Many residential and commercial landlords are unaware that, from April 2018, new laws have come into force which set a new standard for minimum energy efficiency levels.

The new rules apply to both rented residential and commercial premises and will affect landlords, freehold investors, developers and lenders.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is just a few weeks away – and fines for non-compliance are alarmingly high, which is why businesses need to act now to ensure they are fully compliant ahead of 25 May 2018.

From the end of next month, all businesses will have to meet the requirements of the GDPR, which will effectively replace the Data Protection Act 1998.

A landmark judgement could lead to further claims against company directors who have received assets in breach of trust - even if they are not received directly into their names – outside of the standard six year limitation period.

The decision by the Supreme Court in Burnden Holdings (UK) Ltd v Fielding & another related to the transfer of Vital, a subsidiary of Burnden Holdings, into a new holding company that the defendants were shareholders in, which was subsequently sold for £6 million. The defendants then used the proceeds to purchase a property.

In past editions of our newsletter, you may recall we highlighted the growing issue of the ground rent scandal which has affected a number of property owners.

Jackie Prior, our Head of Residential Conveyancing was invited to speak on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire radio to provide advice to listeners.

A woman who has been denied bereavement payments following the death of her former partner of 23 years, is to take her case against the Government to the Supreme Court.

Siobhan McLaughlin, aged 46, had four children with her partner, John Adams, but when he died in 2014, she was denied a £2,000 lump sum bereavement payment as well as a weekly widowed parent allowance, which could have been worth up to £118 a week.

Businesses need to be aware of changes to the taxation of termination payments which came into effect on 6 April.

The new rules affect payments in lieu of notice (PILONs) which are now subject to Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and are designed to ‘simplify’ the system.

Earlier this year, we were delighted to bring you the news that one of our colleagues, Andriy Buniak, a solicitor in our private client team, won the Legal Professional Award at the Coventry and Warwickshire YoungPro Awards 2018.

Andriy was singled out for the fantastic work he does both here at Mander Hadley and within the local community in his spare time.