped with improving their living conditions through a new government campaign launched this week. ‘Make Things Right’ will help residents raise complaints if they are unhappy with their landlord and struggling to get problems resolved, with clear advice on how to progress issues to the Housing Ombudsman if necessary. The launch of
New ‘gold standard’ procedures for identifying conveyancing clients remotely have been by HM Land Registry. The Digital Identity Standard will enable commercial companies to certify individuals’ identity to a level of security sufficient for property transactions. Conveyancers adopting such systems will also be exempt from ‘recourse’ claims from HMLR in the event of a fraud.
The population could shrink by 2% after the coronavirus pandemic if “missing” migrant workers do not return to the UK or are not replaced, a watchdog has warned. This poses a “risk to potential output in the longer term”, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – which analyses the country’s economic forecast – said in
New amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill providing greater protections for victims are bing announced. The proposals include making non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison. The act typically involves an abuser strangling or intentionally affecting their victim’s breathing in an attempt to control or intimidate them. Today’s
The Chancellor is set to announce a fast-track visa for highly skilled migrants in the Budget next week, as the UK tries to attract staff for rapidly growing new companies. Rishi Sunak hopes that the new scheme will allow companies to take applications from the best potential employees around the world, a move the Treasury
First-time buyers are re-emerging in the housing market this year, after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic meant their plans were put on hold in 2020 says Zoopla. The increase could add to the upward pressure on property prices climbing higher as demand for homes outweighs supply. Zoopla said the share of first-time buyers purchasing
People from Poland and Romania have made more applications to the EU settlement scheme than any other nationality it has been revealed. A total of 5,060,600 applications have been received since the scheme opened in March 2019, according to provisional Home Office figures to the end of January reports PA. More than 2.4 million of
The government has confirmed that legislation paving the way for whiplash reforms will come into force from 31 May reports the Law Society. Newly-published draft statutory instruments have also finally indicated the tariff levels at which damages will be set for soft tissue injuries suffered in road traffic accidents. The total damages for pain, suffering
Urgent action is needed to prevent tens of thousands of property market transactions collapsing at the cliff-edge end of the stamp duty holiday. The Law Society of England and Wales is urging people to write to their MP calling for swift action to protect consumers ahead of the budget on 3 March and the stamp
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill concluded its passage through the House of Commons. It will return to the House of Lords to consider an amendment before receiving Royal assent. However, lord chancellor Robert Buckland told MPs that the bill’s reforms will not come into force on Royal assent ‘because time needs to be allowed
Paisley in central Scotland has been identified as Britain’s top property hotspot, with asking prices there surging by 15% over the past year. Lancaster and Wigan in northern England rounded off the top three places in the list, compiled by Rightmove, reports PA. London was excluded from the main research. The strongest asking price growth
Around one in five home buyers who agreed a deal last July when a stamp duty holiday was announced have still not completed their purchase, analysis suggests. The stamp duty holiday is due to end on March 31 2021. Rightmove has estimated that around 100,000 buyers who agreed a purchase before Christmas will fail to
A businessman embroiled in a fight over money with his estranged wife has failed to convince a judge that he has lost a £30 million fortune and is in “negative territory”. He told Mr Justice Cohen he had been worth about £30 million in 2007, the year he married his wife, but had lost “all
An increasing number of concerned individuals are contacting offices across the Royal Courts of Justice following emails or phone calls by scammers. The scammers allege that payment is owed to HMRC and that warrants for arrest have been issued. Scammers tell individuals to look up contact details for the Royals Courts of Justice to verify
With the lockdown expected to last until the end of the month at least here are the rules you should be aware of. Can I get fined for going out? The instruction is to stay at home whenever possible, except for when there is a “reasonable excuse”. These reasons include work, volunteering, food shopping, exercise
Solicitors will have to submit probate applications online from next month under legislation laid in parliament, as the government promises a ‘quicker and more reliable’ probate service. According to the Law Gazette, the statutory instrument mandates that legal professionals use the online system in the majority of probate cases from 2 November. For more complex cases involving
Renters affected by coronavirus will continue to be supported over autumn and winter through comRenters affected by coronavirus will continue to be supported over autumn and winter through comprehensive measures confirmed today (10 September 2020) by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. The government has changed the law to increase notice periods to 6 months meaning renters now
A solicitor has been struck off the solicitor’s roll after being found guilty of misconduct. Cabeer Ahmed used £100,000 from a client’s estate to re-pay debts he owed to HM Revenue & Customs and an indemnity insurer. Ahmed’s misconduct resulted in the Solicitor’s Compensation Fund having to pay double that amount to cover the misdemeanour.
STEP and the Law Society of England and Wales have supported the compulsory use of the online probate system, however, they have urged the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to be cautious. The online service has been available for personal applications since late 2016. This was then extended to professionals after changes to non-contentious probate rules
Despite an increase in divorce and wills work, profits fell for the Co-op’s legal services business, caused apparently by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Law Gazette, half-year results published by the retailer, covering the six months to 24 July, showed that underlying profits for Co-op Legal Services were down from £3m to £2m, with turnover
Citizens Advice has warned that the coronavirus is creating an “enormous strain” on relationships. Citizens Advice said divorce guidance searches had increased since April after a drop in visits when lockdown started. Citizens Advice said views on its divorce webpage on the first September weekend had risen by 25% in comparison to the same date
According to the Law Gazette, a statutory instrument legalising video-witnessed wills has been laid before parliament and will come into force at the end of the month. In an order laid in the House of Commons, the lord chancellor temporarily amended the Wills Act of 1837, allowing the witnessing of wills to take place via
A wealthy Russian businessman and his ex-wife continue to be embroiled in a divorce battle years after telling a judge they had settled their differences over his fortune. Arkady Rotenberg and his ex-wife Natalia began disputing money in 2014. Mr Justice Moor oversaw private hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London and Court
Thousands of landlords are trying to avoid renting their properties to benefit claimants, according to the website OpenRent. However, a judge ruled “No DSS” (the Department of Social Security) rental bans were unlawful. According to the BBC, approximately 75% of listings on the website OpenRent said the landlords would not accept people on benefits. This
Proposed changes to outdated wedding laws will mean that couples could soon be free to get married on the beach, in a private garden or at sea. Furthermore, the Law Commission has suggested marriages could even be celebrated remotely over a video conference link, if another pandemic were to break out. The consultation on changing
The Court of Appeal has revealed a family case involving allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour came before at least 15 judges. According to the Law Gazette, in R v P (Children: Similar Fact Evidence), the court set aside a case management decision to exclude evidence in family proceedings ahead of a fact-finding hearing. The Law
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed Net migration in the UK was around 313,000 in the year to March. This figure is up on 221,000 from the previous year. This increase has been driven by higher numbers in non-EU nationals arriving in the UK to study. The latest numbers from the ONS show net
The Ministry of Justice revealed that a temporary statutory instrument will be laid in September allowing wills to be witnessed remotely in England and Wales. The Law Gazette reported that the statutory instrument will significantly alter the Wills Act 1837, which previously required two witnesses to be in the physical presence of the testator. The
The new wife of a British lawyer is not able to bring her to join him in the UK because the Home Office rejected a visa he did not apply for. Samir Pasha, 31, paid a total of £3,204 plus legal costs to bring his new wife Zunab Fareha Pasha, 24, to the UK. Pasha
The coronavirus could lead to married couples who were contemplating divorce to putting off proceedings, according to a new survey. A YouGov poll of more than 1,000 adults across the UK were asked whether the virus outbreak would influence their decision to divorce their partner. 28 per cent said they would be less likely to pursue divorce
A London trader embroiled in his divorced parents’ high-profile battle over money must explain what happened to around £13 million his billionaire father gave him in the past 20 months, a High Court judge said. Temur Akhmedov’s mother, Tatiana Akhmedova, is fighting for nearly £450 million that she is owed by his father, Farkhad Akhmedov.
Former Watford MP Richard Harrington has failed in a bid to keep a family court judge’s ruling on a money dispute with his ex-wife from becoming public. Judge Anne Hudd, who analysed the case in the Central Family Court in London, concluded the findings she made when deliberating the dispute between Richard Harrington and estranged
Sir Chris Hohn has been ordered to pay £270m to a charity setup by his ex-wife. The supreme court ordered Hohn to hand the money to his ex-wife Jamie Cooper’s charity, Big Win Philanthropy. The dispute over the charity cash came about after the couple’s acrimonious divorce in 2014. Hohn was ordered to pay
A family judge is to be replaced in a case after being overheard on a Zoom call making comments about the mother in a care proceedings hearing. According to The Law Gazette, Mrs Justice Judd had initially refused an application that she recuse herself from continuing to hear proceedings in respect of the 16-month-old boy.
