HMLR has made a change to PG27 (the leasehold reform legislation). If the impending changes to leasehold are introduced, practitioners must become familiar with PG27. The update is as follows: ‘In section 1 reference has been added to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Sections 4.1 and 5.3 have been amended as a result …
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The Family Justice Council has published best practice guidance for lawyers on neurodiversity in the Family Justice System. The move is intended to provide fairer treatment for neurodivergent children and families given the additional barriers they face. Aimed particularly at legal practitioners who work with neurodivergent users of the justice system, the President states in …
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HMLR has released details of a new resource aimed at the lay person, but it makes useful reading for practitioners as it covers ‘squatting and the law’, more familiarly described as ‘adverse possession.’ It covers: squatting in non-residential properties and relevant crimes that may have been committed; the rights that long-term squatters might have in …
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Any application to court to change a child’s name should be decided on its own particular facts, the CA has ruled. C identified as non-binary. In June 2024, M’s application to change C’s name from a ‘male’ to her current ‘female’ name was dismissed. The issue for the court was whether it should make a …
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The fraught impact of the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 may have faded from the legal headlines, but the impact on affected properties and the wider property market will continue to be felt for some years. An important statistic is that seven years on from Grenfell, of the 4,834 buildings 11 metres and …
Continue reading “Cladding remediation – timetable”
The decision to appoint an intermediary (including lay advocates) in family proceedings is always one for the judge. The President has issued Practice Guidance on The use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family Court. It is important that readers note that when a party applies for a cognitive assessment or an …
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The overriding principle of totality is that the overall sentence should reflect all the offending behaviour, with reference to overall harm and culpability and the aggravating and mitigating factors relating to the offences, and those personal to the offender. The sentence should also be just and proportionate. In this case, a sentence of 18 years’ …
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Here is the press summary of the widely commented upon case involving a moth infestation and a £32.5m house: ‘1. Judgment is given today in the claim of Iya Patarkatsishvili and Yevhen Hunyak (“the Claimants”) for rescission and damages for fraudulent misrepresentations made by William Woodward-Fisher (“the Defendant”) in the sale of a house, Horbury …
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