York - 
28 October 2021
Commercial property
When farmers rent out a spare cottage on their land to one of their farm workers it may seem like a win-win all round: the farmer gets to fill their empty property and have a worker on site, and the farm worker gets somewhere convenient to live. However, as Andrew Little, Commercial Property Solicitor and agricultural law specialist at Pearsons & Ward (Malton office of Ware & Kay Solicitors) explains, farmers should ensure they do not inadvertently grant an assured agricultural occupancy instead of an assured shorthold tenancy in such situations as this would give their tenant more rights than they perhaps intended. Unless farmers take specific steps to ensure the tenancy granted to an agricultural worker is an assured shorthold tenancy, an assured agricultural occupancy regulated by the Housing Act 1988 will automatically arise where…
28 October 2021
Family Matters
The current economic climate, as a result of the pandemic, has put farming families under increased pressure and pushed many to breaking point and even divorce. Divorce is never easy, but for farming families it can be particularly traumatic and complex – particularly when it comes down to the division of assets required by law when a marriage breaks down. Our family law team at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby, advises farmers about the legal protections they can put in place to ensure the survival of the farming business in the event of a divorce. ‘As the farm is usually the main source of income for the family, changes in your personal relationship may also dramatically affect your working relationships and the future of your livelihood,’ he explains. Under section 25 of the…
20 October 2021
Commercial property
In the recent case of London Trocadero (2015) LLP v (1) Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd (2) Gallery Cinemas Limited and (3) Cineworld Cinemas Limited the High Court considered an application for summary judgment by the landlord in respect of outstanding rent arrears. The Claimant, London Trocadero (2015) LLP, was the landlord of two leases of cinema premises at the Trocadero Centre in London of which the First Defendant, Picturehouse Cinemas Limited, was the tenant. The Second Defendant, Gallery Cinemas Limited, was the original tenant under one of the leases and the Third Defendant, Cineworld Cinemas Limited, was the guarantor of sums due under both leases. No rent had been paid under the leases since June 2020 and the arrears together with service charges at the time of the Court hearing was in the region of £2.9 million…
15 October 2021
Litigation
As a child, I was oblivious to Uncle Len’s misfortune. During a lifetime working on the land and loyal service to the landowner, he was promised, by his employer, the land and house in which he lived, would be left to him in his employer’s Will. Uncle Len never doubted this promise and in reliance, failed to make provision, should he be let down. The trust he placed in that assurance of future inheritance, also took away his motivation to pursue other opportunities for better employment, training, or further education. When his employer died, his Will left nothing to my uncle. He and my aunt had to leave the house which had been their home for decades, promised would be theirs one day. They did nothing further about the matter. How radically different my uncle and…
05 October 2021
Residential property
Low interest rates combined with high demand for rental properties and a boom in self-catering holidays have fueled growth in property investment. Flexible finance options also make it easier to pool resources to invest in property or to buy a second home with friends or relatives. ‘When buying a residential property with others, there are a number of options for how you structure the ownership,’ Holly Stevens, Head of Residential Property with Ware & Kay in York explains. ‘To decide on the best route, you will need to consider the particular circumstances of each person involved, the property itself and the proposed use. Speak to your solicitor first to discuss the best way to structure your ownership as this can have important ramifications later.’ Consider the risks Buying a property is a major financial commitment and…
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