A divorcee fighting to receive nearly £450 million owed to her billionaire ex-husband has raised new concerns about their eldest son’s involvement. Tatiana Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5% share of businessman Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1 billion-plus fortune by a British judge in 2016. The case was analysed at a trial in the Family Division of the
HM Land Registry has said the threat of another coronavirus outbreak will make people less tolerant of a paper-heavy conveyancing process and has outlined its own digital progress. According to The Law Gazette, in Land Registry’s latest annual report, chair Michael Mire anticipates a greater desire to make property transactions more digital over the coming year,
An immigration solicitor who falsified a series of correspondence and documents to cover his lack of activity has been struck off the roll by the tribunal. According to The Law Gazette, Christopher Ka Ki Cheng, who worked with London firm Farani Javid Taylor Solicitors, was found to have misled immigration clients who were vulnerable and
A judge has ruled that blanket bans on renting properties to people on housing benefit are unlawful and discriminatory. The court ruling found a single mother-of-two had encountered discrimination indirectly after a letting agent failed to rent to her. The woman and her children ended up being homeless. Her case was then taken on by
A landlord from Bury has been ordered to pay £5,200 in court costs after his three-storey house was closed for being a blight on the neighbourhood. The property, owned Abdul Razar Saddiqui, has been associated with drug-dealing and possible exploitation offences. Saddiqui, 52, contested the closure order, brought by Manchester City Council. Police had received
Couples seeking a no-fault divorce will have to wait until autumn 2021 although the proposed legislation removing fault from the divorce process has reached the final part of its parliamentary journey. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill concluded its passage through the House of Commons. It will return to the House of Lords to
The government’s tenant eviction ban will come to an end next month. Court proceedings to evict tenants in England have been on hold since March. The government stopped landlords beginning or continuing eviction proceedings in order to give tenants stability and security during lockdown. This meant landlords who issued eviction notices before also had to put proceedings
An aristocrat who says he and his estranged wife should fight over money in a Scottish court instead of an English one has lost a Supreme Court battle. Charles and Emma Villiers, who separated after 18 years of marriage, are divorcing in Scotland. However, they disagree about whether the case should be heard in an
A divorcee whose billionaire ex-husband owes her £450 million is waiting for a judge’s ruling after a divorce battle over a £346 million yacht and a modern art collection valued at more than £115 million. Tatiana Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5% share of businessman Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1 billion-plus fortune by a British judge in late
A woman who married her husband whilst working in his chip shop business has been awarded a £3.9 million divorce settlement. The judgement was given to the woman who has not been identified by judge Lady Wise. Lady Wise wrote, “At the time of the parties’ marriage, MMA and his brother TA were already operating
No fault divorce will start in autumn 2021, although proposed legislation removing fault from the divorce process has reached the conclusion of its parliamentary journey. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill ended its passage through the House of Commons and will return to the House of Lords to consider an amendment before receiving Royal assent.
A man was arrested by police after he was caught driving at 100mph under the influence of cannabis. Since lockdown measures were eased, Nottinghamshire Police have clocked 5,495 drivers caught speeding. Motorists have committed more speeding offences in the last few weeks compared to pre-lockdown. One 23-year-old man was arrested after driving at over 100mph.
The driver of a supercar was caught travelling at close to double the speed limit. Police spotted the red Lamborghini as it clocked a 120mph. According to Cheshire Special Constabulary, the vehicle’s driver has been reported. Following the incident, a spokesperson tweeted: “HU65 – S/SGT Radford & his regular colleague stopped a vehicle
A Coventry landlord has been ordered to repay almost £11,000 rent that was wrongly paid by tenants. A council investigation found Mrs Parvinjot Nagra failed to licence the property in Cannon Park for a period of eight months and failed in her management of the property. Mrs Nagra has been ordered to repay rent totalling
A bill introducing “no-fault” divorces in England and Wales has been supported by MPs. At present, to start divorce proceedings immediately, one spouse has to allege adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion has taken place. Under the proposed law, they will only have to state that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. The Divorce, Dissolution and
The government is looking at new plans which could result in drivers facing automatic fines of £130 for minor motoring offences. The plans could give more power to local councils to help improve roads for cyclists and pedestrians. The money raised would be invested into the road network system to fund traffic-reducing measures. Motorists who
Divorce inquiries have increased by more than 40% during the coronavirus lockdown, according to lawyers. Co-op Legal Services saw a 42% increase in divorce inquiries between March 23 and mid-May, in comparison to the same period last year. Co-op Legal Services said that during some weeks of the lockdown it saw inquiries jump by 75%
A driver was recorded doing 105mph on the A47 in Norfolk on the first day of a two-week crackdown on speeding. A two-week national speed campaign was launched on Monday, 25th May. However, on the same day, police caught a driver travelling at 105mph. Police tweeted that the driver had been issued a traffic offence
A motorist was recorded by police in the York area driving at 131mph. Motorists were also recorded travelling through 30mph residential areas at almost twice the speed limit. North Yorkshire Police warned motorists they were cracking down to prevent speeding and other motoring offences as roads become busier after some lockdown measures were eased. Speeds
A man has been jailed for eight months and banned from the road for three years for motoring offences including drink-driving. Scott Amos, of Jedburgh, appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to be sentenced for offences committed in February and April. Amos admitted driving a vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit and failing
A pensioner who was caught driving while disqualified on 41 occasions appeared in court on further motoring offences. Thomas Heron, 73, was disqualified from driving for life in March 2008. He caused a crash in September 2018 in Dundonald when driving to visit his partner in hospital. Heron admitted three charges after initially denying he
A man has been convicted after committing several motoring offences in Slough. Qasim Hussain, 21, was convicted after he was found guilty of the following offences: • One count of driving a motor vehicle which had been taken without the owner’s consent • On count of failing to stop when required by a constable, •
A woman fighting to receive nearly £450 million owed to her by her ex-husband has now made allegations about her eldest son. Tatiana Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5% share of businessman Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1 billion-plus fortune by a British judge in late 2016. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, who analysed the case at a trial in the
Last month, fines and costs equating to more than £44,000 were handed out at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court in a single session lasting less than three hours. Offenders had been fined a total of £32,357, with £7,735 in costs and £4,083 in mandatory victim surcharges. The offences were committed before the coronavirus lock down.
New data revealed by the RAC shows 44% of UK adults claim to have noticed more drivers speeding than before the lockdown. RAC statistics found roads with 30mph speed limits are most abused by motorists. 23% of those surveyed said they had seen drivers breaking the law. Roads with 20mph and 40mph speed limits are
A car thief from Oxford who was given a chance to prove himself by a court judge has been jailed after committing more offences. Joseph Holden, 26, previously appeared at Oxford Crown Court after pleading guilty to several motoring offences. Holden was caught last year and was charged with aggravated vehicle theft, driving while disqualified,
An increasing number of people have been caught speeding in Kent, which is thought to be partly linked to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown. Alan Pughsley, Chief Constable of Kent Police, said, “It might be one of the reasons, we don’t know yet, but we have got a small increase in high-end, fast driving, erratic driving
UK police have revealed speeding motorists have been travelling at more than double the limit during lockdown. One driver was recorded at 134mph in a 40mph limit in London, while another was clocked at 115mph on a 40mph road in Greater Manchester. The police said it was the minority who ignored rules. Supt Julie Ellison,
According to Scottish Government figures, men are 11 times more likely to be caught driving without seatbelts and having vehicle defects compared to female drivers. The figures further found that there are eight times as many men penalised for using a mobile phone behind the wheel than women in Scotland. A total of 192 men
Motorists were caught driving at “extreme speeds” over the Easter weekend. One driver was caught driving at 151mph. Police also caught a driver travelling at 97mph in a 40 zone and four drivers going over 100mph on the A13. Detective Sergeant Andy Cox, Scotland Yard’s lead officer on roads policing, posted video footage of a
A woman has been charged with road traffic offences after a car was being driven at “significant speeds” in the Highlands. A video on social media appeared to show the woman driving between 130mph and 150mph on a 60mph road. The 20-year-old woman has also been reported in connection with Covid-19 offences. A 25-year-old man
A man who was caught speeding on a motorway journey from London to Nottingham to buy bread has been fined. The man was in his car with his two young children. He was caught driving at 110mph on the motorway. When questioned by police, he told them he had been to London to buy bread
Police have clocked a driver speeding at 132mph during lockdown. The car was recorded speeding on a stretch in North Yorkshire where the maximum speed limit is 70mph. The driver was stopped and reported for a speeding offence. Police say motorists are continuing to abuse quieter road conditions as a result of coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
Derry and Strabane council area had the highest rate of offences in the past year of people being caught driving whilst on their phones. Derry and Strabane council area had the highest rate of offences in the last 12 months of people being caught driving whilst on their phones. New statistics released by the PSNI
Due to Coronavirus lockdown measures, speed awareness courses have been suspended, raising the risk of motorists accumulating penalty points instead. Speed awareness courses have been suspended for 12 weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Minor driving offences could result in stricter penalties as motorists will not have the option to choose a speed
Police are warning motorists to adhere to the rules of the road after detecting excessively high speeds and other driving offences on key routes across North Yorkshire. Officers believe that less traffic on the road is encouraging some drivers to speed and drive unsafely. Police are urging motorists not to tie up valuable police or
A motorist has been fined more than £15,000 after accumulating what is believed to be a record 150 points on his licence. Marius Balan’s BMW was caught 30 times by speed cameras on the same stretch of road over just five months. After failing to respond to police notices, he was given six penalty points
A driver has been reported for traffic offences in Bradford. The vehicle was seized under section 59 due to a previous warning. Police reported that the Vauxhall hatchback which was speeding up the motorway caught their attention. They tweeted: “But not as much as exiting quickly over the white lines and then contravening a road
A businessman repeatedly caught speeding in his Range Rover escaped a lengthy driving ban after insisting it would ruin his son’s dreams of playing Premier League football. Philip Davies, 50, had been facing a ban of at least six months after a speed camera captured him driving at 37mph and then 39mph in a 30mph
Divorces could be streamed live from the courtroom for the first time, the Ministry of Justice announced. Judges will decide which family cases should be live-streamed from the court of appeal although the couples will be able to object and potentially veto it if they do not want their case to be broadcast. While the
A driver was caught doing double the speed limit when police carried out checks in the west of Edinburgh. One driver was recorded doing 60mph on a road which has a limit of 30mph. Another motorist was reported to the procurator fiscal for letting a child sit in a passenger’s lap. Police Scotland’s roads unit urged
A woman has been jailed after she hit a 14-year-old boy with her car, causing him “catastrophic and lifelong” injuries. Megan Anderson, 25, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving in Glengormley in October 2017. The court heard it was estimated she was travelling at nearly twice the speed limit when she
An 11-year-old boy was found to be driving a car after being given a driving lesson by his family as they were “fed up” of him playing Grand Theft Auto video game on PlayStation. The car was pulled over by police after the child had been taken to a car park in Blackpool to
A driver has been jailed after he was found to be using the identities of two dead children to avoid speeding fines. Vehicles registered to Chinedu Ebili were caught speeding on seven occasions between January 2016 and 1 January 2018. Ebili gave details of five different individuals, including two children who had died 20 years
A lorry driver has been jailed for six months after taking the wrong exit and doing a U-turn on the M6 during the morning rush hour, The driver took the wrong M6 exit and went onto do a U-turn on a slip road bringing him back onto the motorway. CCTV footage showed the HGV
An uninsured driver drove down a duel carriageway towards oncoming traffic in Northumbria at speeds of up to 70mph to shake off police. The driver went on to drive the wrong way round a roundabout. He ignored red lights and subsequently collided with another car. Lewis Nesbitt, 25, however, abandoned his car and was caught
Court of Appeal judges have ruled a marriage is only legally valid if a “qualifying ceremony” takes place. A panel of three judges rejected a “more flexible view of marriage as a process rather than a single ceremony,” which was taken by a High Court judge in an earlier ruling on a case involving an
A driver was stopped by police who was travelling at speeds of 119mph during Storm Ciara. The driver was pulled over by officers on the M6 in the early hours of the morning. Posting on Twitter, the North West Motorway Police team said: “This vehicle was spotted on the M6 Thelwall – Speed
Police in South Derbyshire stopped a driver who they discovered had scored a ‘full house’ when it came to their list of motoring offences. This meant the car was subsequently seized by officers. Police found the driver had no tax, no insurance and didn’t have a driving licence. The officers posted on social media that
The former manager of Gloucester City Football Club has been fined £500 and banned from driving for six months after a road rage incident with a cyclist. Mike Cook initially pleaded not guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court to driving his BMW X3 dangerously. He elected a jury trial at Gloucester Crown Court. However, when Cook
A landlord from Derby who verbally threatened and unlawfully evicted a tenant has been spared jail. Sajjad Ahmed appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty last December to the unlawful eviction of a tenant. The court heard that Ahmed had taken over the management of the property from his brother, who owned the property, after
Two landlords from Leatherhead were prosecuted and fined after a 13-year-old boy died following a fire at a house last year. Landlords Innocent and Clementia Mukarati pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court to one charge of failing to license the property in Camden Gardens under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004. The pair were ordered by
A recent Government reveals the number of 25- to 34-year-old homeowners is on the rise. The statistics were released by the English Housing Survey. Figure showed that the number of homeowners aged 25 to 34 has risen from 36% in 2013-14 to 41% in 2018-19. Furthermore, the proportion of 25-34-year-olds renting has fallen from its peak
Ten homes in Slough, owned by the same landlords, were raided by police and the council. One home was deemed unfit to live in and children were found to have been put at risk by dodgy landlords. Furthermore, the majority of the homes had problems with gas and electricity supplies. The homes are all owned
A landlord who had rented his house out for two years said he “nearly cried” after seeing the state of the property when the tenants suddenly moved out. Daniel Needes said the home in Wales was in immaculate condition when he let it to the tenants five years ago. When the tenants suddenly moved out
A billionaire who was forced to pay £337million to his wife in Britain’s biggest ever divorce payout is back in the High Court again with his ex-spouse over the children’s charity they set up. Sir Chris Hohn and Jamie Cooper are in a dispute over the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation they founded together in 2002.
