News & Blogs

The Coronavirus has presented many businesses with less or no work, leaving those businesses with the difficult decision of what to do with their employees.

Two possible options are laying employees off  (providing them with no work and no pay for a period while retaining them as employees) or placing them on short-time work (providing them with less work and less pay for a period, again...

The government recognises that the recently announced measures, such as the order to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, could cause significant fear or anxiety for those who are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse. It is clear that many important life-changing decisions are having to be put on hold, during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, this should not mean that you should...

Following the government’s recent announcements aimed at combatting COVID-19, more and more businesses are moving to remote working and HM Land Registry (HMLR) is no exception. HMLR has announced how it anticipates its services to be impacted by the pandemic and, while some services are navigating the transition relatively seamlessly, others are experiencing more difficulty. The current...

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the majority of business premises, including registered offices, are now closed and a large proportion of employees are working from home. This raises two obvious questions; what if I wish to serve a document on a third party? And, what if a document is sent to a vacant office?

These questions can be relevant in a number of contexts; most obviously court...

In light of the dramatic events of the last few weeks, many companies will find themselves in a position where they are no longer able to perform contracts or alternatively have counterparties claiming they are in that position. If you find yourself on either side of that situation you should check your contract for the existence of a force majeure clause.

What is a force majeure clause?

• A...

Nearly all commercial leases include “forfeiture” provisions that allow a landlord to take possession of the property back from the tenant, and terminate the lease, following a breach. In most cases, this involves a landlord “changing the locks”.

Governmental advice that all non-essential business must shut will undoubtedly have an impact on cash flow across the economy...

As the unprecedented disruption to normal life created by the recent government lockdown on vast swathes of the high street and many other forms of commercial property continues unabated, landlords and tenants are faced with difficult decisions to make in respect of their lease obligations, and in particular the payment of rent and other charges under their leases, while tenants are unable to...

In light of the recent lockdown due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), there will inevitably be a significant impact on property transactions. While most firms have been preparing for their staff to be able to work from home, in order to avoid as much disruption as possible, the effects are likely to be far reaching.

There could be a significant delay in remitting funds if any party, or their...

This is without doubt truly unprecedented times for everyone. We find ourselves in the grip of a global pandemic, without any degree of certainty as to how long it may persist.

The situation is rapidly evolving and we are being subjected to wide ranging travel restrictions and social distancing, while experiencing concerns for our own and our loved ones’ health. In these situations,...

The government have announced that they are set to bring in emergency legislation to protect private tenants from eviction. It is said that the legislation will:

1. Suspend new evictions from social or private rented accommodation during this national emergency;

2. Ban any new possession proceedings (applications to evict tenants via the court); and

3. Put in place measures to provide landlords...