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The conversion of agricultural buildings for residential use is commonplace and a special planning regime exists to simplify the procedure for farm owners wishing to convert buildings into residential property. If the conversion meets the criteria defining a 'permitted development' set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, then full planning permission is not needed. However, when plans were made to convert a modern steel-framed barn which was open on three sides into a residential unit, the local council opposed the plan and refused...

There is an established legal principle that where people have wills benefiting each other (as is normal with the wills of a husband and wife) and the order in which they died cannot be ascertained, it is considered that the older of the two will have been the first to die. It is also normal for a will to provide a 'survivorship period', so that if the second death closely follows the first, the terms of the will are varied. This can prevent tax and other complications which may arise...

Divorce is normally a difficult time for all concerned and the financial arrangements can be very contentious. Normally, problems revolve around the failure to provide accurate disclosure of assets, but on some occasions there is a total failure to cooperate. However, as a recent case shows, refusing entirely to engage in the court process is not a viable option. In the case in point, a man refused to lodge the Form E, which is the form used to disclose one's financial circumstances for the purpose of arriving at a financial...

The rise and rise of Airbnb and similar online community marketplaces that allow property owners to rent out their properties on short-term lets has led to many people making use of the facility to earn extra income, or even to operate as commercial providers of accommodation, using the Internet as their main marketing tool. However, a recent court case highlighted just one of the factors that should be borne in mind when considering putting your property into the lettings market in this way. It involved the owner of a leasehold property...