A landlord has been accused of racism after he refused to rent a room to a Gambian student. Landlord Elina Vimbsone is accused of saying the room was ‘only for Europeans’ because African cooking ‘makes the house smell’. Ebrima Mboob messaged Elina Vimbsone on Facebook to arrange to view the double room in central London. Ms
A government move says landlords should no longer stop tenants from keeping pets unless they are badly behaved. Many renters are forced to give up their pets as only seven per cent of landlords advertise properties as suitable for animals. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has ordered the Government’s model tenancy contract to be rewritten to remove all restrictions on
Lawyers prepared for an increase in divorce inquiries on Monday 6 January which has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day’. Financial troubles and the stress of trying to create the perfect Christmas are cited as the main reasons why couples decide to break up at this time of year. 2020 is expected to see the introduction of legislation
A new Government crackdown will see sensors that detect damp and the cold planted in rented homes to catch rogue landlords. The move is one of a series of pilot projects being funded by ministers in a bid to give more help to hard-pressed renters. The scheme will see rogue landlords and unreliable letting agents
A landlord has been taken to court by the council after he changed the locks to kick out tenant who failed to pay rent at his house. Lee Challinor, of Stoke-on-Trent was found guilty of illegally evicting the victim after a ‘breakdown’ in the relationship. Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard that the resident
A landlord is facing prosecution after 30 occupants were discovered crammed into a three-bedroom property. The house in Dagenham was raided by police and council officers on 16 December. Children were among those found living in squalid conditions. More than 25 people were thought to be living in the main building whilst two were in an illegal
The youngest son of a Dubai property tycoon has split up with the daughter of an eminent Qatari businessman. Haytham al Tajir, 45, and Noor Al Fardan, 32, have taken their legal dispute to Britain’s divorce courts. Noor moved to London following her split and bought a £15 million Mayfair mansion. She pursued her divorce
Francis Investments was taken to court by the borough council for 21 breaches of community protection notices (CPNs) in relation to waste disposal outside properties containing 13 households in Woodbridge Road and nine households in Hervey Street. Although evidence of the breaches had been proven, magistrates found that the company had taken reasonable steps to
Chef Marco Pierre White and his estranged wife Matilde are embroiled in a High Court row over money. Mrs White is asking a judge to consider jailing Mr White for not paying alimony as ordered. Mr White, however, says he cannot afford to pay what he has been ordered. He is asking for a review.
Three people have been given suspended prison sentences after they illegally evicted a tenant. When tenant Kara Cox returned home to her shared house in Rugeley, she found the security code to her floor had been changed and a handwritten note purporting to be her notice of eviction. Ms Cox was unable to access
A landlord has been taken to court after he put his tenants’ lives at risk. The unlicensed landlord was fined after renting out rooms with dangerous electrics in Slough. He was prosecuted after refusing to pay. The landlord was fined £37,000 due to a breach of management regulations and failing to comply with an improvement
A landlord from Bangor has been ordered to stand trial in the Crown Court after he was accused of harassing a tenant and causing her to leave her home. Matthew Betty from Wales, faces a total of five charges, one alleging unlawful harassment of an occupier and four of causing a tenant to leave. It
Camden Council obtained London’s first rogue landlord banning order. The banning order was against a man who repeatedly placed tenants’ lives at risk through letting out unsafe properties in the Euston and King’s Cross areas. Furthermore, he had issued some tenants with agreements in which he claimed he was the landlord, when he was actually
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has agreed to delay rules that would have eased restrictions on how solicitors can provide immigration advice to the public. According to The Law Gazette, the changes were part of a revised set of standards and regulations. Solicitors would have been able to provide immigration advice and services from any type of
A landlord in Brixton has been accused of attempting to repurpose a corridor as a flat. The flat for was seen on property website Zoopla. The property was on offer for £845pcm including bills without a floorplan. According to Zoopla the advert has had 3,591 views since it was first posted. The landlord advertised the property as
A landlord was taken to court after illegally evicting a tenant. Landlord Lee Challinor changing the locks of the property while his tenant was away for the weekend. Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard there had been a ‘breakdown’ in the relationship between Lee Challinor and the tenant prior to the eviction, due to
A landlord has left their tenants living in the dark after plastering a large iPhone advert across their windows without warning them. The tenants in the north east London block of flats were not informed prior to the canvas being plastered across the front of their building and they claim nothing is being done. Six
A mother and her two sons are being evicted from their home because their landlord hasn’t been paying his mortgage. Lisa Carter claims she has always paid her rent and has never fallen into arrears whilst she has lived in the property. Ms Carter, however, was shocked to discover the house had been repossessed by the bank.
The ex-wife of a Russian businessman has been refused permission to pursue a legal bid for a third of his £15 billion fortune. Natalia Potanina was attempting to secure an increased pay out through English courts from her former husband, Vladimir Potanin, claiming that the initial amount she received left her facing ‘hardship’ and did
Aviva has called for solicitors to be forced to declare the means by which personal injury clients are obtained. According to the Law Gazette, the insurer says the ‘lucrative nature’ of selling claims leads has given rise to a black market for car accident data, allowed in part by a lack of transparency. The Law Gazette
A landlord was compelled to turn to his solicitors after his tenant who owed him £29,000 in rent had damaged the Manchester property. Landlord David Wright rented his four-bedroom property in Warrington to a mother and her two teenage sons. He resorted to involving solicitors in order to gain access to the house, only to
According to figures from the Ministry of Justice there were 92,361 divorces finalised in 2018. This is a reduction from 103,366 last year. According to data published by the Office of National Statistics, this figure is the lowest in almost 50 years. In 2017, the median age of men at the time of their divorce
A landlord has been fined £5,000 for renting out an “abandoned house.” Josh Ahmad failed to notify Ashford Borough Council who brought the case against Ahmed after finding an empty house filled with tenants. Council officers suspected five or more people lived at the house. However, an HMO license couldn’t be given and enforcement action
The ex-wife of a Russian billionaire is preparing for the next step in a three-year legal battle in her bid to receive nearly £450million that she is owed by her ex-husband. Tatiana Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5% share of businessman Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1billion-plus fortune by a British divorce court judge in 2016. However, Mr Justice
A solicitor has been struck off by the solicitors disciplinary tribunal after he enabled a £62,000 overpayment on a property. Milan Patel, sole director of ALD Legal Solicitors was instructed by a resident of Saudi Arabia to purchase a UK property on his behalf. According to the judgment, the property was transferred from the seller
A landlord from Nottingham has been fined over £25,000 after admitting 12 licensing offences. Dexter Blackstock faced charges relating to twelve unlicensed properties he owned and were required to be licensed under either Part 2 or 3 of the Housing Act. Mr Blackstock was convicted of nine offences of failing to license properties under the
According to the Law Gazette, judges are concerned that HM Courts & Tribunals Service has allocated little time to ensure digitised forms in family law are correctly translated into Welsh. At an open meeting of the Family Procedure Rule Committee at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, His Honour Judge Harold Godwin discussed the issue. HHJ
The prime minister of the UAE did not attend the second High Court hearing into the welfare of two of his children. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, 70, who is embroiled in an acrimonious court battle with his estranged wife Princess Haya bint al Hussein, did not attend a preliminary hearing in July too. The Dubai
A rogue landlord has been fined after his tenants had to live in a house from without electricity, heating or a shower. The property in Cambridge had no cooking facilities or hot water. The kitchen sink was found to not work and fire safety precautions were inadequate. An investigation was launched after the tenants complained. After
According to the Guradian, almost all of the investigations into alleged serious misconduct by Home Office staff relate to immigration matters. The Home Office’s professional standards unit (PSU) investigates only the most serious misconduct allegations against teams or individuals within the department, or contractors such as those working in detention centres. A general complaints procedure deals with more minor
A man who made a personal injury claim against Dyfed-Powys Police was awarded £40,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Richard Roberts received the settlement after it was claimed in a witness statement that he was shouting and swearing at the time of his arrest. Although he denied the allegations, the force proceeded to charge him.
