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Service Charge Disputes

Service Charge Disputes in Mixed-Use Developments – Who Pays for What?

A building with shops or offices on the ground floor and flats above can be a great place to live and work. When it comes to the service charge, though, the mix of occupiers is often where the tension shows. Flat owners may resent paying towards shopfront repairs or extended-hours security. Businesses may object to contributing to a residential lift they never use. The law treats residential and commercial occupiers very differently, and a Court of Appeal decision in 2026 has shown that the line between the two is not…

Electronic Wills

The Biggest Changes to Wills in Nearly 200 Years: What Could Be Coming?

The law that governs Wills in England and Wales is based largely on the Wills Act 1837. That's right, the main legislation dealing with Wills was introduced during the reign of Queen Victoria and has remained largely unchanged ever since. The Law Commission has recently recommended a series of reforms designed to bring Will-making into the modern age. While these are currently proposals rather than law, they could represent the biggest changes to Wills in almost 200 years. Why Is Reform Being Proposed? Life today is very different from 1837…

Inheritance Tax Changes for Family Businesses and Farms

Inheritance Tax Changes for Family Businesses and Farms: What You Need to Know

For many years, family businesses and farms have benefited from generous Inheritance Tax reliefs that helped them pass from one generation to the next without a large tax bill. However, the rules have changed, and some families may now face an Inheritance Tax charge where previously none would have been payable. What Are APR and BPR? You may have heard professionals talk about: Agricultural Property Relief (APR), which applies to qualifying farming assets. Business Property Relief (BPR), which applies to certain business assets and shares. These reliefs were designed to…

Pensions and inheritance tax

Pensions and inheritance tax: what changes on 6 April 2027

For the past decade, pension savings have occupied an unusual and rather favourable corner of the tax system. Because most modern schemes pay death benefits at the discretion of their trustees, unused pension funds have generally sat outside the deceased's estate for inheritance tax purposes. That has made pensions an efficient way to pass wealth down a generation, and it has shaped a good deal of retirement planning advice. From 6 April 2027, that changes. Most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be counted as part of the…

Office-to-Residential Conversions and Changing Planning Rules

Office-to-Residential Conversions and Changing Planning Rules

Many town and city centres now have more office space than they need, while demand for housing remains high. Converting offices into homes has become a familiar response, and the planning system has been shaped to encourage it. The national planning policy behind these conversions changed again in August 2026, however. Anyone involved in a conversion, whether as a property owner, a business tenant or a buyer, should understand where they now stand. This article covers the position in England. Wales has its own planning rules, and the permitted development…

World Alzheimer's Month

World Alzheimer’s Month: A Reminder to Plan Ahead with a Will and Lasting Power of Attorney

Every September, World Alzheimer's Month asks us to think about the millions of people living with dementia and the families supporting them. This year, World Alzheimer's Day fell on 21 September, and it prompted a great many quiet conversations across the country about a subject most families would rather not dwell on. An estimated 982,000 people in the UK are living with dementia, and that number is expected to keep rising as we all live longer. Behind each of those figures is a family working out what they are allowed…

Japanese Knotweed and Property Sales: Legal Risks for Sellers

Since 30 March 2026, solicitors accredited under the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme have had to use the sixth edition of the TA6 Property Information Form on every new residential sale. Earlier versions have been withdrawn. The new form is shorter and plainer than the ill-fated fifth edition, and it gives sellers more scope to say "not known" where they honestly do not know. Japanese knotweed survives the redesign and sits in the environmental section of the form. And for sellers, it remains one of the most reliable ways to…

Repair Obligations

Repair Obligations in Residential Tenancies

When something goes wrong in a rented home, the first question is usually the simplest one to ask and the hardest to answer: whose job is it to fix it? The answer depends on what has broken, what the tenancy agreement says, and, increasingly, on which side of the England and Wales border the property sits. The two nations now run noticeably different systems. This article looks at how repair obligations work for ordinary residential lettings in England and in Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate rules…

Holiday Lets

Holiday lets: what owners and buyers need to know now

High summer is when holiday lets earn their keep. Coastal cottages, lakeside cabins and city flats are booked solid, and every sunny week makes the idea of owning one look more appealing. But the rules that once made a furnished holiday let such an attractive proposition have changed significantly, and more change is on the way. If you own a holiday let, or you are tempted to buy or convert one this year, it is worth understanding where the law now stands. This article covers England and Wales, which increasingly…

Why Being an Executor of a Will

Why Being an Executor of a Will Is About to Become More Difficult

Being asked to act as an Executor is usually taken as a compliment. It means a relative or close friend trusted you to carry out their wishes and to deal with their affairs properly after they had died. In practice, it is a role that carries real legal responsibility, and from 6 April 2027 it is about to become more demanding still. Most Executors begin the work while grieving, supporting other family members and trying to make sense of financial and legal information they have never seen before. From April…

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