LEGAL CORNER
Perhaps you have heard of commonhold? By Owen Hill, Consultant Solicitor
There are few areas of law that lead to more heartache and grief than building rentals. It is either a
landlord and tenant at loggerheads over the amount of service charge or tenants in dispute over their respective shares of costs that have been incurred on their behalf. The rules and concepts in English law that relate to both commercial and residential buildings have not changed since the medieval period and are based on the historic feudal relationship between the all-powerful landlord and the tenant that was lucky to have a roof over his head. Times have changed but law reform in this area has been slow to respond to the new order. Tenants of commercial property had no right to
renew leases until 1954 and it was not until 1967 that legislation was introduced to provide the owner of a long lease of residential space to extend the lease by right and at a cost determined by a formula rather than the demands of the landlord. More recently landlords of residential premises
have been required to obtain independent quotes for services to a building and can no longer offer friends and relations monster margins on window cleaning and maintenance contracts. Even the landlords of commercial premises are now denied the right to
mark up shared utility costs or take commissions on buildings insurance for their tenants. Order and regulation is slowly coming to this antiquated area of law and dragging it into the 21st century. But we are still in a world of the landlord and the
tenant and you are either on one side of the fence or the other. It is a recipe for a dispute and as a result lawyers (excluding me) love it. There is a better way and it has been available under English Law for 20 years or so but the take up has been so very slow that there are hardly any schemes in operation. Commonhold was developed in New Zealand and imported to the UK as a potential panacea for the sharing of a building by a bunch of people that would collectively perform the functions of a landlord and be the tenants of the building at the same time. The system is based on ballots of all interested parties to manage their building to their mutual advantage. It will not stop people being human beings and having a difference of opinion but it does remove the traditional entrenched positions of landlords and tenants that tend to lead to an “us and them” attitude to issues. So perhaps the future for shared buildings will not be freehold or leasehold but commonhold?
The role of executor – handle with care By Marinella Hollies, Partner
When someone dies, there are many practical as well as emotional issues to deal with. Being asked to be an executor
is an honour. The person appointing you knows you can be trusted to carry out their wishes. But it can also be a huge task, even if the estate is simple. Executors are expected to fulfil the terms of the will including the distribution of bequests. This can be complicated, for example, if a bequest has been made to a beneficiary who cannot be found or if the Will is not straightforward. It is not at all uncommon for private executors to make mistakes in an administration, especially if they are not professionally advised. An obvious example is where an executor misinterprets a Will, and makes a payment to a beneficiary that is beyond their entitlement, so that others suffer. The Trustee Act 2000 has imposed on all executors
a statutory duty to exercise care and skill in the administration of the estate. Executors are personally responsible for completing self-assessment tax returns during the administration of the estate and for payment of assessed tax. The tax may be payable after the administration is concluded and it is essential that such liabilities are allowed for in distributing the estate. Delay in lodging returns, or in payment of tax, can now lead to significant penalties which may not be
recoverable from the assets of the estate. In addition, executors have a statutory responsibility to
the Inland Revenue to advise them of all circumstances which might lead to the payment of inheritance tax. They are expected to make appropriate inquiries about possible lifetime gifts made by the deceased. Failure to account to the Revenue can lead to severe penalties, which fall on the executors personally and cannot usually be recoverable from the estate unless they can be shown to have done all they could to uncover taxable gifts. Executors are required to keep clear and accurate
accounts of their dealings with the deceased’s assets and liabilities and beneficiaries are entitled to inspect them. Where an Executor has no experience of the preparation of accounts, he is under a duty to delegate the task to a competent person. Otherwise, the court might intervene and demand an account. It is frequently difficult to be certain that one has been made aware of every single debt owed, at his or her death, by a deceased person but the executor must take certain steps to ensure that he doesn’t become personally liable for any debts that are not paid. We appreciate this is a difficult time and if you are
acting as an executor or administrator, we can help. Not only will we make the experience as stress-free as possible, our experienced estates and probate solicitors will also ensure that everything is dealt with correctly and efficiently, whether there is a Will or not.
91
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164