A group of students in Leeds have been awarded thousands of pounds in compensation after their landlord failed to reconnect their gas supply. The students had no heating, hot water and no hob to cook for 11 days after a property firm failed to carry out repairs. When the landlord failed to address the fault,
Judges have been warned by the Court of Appeal not to adjourn final decisions in family cases simply to ‘press the pause button’. As reported by The Law Gazette, Lord Justice Peter Jackson said adjourning a decision ‘is a positive choice that requires proper weighing-up of the advantages and disadvantages and a lively awareness that
Homeowners, the UK’s leading comparison site for home move services has revealed rising stamp duty bills and conveyancing fees are the key factors leading to increased costs for homeowners, which can be attributed to a marginal 1% annual rise in house prices. As reported by insideconveyancing.co.uk stamp duty makes up almost half of the total
A landlord has been fined after he failed to provide information about one of his properties when asked to do so by a council. Tenants of a home in Colchester contacted Colchester Council in December last year with concerns about the property. The council launched an investigation into potential breaches of housing standards law and
It has been suggested that an overhaul of international student visa rules should apply to those due to graduate in the coming months. Current overseas students set to graduate next year are unlikely to benefit from major changes, announced by the Prime Minister, which will allow future students to stay in the UK for two
A mouldy and damp house in South Derbyshire was deemed “grossly unfit for human habitation” after children were forced to flush a broken toilet with a bucket of water. A single mother and her two children were living in the house since 2012. Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard the property had no hot water, the toilet
A 71 year old man is claiming personal injury compensation after being left paralysed by a freak wave while on holiday in Cape Verde. Mick Collier suffered neck and back injuries in the accident. He claims lifeguards at the five star hotel had raised an orange flag to indicate it was safe to enter the
Bracknell Forest Council spent almost £100,000 in compensation claims over the last five years. 105 personal injury claims were made to the Council by people who suffered trips, slips or falls in council-owned buildings or in public spaces. Out of the 105 claims, only 13 of these were successful. The largest payout from the last
The Ministry of Justice have released the 2019 Q2 report on mortgage and landlord possession claims. The report found that there has been an overall decrease in landlord possessions. The highest rate of landlord possession claims was found to be in London with the most seen in Newham. The majority of claims, 58% in total,
A solicitor has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after being jailed for his role in an immigration conspiracy. Sheikh Muhammad Usman was sentenced to seven years imprisonment after he was convicted of conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-EU person. The tribunal ordered for
Estimates from the Office for National Statistics found that immigration to the UK from the EU remains at its lowest level since 2013. The ONS, however, had to admit the reliability of the data set had been called into question and therefore had been downgraded from “national statistic” status to “experimental.” The data showed net
A car salesman suffered a traumatic brain injury after he was hit at speed when a co-worker lost control of a car that he was preparing for a test-drive. Mohammed Al-Zehairi, 27, spent almost two weeks at hospital being treated for a fractured skull and leg injury after the freak accident. Mr Al-Zehairi has long-term
Lending to first time buyers is up in the first quarter of 2019, according to figures from UK Finance. In Scotland there were 6,760 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in Scotland, a 4.5% increase from the same quarter last year. Furthermore, there were 6,620 new home mover mortgages, an increase of 6.6%. The figures also
A letting agency has been accused of illegally evicting tenants and taking their belongings. According to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, three tenants, who rented rooms through Flintons, said they arrived home to find locks had been changed and rooms emptied. Some said their possessions had not yet been returned. Others said their belongings were
A landlord who breached health and safety regulations and regularly flouted court summons has been ordered to pay more than £6,700. Following a trial at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, Colin Smith was found guilty of contravening a health and safety notice requiring a “suitable and sufficient” assessment. Victoria Jempson, prosecuting, said, “A Colchester Council health and
A Jewish man claims he is being discriminated against because of his religious beliefs in a ‘very acrimonious’ divorce from his estranged wife. Alan Moher, 54, was ordered to hand over a £1.6million lump sum to wife Caroline, 46, by the Family Court as well as £1,850 per month in maintenance payments until he grants
Two companies have been fined a total of £310,000 for their part in a “wholly avoidable” incident after a man suffered life-changing injuries, including an open fracture to his femur and multiple fractures to his pelvis and hips, when he fell from a factory roof. Brian Robinson, 38, fell through a roof light onto the
A man who fabricated car crashes in order to claim thousands of pounds from insurance companies has been jailed for 10 months. Leeds Crown Court heard how Motondo, 40, who preached at a Pentecostal church in Leeds, bought policies using personal details of two people in his congregation and then rang insurers posing as them.
A woman has been awarded compensation after her landlord was taken to court. Andrew Watson, from Chapeltown, was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay victim compensation of £1,000 after he repeatedly ignored legal notices served by Leeds City Council regarding the condition of a house he was renting out in Chapeltown. A council officer likened
A landlady has been fined £24,000 after lying to her tenants and the local authorities. Diana Thompson was prosecuted by Brent Council and prosecuted for failure to licence a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and failure to comply with fire safety regulations. Thompson convinced tenants living in her unlicensed, detached two-storey HMO property that she
A government watchdog has launched an investigation into the Home Office’s decision to accuse about 34,000 international students of cheating in English language tests. Over 1,000 students have been removed from the UK as a result of the accusation and hundreds have spent time in detention. A large numbers of students say they were wrongly accused. Over 300
A tenant caused over £7,000 worth of damage to a property before leaving the premises whilst still owing 11 months of rent. Landlord Michael Walker claimed his three-bedroom property was left in devastating condition with every room vandalised. Mould was found all over the ceiling, dirty dishes were piled on the kitchen counter and the living
A judge has ruled that an eight-year-old boy should leave his mother and live with his father. Judge Lloyd North was told the boy was being influenced by his mother’s “hateful feelings” towards his father and said the boy would be exposed to “significant emotional harm” if he remained with his mother. A psychologist said
Latest statistics from the UK House Price Index show properties in February had an average cost of £145,762 – a drop of 0.2% on the same month in 2018. This is the first annual decrease in Scotland since March 2016. House prices also fell by 3.1% between January and February this year. Janet Egdell, Registers of
An Italian fashion tycoon and his wife are in the midst of a legal battle in an attempt to settle their multi-million pound divorce in Britain. Ilaria Giusti, 53, is asking the UK courts to rule on her divorce from shoe designer Ferruccio Ferragamo, despite moving here five years after splitting from her husband. However,
No-fault evictions are now to be banned in England. This ruling means private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short notice without good reason. The government says the new plans are in place to protect renters from “unethical” landlords and give them more long-term security. First Minister Mark Drakeford has
New research reveals the number of last-time buyers in the housing market has increased. The research found that one in three home moves are now made by last-time buyers aged 55 and over. The study from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) shows that the numbers have almost doubled in the last decade and many
The estranged wife of a German businessman has told a divorce court judge how she cannot find a “very good hairdresser” in England even though she moved to London nearly two years ago. Clarissa Pierburg said she feels compelled to visit a hairdresser in Dusseldorf, Germany. The problem was revealed to Mr Justice Moor after
A landlord has lost his fight to be able to hold a licence to rent properties again after a tribunal found he wasn’t a “fit and proper” landlord. Derrick Morgan appealed to the Residential Property Tribunal after Rent Smart Wales (RSW) refused to grant him a landlord licence. However, the tribunal has now dismissed
A UK divorce court judge has ended the marriage of Prince Louis of Luxembourg and Princess Tessy. Mr Justice MacDonald pronounced a decree absolute at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London. A ruling on the division of money and property was published by Mr Justice MacDonald four months ago
International students are to be given visa extensions of up to a year to look for work in the UK as part of a package of government measures to increase numbers of overseas students after Brexit. The move represents a break with current policy, where students are allowed to stay for just four months after graduation.
A tenant who caused £25,000 worth of damage to the flat she was renting out has been evicted. The property East Yorkshire was found in a ‘disgusting’ condition by its landlord, with holes in the walls, smashed windows and ripped up floorboards. The radiators were ripped from walls lying on top of mounds of rubbish.
A new law has come into force enabling people living in rented accommodation the opportunity to sue their landlords over unfit homes. On Wednesday, March 20, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act came into effect, allowing tenants to go to the courts if they feel their landlord is not keeping their property well maintained.
