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Even acts of generosity can lead to litigation if the basis for them is not professionally documented. That was sadly so in the case of a businessman who stepped forward to rescue close family friends from the threat of homelessness. A couple with five children found themselves in dire financial circumstances. After the man was made bankrupt, an enforced sale of the family home was threatened. Their repeated attempts to obtain loan finance were rejected. The businessman came to their rescue by himself raising a £205,000 mortgage against the property. Pursuant...

Tenants have a right peacefully to enjoy their homes, free from harassment by their landlords. A judge succinctly made that point in awarding substantial compensation to a couple whose landlord was anxious to see the back of them so he could refurbish and sell their home with vacant possession. The couple were tenants of a studio flat within a house in multiple occupation. Their landlord wished to convert the property back into a single dwelling and market it without any residents in situ. All the property's other occupants had moved...

Couples who move in together commonly believe that their shares in the property will reflect their respective financial contributions to the purchase price or mortgage. As a High Court ruling made plain, however, such assumptions are often mistaken in that they take no account of the critical distinction between moral and legal obligations. A man moved into his partner's council-owned property. She was the property's sole tenant and subsequently took out a mortgage so that she could exercise her right to buy it. Both the mortgage and legal title to...

When married British couples separate whilst living overseas, it is quite common for competing divorce petitions to be issued both in England and abroad. A High Court ruling provided a useful illustration of the judicial approach to jurisdictional issues that often arise in such cases. A couple, both British citizens, moved to Dubai about two and a half years before the breakdown of their long marriage. The wife petitioned for divorce in this country and the husband shortly afterwards launched divorce proceedings in Dubai. The wife was, in England, granted...