An Omani businessman worth more than £300million has been ordered to give his ex-wife £25million after she argued she needed a £400,000-a-year for holidays and a further £60k for pocket money. The Family Division of the High Court in London heard the case of Talal Al Zawawi, 48 and his ex-wife Leila Hammoud, 36. Ms Hammoud said
According to new figures, Scottish couples who chose a humanist wedding are less likely to divorce than those who had other types of marriage ceremony. The statistics were revealed by BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, obtained from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). Humanist weddings have been legal in Scotland since 2005 and are
The Home Office reached an out-of-court settlement with the charity The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) who had threatened a judicial review over the registration system for EU citizens. JCWI agreed to drop its application for a judicial review after Sajid Javid’s department made changes to its guidance to caseworkers in relation to
New research suggests cash buyers can save thousands of pounds when buying a house compared to those buying with a mortgage. According to finance specialist One77 Mortgages, who analysed house price data from the Land Registry, it costs those buying with a mortgage on average 9 percent more than cash buyers. Alastair McKee, managing director of
A ‘negligent’ landlord from Camberwell has been ordered to pay costs of more than £20,000 after failing to apply for a licence. Omo Ayoade, 45, appeared in Camberwell Magistrates’ Court after complaints from his tenants and after he failed to apply for a license. A resident living in one of his three flats had complained
A landlord who is accused of illegally renting out property has said he “is only helping people.” Robert Crow, 69, is accused of breaching a court order which banned him renting out his Southend property after he was convicted of 18 offences in September. Mr Crow attended Southend Magistrate’s Court. His address has repeatedly been
UK property transactions have been reducing at a rapid rate, according to recent research. The study carried out by estate agent software platform, Reapit, found that UK property transactions have fallen by over a third in the past three months. Property transactions between November 2018 and January 2019 fell by 36% compared to the same
Delays at the England’s biggest regional divorce centre reached unprecedented levels in 2018. Figures obtained by the Law Gazette found the average waiting times for each stage of the divorce process at Bury St Edmunds increased significantly last year, confirming many lawyers’ concerns about the centre’s ability to cope. Bury St Edmunds is the main centre for
The legal side of property transactions can be a lengthy and complicated process. A recent study found that the average conveyancing case involved 130 documents, as well as 300 emails between clients and agents or lawyers. In light of this, UNU Group has launched a free legal helpline, designed to offer help and support. The
Justice Secretary David Gauke announced that no-fault divorces are to become law in the UK. At present, a couple must be married for a year and a day before they can apply for divorce. If after this time they choose to divorce, either partner can file for it, but only if certain conditions are met. Either the marriage must
A new property tax is being considered for people buying property in parts of the UK who are non-UK residents as part of the government’s effort to help control the rise of house prices. The Treasury has launched a consultation into proposals to add 1% onto the stamp duty paid when buying a home in
No-fault divorces are to be introduced into law. Justice Secretary, David Gauke, confirmed he will bring in legislation enacting the reform in the next session of parliament, removing the need for separating couples to wait for years or allocate blame for the collapse of their relationship. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in England and
A new report suggests city living is at its least affordable levels for home buyers since 2007. The study by Lloyds Bank found that the average house price in a UK city in 2018 equated to 7.2 times average annual earnings. This makes the cost of buying a home the least affordable since 2007. The
The Law Commission are proposing a shakeup of immigration rules in order to make them easier to understand. The aim is to simplify the current 1,100 pages of regulations. The proposals include an audit of overlapping rules and a limit to the number of times a year the rules are changed. The Law Commission believes
The government is working on a new house sale agreement aimed at speeding up the buying process which will be trialled later this year, according to Housing Minister Heather Wheeler. Wheeler said the aim is to develop a standard reservation agreement and officials are working with the industry led Home Buying and Selling Group. Furthermore,
The Council of Europe has said Muslim couples getting married in the UK should be legally required to civilly register their union before or during the Islamic ceremony. The organisation raised concerns about the role of sharia councils in family, inheritance and commercial law and called for obstacles stopping Muslim women from accessing justice to be removed. British authorities were asked
Jersey residents have been asked by their government how their 70-year old divorce law should be changed in a public consultation. Views were sought on whether people should be allowed to divorce before their 3rd year of marriage. The public were also asked if the age of marriage should be increased to 18 years of
Recent statistics reveal an increasing number of couples are choosing to marry prior to one of the couple dying. In recent years there has been a distinct increase in cohabiting couples living as common law husband and wife. However, many of these common law spouses do not make their partnership legal. Many are unaware that
A Scottish aristocrat has won the right to take his case to the Supreme Court. Charles Villiers, 55, accused his former spouse, Emma, 60, of “trying it on” in the English courts as a divorce tourist, claiming she only moved to London when they separated in order to apply for maintenance via the more generous
Official figures show divorced women over the age of 50 end up with a pension worth £100,000 less than that of their former husband. According to a survey of over-50s divorced people and married couples across Britain by the Office for National Statistics, the average pension pot of divorced women totals £131,000, compared to the
The first working Monday back after the Christmas break is dubbed “Divorce Day” by lawyers who typically see an increase in couples considering divorce. This year Divorce Day fell on Monday, January 7. Support service Amicable says that more than 40,500 people will search “divorce” online in January, which is almost 25% higher than at any
Official figures reveal there were 102,703 sales received by the Land Registry in November last year. Of these, 77,369 were freehold, a 2% decrease on November 2017 and 14,866 were newly built, a 13.5% increase over the same period. Of the 102,703 sales received for registration, some 31,721 took place in November 2018 of which
Official figures reveal more than 400 people filed for divorce over the festive period. Thirteen people filed for divorce on Christmas Day. HM Courts & Tribunals Service received 455 online divorce applications from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. Spouses seeking to end their marriage are now able to complete the entire process online by
A woman has been found guilty of dishonestly claiming almost £10,000. Jane Prentice, 50, who claimed to be a single parent on a low income, with three children, was prosecuted after falsely claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support from Swale council between August 2016 and December 2017. However, an investigation by the Department for
A woman who dishonestly claimed more than £18,000 of employment support allowance has avoided jail. Sharron Ensor from Rawmarsh admitted fraud by false representation and was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court. Ensor claimed she was single and received £18,462 in employment support allowance from Barnsley Benefit Centre. Judge Robert Kelson sentenced Ensor to three months
A millionaire has lost a court battle over the family’s 230-year-old estate. William Reeve, 38, says the future of the 3,000-acre Leadenham Estate, in Lincolnshire, is at risk due to his parents’ divorce. He claimed the estate had been promised to him by his father and it was ‘unconscionable’ to split it up in the
Following pressure from MPs and campaigning groups, Justice Minister Lucy Frazer QC has agreed to look at rules allowing grandchildren to maintain contact with grandparents after parental separation. An amendment to the Children Act is being asked to be considered, which would include a child’s right to have a close relationship with members of their
A man broke down in court after accusing his father’s best friend of stealing his inheritance. The court heard that Richard Elliott had discovered his father had signed over the family home to his best friend, Graeme Prance, on the day he died. Prance, 53, is charged with fraudulently helping himself to £60,000 of his friend’s savings
A family of landlords has been ordered to pay almost £250,000 after “cramming” 31 tenants into a four-bedroom house. Council officers found the tenants were forced to sleep in shifts as night workers would swap with those who had daytime working hours at the property in Wembley. Four beds were found in the front room
A man who is a carer for his 37-year-old son is being forced to sell his home or face jail because he wrongly received benefits that cost the taxpayer less than £110. George Henderson, 59, has cared all his life without payment for his son who has mental health problems and is addicted to heroin.
A family judge has criticised an adulterous man for contesting a divorce in what has been described as an ‘awful case.’ The man contested the divorce despite admitting that he committed adultery over 22 years of their marriage. Her Honour Judge Lynn Roberts said the case was ‘extraordinary’ and described the man as ‘deeply dishonest.’
A man has been charged of fraudulently claiming more than £33,000 in disability benefits over nearly six years. Lorenzo Armas, 51, denies knowingly failing to notify benefit bosses of a change to his entitlement for disability living allowance between February 15 2012 and January 2 this year. Armas is alleged to have claimed a total
The son of a farmer has lost an inheritance battle after saying he ‘doesn’t like cows.’ Clive Shaw, 55, went to court after discovering his parents had written him out of their wills. Mr Shaw claimed that he worked on his parents’ farm from a very young age and did not pursue other
A retired racing car driver is being taken to court by his estranged wife after she was left with ‘almost nothing’ of the £11.4 million family fortune. Following divorce proceedings, Anita Brack, 51, was left with just £500,000 while former IndyCar champion, Kenny Brack, 52, took more than £10 million in the Family Division of
An Oxford professor is in the midst of a £1.25 million High Court battle after his mother cut him out of her will before she died. Professor Christopher Gosden said his mother Jean Weddell, a distinguished physician, had ‘resolved’ to leave him her Edwardian home in Kennington, south London. However, after she started a relationship with
A man has been fined after he was found to be using his wife’s Blue Badge for his own benefit. James Mason initially claimed that he had dropped his wife off at an appointment but later admitted that he had lied. Blue Badges allow a disabled person to park closer to their home or destination,
Writer and broadcaster Lord Bragg, 79, and his wife Catherine Haste have been granted a divorce after a 44-year-marriage. Judge Anne Hudd granted a decree nisi at a 50-second hearing in the Central Family Court in London. Neither Catherine Haste nor Melvyn Bragg were present at the hearing. Paperwork showed their marriage was solemnised at
A “deceitful” former magistrate has been jailed after she lied about her mobility to cheat the benefits system out of more than £26,000. Sandra Howell, 43, fraudulently claimed the benefits while working as a domestic cleaner in Greater Manchester. The former Stockport magistrate was brought into court in a wheelchair, but footage was played to
A mother and her estranged son are in a courtroom battle over a family property. Pamela Moore and her son Stephen Moore are disputing a 65-acre Grade II listed Manor Farmhouse and estate worth £10 million. The court heard that Pamela Moore and her son had a strained relationship since he was young. The matter
Princess Tessy of Luxembourg is representing herself at the High Court in London in her divorce trial. Princess Tessy’s marriage to His Royal Highness, Prince Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg has come to an end after a ten year marriage. After their marriage when he was just 19, Prince Louis renounced his succession
A landlord who did not repair a decaying former hotel has been fined £14,900. Teeside Magistrates’ Court found Rajesh Kumar Gupta guilty of failing to repair roofing and guttering at the former Royal Hotel, in Loftus. He had been ordered to make the repairs repetitively by Redcar and Cleveland Council. Gupta did not attend
A benefits cheat who falsely £78,000 claims she is ‘unfit’ to complete her community service. Kathryn Leathard, 30, pretended to be a single mum for five years in order to get tax credits, income support, council tax benefit and housing benefit. However, authorities found she had been living with her partner. Leathard
A Russian oligarch immersed in Britain’s most expensive divorce has lost a crucial court battle to avoid paying his ex-wife more than £450m. Farkhad Akhmedov refused to pay his ex the huge sum after claiming he was already divorced when they lived in Moscow. After he refused to accept a ruling by a British court
A woman and her estranged son are immersed in a courtroom dispute over a family estate. After Stephen Moore was written out of his parents will, he successfully challenged the move in 2016, claiming his father, who now lives in a care home and has advanced dementia, repeatedly promised the estate would all be his
A man from Renfrewshire has admitted claiming benefits on his mother’s behalf that she was not entitled to. Stewart Connelly who was authorised to act on behalf of his mother, Amelia Connelly, failed to disclose all her savings. He told Renfrewshire Council she had a bank account which contained £6,367 in savings, but she actually
An ex- Tory councillor who claimed he could not even wash his own hair was secretly filmed hauling away tables at a summer fair. Albert Pounder, 74, illegally claimed £10,422 in Disability Living Allowance from 2014 to 2016 and £467 housing benefit in 2016. Preston Crown Court heard he failed to notify the Department of
A woman who claimed £144,977.88 in benefits she was not entitled to over a six-and-a-half year period has avoided jail. Pauline Donaghy, 42, was handed a 12-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years and she is now paying back £25 a week. Belfast Crown Court noted it will take around 100 years to
Over £296,000 in benefits were claimed fraudulently or in error over the past year from West Dunbartonshire Council. Their corporate fraud team identified the money as part of 228 referrals from members of the public, 199 of which had grounds to be investigated. 15 cases have been passed on to the procurator fiscal which has
A 63-year-old woman was in court for an £11,000 benefit fraud. Marie Lawson was overpaid £11,169 over a two-year period between May 2014 and March 2016. Lawson claimed employment support allowance for herself and her husband from October 2013. The benefits were paid out on the condition that she did not work more than 16
A Hyndburn landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence after failing to check an unsafe boiler and gas. Steven Ladell, from Great Harwood, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after serious faults were uncovered at a house in King’s Lynn last year. One of his tenants had approached housing standards officials at
A 70-year-old man has been sentenced after wrongly claiming almost £20,000 in benefits, assisted by his wife who was herself a benefit fraud investigator. Paul Stevens told the Department for Work and Pensions that he needed help bathing, dressing, cooking and getting in and out of bed. Stevens claimed he was in constant pain, needed crutches to
A landlord has been banned from renting out rooms after he took advantage of vulnerable tenants. Robert Crow, 69, is accused of letting his tenants live in filthy and dangerous conditions and failing to carry out basic maintenance. The court heard water was left leaking through lights and tenants lived with an insanitary kitchen and
A 72-year-old man has avoided jail after claiming almost £25,000 in State benefits. Martin Oliver falsely claimed the benefits while working as a lorry driver and building a house on a plot of land he owned. Oliver pleaded guilty to four offences of dishonestly failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions and his
A carer has been jailed for nine years for stealing more than £300,000 from a vulnerable 102-year-old woman and ordered to pay back the cash. Carer, Julie Sayles, 60, used her position to steal from Edith Negus. Sayles conned Negus after setting up a joint account with her as she knew the pensioner had saved
A former council officer has been jailed for three years for stealing over £100,000 in benefits. Sancho Jayaratnam, aged 58 from Bushey, was caught by police and Harrow Council committing multiple acts of fraud. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position . Jayaratnam, a former benefit assessor for the council,
A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £40,000 over a series of safety breaches at his flats in Birmingham, described as the worst property seen by inspectors in a decade. Birmingham city council said David Greene, 64, showed “callous disregard” for his responsibilities at the property, which was converted into ten flats. Offences included
A 74-year-old woman who was accused of a £21,000 benefit fraud has been disowned by her family members. Josephine Robinson was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and pay £170 costs. Magistrates’ chairman Toby Prosser said, “It was close to custody. It was a serious amount of money you were overpaid.” Robinson admitted
Over £70million was lost to fraudsters or wrongly paid out every week, an increase of £200m on the previous year. The Department for Work and Pensions admitted more than £2 of every £100 paid out in welfare is now a “mistake.” James Price, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said, “We have to crack down
An unmarried mother has won a landmark Supreme Court case to access widowed parent’s allowance for her children after she was denied bereavement payments following her partner’s death. Siobhan McLaughlin, 46, was initially refused the benefit payments because she was not married to her partner, who died of cancer in January 2014. Campaigners have called this ruling “hugely important”
Four members from the same family have been jailed for more than three years after setting up five car accidents in an insurance fraud operation that cost more than £40,000. Rashid Ahmed, Abdullahi Bana, Salah Mohammed and Abbas Moobe, from Ilford, London, have been sentenced for their part in carrying out a series of ‘crash
A landlord has been convicted after neglecting his property in Norwich. Measures were taken against Nicholas Ian Shaw, 47, by Cheshire West and Chester Council after complaints from a tenant. The flat was being rented by a family which included two young children under the age of five at the time. Mr Shaw was asked several
A woman from Billingham has appeared in court accused of benefit fraud. Paige Smith, 21, is alleged to have claimed housing benefit and income support fraudulently between June 12, 2016, and March 26, 2017. Smith is charged with failing to notify Stockton Council and the Department for Work and Pensions that she was living with her
A German woman has been granted a divorce after bringing matrimonial proceedings to England after discovering her husband was having an affair. Catja Thum issued a divorce petition in England even though Oliver Thum had started separate proceedings in Germany. The couple, both in their 40s, were at the Court of Appeal in May this
A landlord was fined £20,000 after admitting he put the lives of five residents at risk. Residents became trapped upstairs during a fire in Worthing last year, weeks after their landlord was told their fire alarm did not work. The judge said Terry Millis, 62, had a ‘high level’ of culpability and fined him £20,000
An “industrial scale” £4.6 million benefit fraud has been targeted by police in Glasgow. Police officers have been working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Home Office Immigration Enforcement for almost a year in an investigation to trace an organised crime gang suspected of defrauding the benefits system of about £4.6m. A number
A Russian billionaire has not paid his ex-wife “one cent” of the £453m he was ordered to pay, a court in London has heard. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told the family division of the high court that Farkhad Akhmedov was in contempt of court. In December 2016 Mr Haddon-Cave ordered Mr Akhmedov to pay his e-wife
A High Court judge has decided that an estranged couple’s Islamic faith marriage falls within the scope of English matrimonial law. Solicitor Nasreen Akhter and businessman Mohammed Shabaz Khan, took part in an Islamic wedding ceremony in a London restaurant in 1998. Mrs Akhter says the nikah ceremony was conducted by an imam before about
A man and woman appeared in Norwich Crown Court in connection with housing benefit and income support fraud charges and fake tenancy charges. Shannon Trett is charged with three offences, two of which relate to housing benefit. She also failed to disclose Charles Dersley was the father of her son. The other charge says she
A woman who was seeking a divorce after a 40 year marriage has lost her case. Supreme court judges “reluctantly” told Tini Owens that she must remain married because a joyless marriage is not adequate grounds for a divorce if one spouse refuses to agree. Five judges unanimously upheld rulings by a family court and
New research has found that 30 million British people do not have a will. The Populus research, conducted by Which? revealed that 61% of British adults do not have a will. The survey further found that people in England are more likely (42%) than those in Wales (35%) and Scotland (31%) to have made wills.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a man does not have to increase the maintenance payments to his former wife, 16 years after their divorce. Last year Graham Mills was ordered by the Court of Appeal to increase monthly maintenance payments to his former wife, Maria, from £1,100 per month to £1,441 for life as
A landlord has been fined over £8,000 for a total of 16 offences under the Housing Act, according to Hastings Borough Council. Thomas Wallace pleaded guilty to non-compliance with a statutory improvement notice at his property and was fined £2,667. Wallace was further required to pay £432 costs and £170 victim surcharge. Mr Wallace was
A partner has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after he allowed his staff to pursue fraudulent personal injury (PI) claims and presided over a system that treated claims management companies (CMCs) “as if they were the actual client.” Muzammil Hussain Abid’s fellow partner at Crescent Law, Imran Uddin, was suspended for
A woman says she wants her ex-husband jailed after he spent more than £80,000 on his latest wedding even though he claimed he cannot afford to pay her. Sarah Rogan said her ex-husband Grant Rogan should be committed to prison for breaching an agreement made following the breakdown of their 10-year marriage. Ms Rogan has
A man has admitted to using a false National Insurance number to illegally claim £93,000 in benefits while working. Michel Biza, 50, began claiming benefits legitimately when he was seriously ill. However, when he recovered and started work, he gave his employers the fake NI number and continued to claim the benefits under the genuine
A head tenant has been jailed for 16 weeks after he changed the locks on a property that was illegally sublet to 35 men. Ilie Florin Dragusin evicted the men and removed their belongings from a converted three-bedroom semi-detached house. Brent council officers found the 35 tenants to be living in substandard conditions in an
A dog walker has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming thousands of pounds in disability benefits after being secretly filmed throwing a ball for her pets. Sandra Tipton, 53, alleged that her physical condition, which includes dizziness and a ‘frozen shoulder’ had not improved since she first claimed the benefit in 2013. The jury at
A man was fined for illegally changing the locks on a house rented by a family with two young children. Belfast landlord Ciaran Doherty was fined £500 in court on Tuesday for unlawfully depriving the family of occupation of a house they were renting from him. Both the couple’s children were under two years old
An ex-wife has been granted £115million in one of the UK’s biggest ever divorce settlements. The woman and her former husband cannot be named for legal reasons after Justice Baker concluded there was “little if any” public interest in identifying the chief executive of a company behind a “very well-known product.” The case was heard
The Home Office said foreign medics are to be excluded from the government’s cap on skilled migration. NHS bosses said the move would be a “huge relief” to health trusts. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was “extremely welcome.” The Royal College of GPs said it was a “great step forward.” The cap sets the
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett delivered a speech on ‘the age of reform’, at the fifth BAILII lecture. He discussing the courts modernisation programme and highlighted the online divorce pilot scheme, saying that it was ‘working well.’ “The (online divorce) pilot has now moved to general availability since 1 May. Over 600 applications were
A landlord from Peterborough who housed tenants, including young children, in an overcrowded and dangerous property has been fined after he failed to make improvements. Raashid Alyas was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay another £1,000 in other costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court after admitting a number of offences relating to the home. The court
The Supreme Court considered whether a businessman should increase maintenance to his former wife 16 years after their divorce. Last year Graham Mills was ordered by the Court of Appeal to increase monthly maintenance payments to his former wife, Maria, from £1,100 per month to £1,441 for life as she was “unable to support her
A landlord in Immingham has been fined £1380 after he was found renting a house to multiple occupants without a licence. Yordan Kaloyanov, 37, was taken to court by North East Lincolnshire Council after its housing enforcement officers and Humberside Police raided a house on Pelham Road. Kaloyanov was found to be renting the property
A landlord from Devizes has been fined £11,600 for exposing tenants including a family with children to dangerous living conditions. Ansar Butt, 39, admitted 24 breaches of the Houses of Multiple Occupation Regulation and four counts of failing to undertake works following the issue of an improvement notice. The trial at Swindon Magistrates Court found
The Courts Service will develop its new online divorce family law service following the online divorce pilot. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have already started enabling people to issue divorce petitions online. HMCTS divorce service manager Adam Lennon said, “Now that the application part of the divorce process is online we will, over the
A man has gone to court to claim the money his late mother left after her last boyfriend launched a claim for a share. James Campbell, 35, said his late mother Sarah promised he would have everything when she died. He also claims her will, drawn up 14 years before her death, handed
The former wife of an aristocrat will be divorcing her ex-husband in English courts even though they spent almost all their married life in Scotland. Charles Villiers, 55, has accused his ex-wife, Emma of ‘trying it on’ in the English courts as a cross-border divorce tourist. Mr Villiers added that if she won her
The Supreme Court will decide whether a woman can divorce her husband even though he contested the move. The case of Tini Owens, 67 and her husband Hugh, 78 has raised questions about whether there should be an overhaul of the divorce law in England and Wales. Mrs Owens said her marriage had broken down
Following its online pilot scheme the Ministry of Justice has launched the scheme nationwide this month. The latest initiative in the department’s £1bn modernisation programme enables divorcing couples across England and Wales to complete their applications on a website without going to court. The language on the digital form has been simplified and also allows payments and
A man who was left out of his late uncle’s will has been accused of doctoring another version of the will, reinstating his claim and reducing that of other family members, a court has heard. William Venning, 55, faces charges of conspiring to make a false instrument, conspiring to pervert the course of justice, fraud
A landlord has been found guilty of ‘forcing’ a tenant to live in a dangerous property which had electrical faults, no fire alarms and insecure windows. Officials from Bassetlaw Council found nearly 20 areas of concern at Susan Elizabeth Jubb’s property, declaring it too dangerous to live in. Jubb has been ordered to pay fines
A carer who ‘guided the hand’ of her dying millionaire employer as he signed over almost half his £1million fortune to her family has been stripped of the money. Donna Henderson is alleged to have helped retired banker Marcel Chu sign a will which handed her and her children half of his estate.
Newly-divorced couples may still be married because of a series of blunders by officials. A senior judge said that those affected were granted legal break-ups too quickly. In some cases, couples submitted divorce petitions before they had been married a year – the minimum period. In others, officials approved divorces before the applicants had spent
A woman who was in the process of divorcing her husband when he was killed by a speeding driver wants almost £700,000 in compensation, claiming they would have reconciled had he not been killed. Cathryn Craven, 50, has taken her claim to the High Court amounting to £676,985 against Davies on behalf of herself and her family under
According to a report by the housing, communities and local government committee, councils should be given powers to seize the properties of the “worst” landlords when accommodation fails to meet proper legal standards. The committee has called out a “clear power imbalance” in parts of the private rental sector. They further said that landlords should
An Irish couple who got married and then divorced now want to get remarried, however are prevented from doing so because of a legal loophole. Laura Hamilton and Paul McSherry, from Dublin, got married in Ireland in 1990 and then moved to London. In1998 they decided to get divorced in London’s High Court. Both Laura
A high-profile divorce ruling scrapping future payments signifies a sea change in how courts regard maintenance, according to a leading family lawyer. As reported by the Law Gazette, in the case dubbed the ‘meal ticket for life’, the Court of Appeal ruled that maintenance payments for Kim Waggott from her ex-husband should end after three
From April 1 the Government’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards came into force. This means renters may be able to save up to £1,150 a year on their energy bills. Landlords will now have to improve the energy efficiency of their properties and risk facing fines of up to £5,000 if they don’t. The new scheme
The High Court has ruled in favour of a woman who received nothing from her late partner’s £1.5 million estate. In a ruling handed down on 29 March, the High Court ruled in favour of 79-year-old Joan Thompson, saying she should be entitled to a distribution of Wynford Hodge’s estate. According to the Law Gazette,
New “digital mortgages” have been launched as the Land Registry moves the process online to save time and inconvenience for homeowners. The Land Registry announced the first mortgage deed not to have been signed with a pen and paper has been accepted as part of a trial with Coventry Building Society. It said a new
Residents living in an apartment block in Kingswood have taken the building’s owners and managers to court over “skyrocketing” and “extortionate” management fees. Residents of Grantham Apartments in Two Mile Hill claim the amount they pay per month to management company ABC Estates for general works and repairs has more than doubled in the past
A woman is urging the Scottish Government to change a law which allows her brother control of the home where he strangled their mother to death. Ross Taggart muredered his mother three years ago but still remains executor of her will. Taggart, 33, has refused to relinquish control of his mother’s £350,000 estate, despite being in prison
Three Court of Appeal judges in London are analysing the latest stage of an Anglo-Scottish legal battle between an aristocrat and his estranged wife. Charles Villiers and Emma Villiers, both in their 50s, are embroiled in a dispute about whether their arguments over money should be staged in an English or Scottish divorce court. Appeal
A businessman has pleaded guilty after he went through a bigamous third “marriage.” Magistrates heard Haroon Lorgat had an Islamic ceremony in Morocco. He went on to have a civil marriage in the UK while he was still married to his second wife. Lorgat used the divorce papers from his first marriage to convince the
An 83-year-old millionaire property developer has been given a 14 month jail sentence after he was found to be in “persistent” contempt of court. John Hart failed to comply with court orders following his £9.3m divorce. He was ordered to hand over £3.5m of his £9.3m fortune to his former wife Karen in a divorce
A court heard that a man forged his ill wife’s signature on legal documents and applied for a divorce without her knowledge, The victim discovered his actions when she visited the marital home to collect person items and found the divorce petition. Swansea Magistrates Court heard Nicky Mark Jones, 44, had been married for 18
An estranged couple been told that they must wait another eight months before their battle over money can be fully aired before a divorce court judge. Barbara Cooke and Michael Parker, directors of BC Softwear a firm which supplies towels and bathrobes to top hotels have been told that their hearing will now take place
A landlord who illegally evicted a tenant and forced her to sleep on the streets has avoided a jail term. Naveed Hussain, 36, was accused of forcing Saba Habte out of a flat above a takeaway she was renting with no warning. Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard Ms Habte was told to leave the flat on December
A Russian housewife who was awarded £453m by a London divorce court judge after her marriage ended has won the latest round of a legal battle. Tatiana Akhmedova was given a 41.5% share of Farkhad Akhmedov’s fortune by Mr Justice Haddon-Cave following a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court. This award
A woman has been awarded over £1 million in damages following a High Court case about the inheritance of a family farm. Lucy Habberfield, from Somerset, received the sum in recognition of the work that she had carried out at the family farm over a period of 30 years. Ms Habberfield said she worked for
A solicitor who hid thousands of pounds worth of assets during the course of divorce proceedings has been struck off the roll. According to the Law Gazette, Mamoon Rashid Chaudhary, formerly a member of South Yorkshire firm Oxley & Coward Solicitors LLP, admitted signing a statement of truth which failed to declare his interest in a
According to new research from Prudential, divorcees who plan to retire in 2018 can expect their yearly income to drop by £3,800 compared to those who’ve never divorced. The Prudential annual study has run for the last 11 years and tracks the finances, future plans and aspirations of people planning to retire in the year
A landlord has been hit with a fine after ignoring a court order to clear up mess. Javaid Iqbal, 51, has been told to pay more than £1,300 in fines and costs after Stoke-on-Trent City Council decided to prosecute. Council investigators were called in after residents complained about domestic waste, furniture, bricks, tiles, glass, scaffolding poles, planks
A Russian businessman claims his estranged wife cannot divorce him in England because they are already divorced. The man told a High Court judge that he divorced his wife in Russia 12 years ago. His estranged wife, however, disagrees saying that obtained a “fraudulent” divorce in Russia. The woman, who is also Russian, argues that
A wife who signed a pre-nup before marrying a multi-millionare has been given £90 million after their divorce. However, she is fighting for more as she claims that amount is “unfair.” Property tycoon, Gerard Versteegh and Camilla Versteegh were married for 21 years. A court battle ensued after they split in 2014. Mrs Versteegh was
A High Court judge was asked to determine whether an estranged couple who took part in an Islamic wedding ceremony in a London restaurant are validly married. Nasreen Akhter, 46, claims her “Islamic faith marriage” to Mohammed Shabaz Khan, also 46, was a “valid marriage”. Mr Khan, however, has contested this. Mr Justice Williams is
A judge has described a divorcing couple’s battle over assets as a “scandalous waste of court time.” Barbara Cooke, 58, and Michael Parker, 55 have reportedly spent almost £2m on lawyers’ fees while fighting over assets worth £6.6m. Mr Justice Holman said that the pair had “completely lost touch with reality.” The dispute was heard
A rogue landlord from Plumstead has been ordered to pay £4,000 after he left an elderly couple’s home in an “appalling” state with insufficient heating and major mould. The home was investigated by environmental health officers who found the heating could not go above 16 degrees. Other concerns were found including broken electric storage heaters,
Divorcing couples will be asked to fill a tick box form online detailing the money and assets they each want under sweeping plans to streamline the system. The newly-established ‘Financial Remedies Courts’ will then use the ten-page document to rule on the financial side of a divorce. The form allows spouses to tick boxes asking
Three brothers are battling over their late mother’s £1.8million will, a court has heard. Rachel Heath left her sons Jeremy, Timothy and Dominic equal shares of her fortune when she died in October 2015, aged 93. Timothy Heath, however, is fighting for a larger share of the money, claiming he was an “unpaid carer” for
Couples seeking “quickie divorces” can hasten the process with a new online service launched by the Co-op. The fixed-fee digital service from Co-op Legal Services allows people to start uncontested divorces online from home, supported by phone-based advice from experienced solicitors. Co-op already offers online wills and powers of attorney. Co-op estimates the service could cut the
The Probate Service will now accept personal applications online, providing they meet certain criteria. The Probate Service has said the online application form will continue to be developed to cover a broader range of probate applications in the future. Personal applications can be made online if only one executor is applying, if there is an
The digital currency, Bitcoin, will be considered like any other asset in divorce proceedings in England and Wales. According to familylaw.co.uk as Bitcoin, like stocks will fluctuate, the value of Bitcoin to be considered in the proceedings would have to be determined by a judge. This valuation is likely to be made for the point
According to a new report, the average cost of a marital breakdown is £14,500. Aviva’s Family Finances report found that the cost of divorce has increased 17% since 2014 when divorces in the UK cost, on average, £12,432. Aviva added that increases to legal bills were partly behind the rising divorce costs seen in recent
A woman has called for divorce laws to be modernised after her ex-husband was awarded a £2million settlement. Julie Arnold is challenging ‘out of date’ legislation that saw her adulterous husband given half of their £5.45million fortune, despite being married to him for less than four years. She is calling for divorce laws to be adapted
According to research by divorce support service Amicable, over 40,500 people will search “divorce” online in January. The figures further reveal that the cost of divorce to the taxpayer is rising and currently costs each adult £1,820. A distinct increase in online searches for divorce can also be seen in data provided by Google Trends, which shows
The sale of a Grade I listed mansion formerly owned by Lord Kitchener has been advised on by the corporate team at Pannone Corporate. Broome Park Mansion House was on the market for £6m and has been sold by Diamond Resorts Group to an associate of Pyrrho Investments Ltd part of the Hong Kong based
Louise Redknapp has divorced former footballer husband Jamie in a hearing which lasted 25 seconds by a judge who said she could not “reasonably be expected” to live with him. Judge Ian Mulkis granted a divorce decree at a hearing in the Central Family Court in London following a 19 year marriage. Neither Mr Redknapp nor
A retired window cleaner who inherited £280,000 from a customer has been jailed for 12 months after he failed to return the money. Albert Pearce, 83, looked after Julie Spalding in her final years and was the sole beneficiary of her will when she died aged 98 in 2008. However, Ms Spalding’s nephew contested the
A solicitor whose firm ran a series of immigration claims for judicial review with no prospect of success has been struck off. According to the Law Gazette, Azfar Naseem Bajwa, principal of east London firm A Bajwa & Co, misled clients into thinking they had a prospect of success in cases which he knew could
A benefit cheat falsely claimed over £55,000 whilst simultaneously receiving money from her husband every month. Newport Crown Court heard Sharon Calder, 57, had falsely claimed £55,444.43 in benefits including income support, housing benefit, and council tax benefit from around 2009. Calder had also received around £68,000 in inheritance. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
A new plan has been introduced where judges in specialist family courts will focus on separating couples’ rows over money. The new “Financial Remedies Courts” will be trialled in London, the West Midlands and South Wales next year. In the new courts, judges will make decisions on only the “financial aspect” of divorce proceedings. Judicial
A businessman has been given a one-year jail term after judges concluded he had forged his mother’s will and was in contempt of court. Girish Patel, who is in 60s, had been embroiled in litigation with brother Yashwant, who is in his 70s, over control of a multi-million family business empire. He had claimed he
A lawyer who complained he had been ordered to give more than half his disposable income to his estranged wife has lost the most recent round of a divorce court fight. The man said an order made by Judge Mark Everall at a hearing in the Central Family Court in London left his estranged wife
A former managing partner of a law firm in Bradford, who is serving a prison sentence for fraud, has admitted his role in the issuing of false divorce certificates. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found that Mohammed Ayub, 56, had failed to supervise a work experience student who provided three couples with falsified decree absolutes while
A woman is demanding a share of her ex-husbands earnings on top of a £10m divorce payout, the court of appeal has heard. The marriage of Kim Waggott, 49, with William Waggott, 54, ended after his ‘multiple affairs.’ The couple married in 2000 and have a teenage daughter. Ms Waggott is arguing that she is
A man has been jailed after he faked a relative’s will to prevent a charity benefitting from a multi-million pound legacy. Paul Coppola, 65, admitted forging the signature of Desiderio Coppola just days before his death. The deceased left his £7m estate to be divided between his family and wished for the balance to be left to
A novice landlord said she fought a legal battle to regain possession of her rental property but was horrified to find it trashed and covered in faeces. Angela Leeming, 62, says she spent more than £10,000 in court costs, damage repairs and lost rent. Leeming said her tenant left dog and cat faeces on carpets
A property tycoon who claimed his estranged wife was not entitled to a share of his fortune because their marriage certificate was fake has settled a High Court dispute. Asif Aziz said last month that he and his estranged wife Tagilde Aziz were both born abroad and obtained a “fake” marriage certificate so a child they
A landlord was found to be renting a “coffin-like” cupboard to a man in London as a room. Inspectors for Newham Council discovered the one-metre by two-metre understairs space in an overcrowded house in Beckton. According to the council, the four-bedroom house had already been fitted with 11 “sleeping spaces,” with bunk beds crammed into single rooms. Officers also discovered serious fire
A senior High Court judge has suggested that couples could be committing accidental bigamy after he cancelled 21 divorces organised by a disgraced former barrister. Sir James Munby, the president of the High Court’s family division, said Khalik Bhatoo used false addresses on the divorce petitions and had forged signatures and filled out forms on
Couples will be able to apply for divorce online as part of a £1 billion reform of the justice system. The scheme is being tested at three sites in the UK and is due to be extended to other centres in the coming months, the Ministry of Justice said. It is part of a £1bn
A benefits cheat who had over £50,000 in his bank account after receiving money from an inheritance has been sentenced after illegally claiming more than £30,000. Constantino Fenu, 63, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty to seven counts of benefit fraud. The court heard Fenu received benefits he was not entitled to including housing
The Court of Appeal allowed a husband’s appeal against an order made by a Family Division judge that he should pay his wife a lump sum even though a Russian court had previously made a consent order following Russian divorce proceedings in which they both had legal representation. Following an evaluation of all the relevant
A retired nurse is accused of creating false tenancy agreements and claimed she rented her £400,000 home in order to claim £66,000 in benefits that she wasn’t entitled to. Margaret Ayensu, 71, lied over a period of ten years and fraudulently claimed pensions credit and housing benefit. In addition, Ayensu also created several false letters
Princess Tessy of Luxembourg is splitting from her husband Prince Louis following an 11 year marriage. Princess Tessy is now facing accusations of being a ‘gold digger’ after she launched divorce proceedings in the London courts. Princess Tessie, 31, arrived for an initial hearing last week at the Royal Courts of Justice, in a bid
A landlord has been fined £100,000 after illegally converting a Barking home into seven studio flats. Nazmul Haq, 54, converted a five-bedroom family home, which was registered as a private address, into seven flats. Mr Haq further built an illegal extension to the property. Mr Haq first had an enforcement notice issued in March 2014.
An entrepreneur said to be worth more than £200million is ‘pleading poverty,’ according to his estranged wife’s divorce lawyers. The High Court heard that Andy Ruhan’s fortune was so large ‘it’s impossible to quantify.’ The 55-year-old who once owned 37 Thistle Hotels and sat on the board of the Lotus Formula One team,
A leading divorce lawyer is campaigning for no-fault divorce and has taken her campaign directy to Conservative Party members. Ayesha Vardag, founder of London firm Vardags, pleaded her case to delegates at the party conference to lobby their MPs and bring out a change in the law. Vardag, as reported by the Law Gazette, she
A wealthy businessman claims his former “wife” is not entitled to a share in a £1.1 billion fortune as he alledges they were never legally married. Asif Aziz said he and his estranged wife Tagilde Aziz were both born abroad and obtained a “fake” marriage certificate so a child they had adopted could get a
A landlord has been fined a total of £7,298 for operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Oxford that was home to three people with disabilities. William Stephen Rielly was prosecuted after environmental health officers from Oxford City Council investigated a house that he owned at Nowell Road in September 2016. They
A landlord from Sheffield will be sentenced for harassing his tenants. Mark Cashin, 48, was taken to court by Sheffield City Council. Cashin pleaded guilty to two charges relating to the harassment of his tenants during a short hearing at Sheffield Crown Court. The first incident took place between Janaury 16, 2016 and February
A landlord has escaped jail after failing to have proper fire safety precautions after a man suffered life-threatening 40 per cent burns when he was trapped in his room. Warwick Crown Court heard that the victim, suffered after another resident deliberately started a fire in a Coventry multiple occupancy house. Simon Fox (55) of Common
A woman from Truro has been jailed for benefits fraud after claiming that she was single while living with her husband. Helen Salunga, 47, pleaded guilty to four counts of defrauding the Department for Work and Pensions, Cornwall Council and HM Revenue and Customs. Truro Crown Court heard that Salunga fraudulently claimed £80,506.48 in total.
An 80-year-old man has received a six-month suspended prison sentence for a £19,000 ten-year benefit fraud. However, upon further investigation about his pension credit claims, benefit officers discovered he and his wife had not claimed all the social security they were entitled to. As a result they increased their benefits. York magistrates heard that James
A mother of four falsely claimed benefits to buy a second home to get her children into a better school, Ipswich Crown Court heard. Mother-of-four Rejiya Mukith from Ipswich, obtained a mortgage for the £58,080 property in 2003, yet later used £35,000 in income support she dishonestly obtained by lying about her financial situation to
