Jacobs & Reeves

For our Legal Eagle

I cannot get the Council to salt the pavement outside my home, leaving it slippery and dangerous.  Would there be a compensation claim against the Council if someone slipped and hurt themselves? 

Your Council, or for bigger roads, the Highways Agency, have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to maintain the highway.  In times of snow and ice, that duty, realistically, will be limited to gritting the busier local roads and is unlikely to extend to pavements.  The difficulty is that the Highway Authority need only take "reasonable steps".  Bad weather of this type would usually be a problem for just a few days only and in most cases we think that the Courts would accept that it is unreasonable to extend the Highway Authority's legal duties to a general duty to salt or grit footpaths.

If you have complained to the Council, you may be in a stronger position.  If the footpath remains in a hazardous state for very many days and someone then falls over on it there is an argument that the Council ought reasonably to have responded to the complaint.

In most cases however, a Council will not be legally liable for a failure to clear ice or snow from local footpaths.

For more information contact Jacobs & Reeves  http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk

From our Legal Eagle

My father has had to go into a care home and is no longer capable of dealing with his financial affairs.  I need to sell his house in order to pay for his nursing fees.  What do I do?  

 
Presuming that your father is the sole owner of the property, and is no longer capable of putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney, to personally appoint someone to deal with his affairs, then you can apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as his Deputy.  Generally speaking you will be asking the Court to allow you to deal with your father’s property and affairs and more specifically on this occasion, to give you permission to sell his property.  It will be necessary to complete a number of forms regarding your father’s circumstances (both personal and financial) and your own personal circumstances.  In addition, it will be necessary to have a medical assessment carried out by a doctor to confirm that he is indeed no longer capable of dealing with his financial affairs.  You must also give notice of your application to your father and anyone who you reasonably believe has an interest in your father’s affairs, his nearest living relatives who still take an interest in his affairs and possibly other people who are close to him.  Any of the people who are given notice have the right to object to your application on certain grounds.  When the application is made a court fee (presently £400.00) is payable, unless an exemption or remission applies in which case the fee will be reduced, possibly to nil.  The Court will usually make an order to appoint you as the Deputy without a hearing, unless there are any objections or the Court has any other concerns as to your appointment.  The Deputyship order will then enable you to act on your father’s behalf to sell the property. 

It may of course be that there are other alternatives to cover the fees other than selling the property.  For example, it may be possible to agree with the local authority that they will pay the fees and place an interest free charge (a mortgage) against the property to be repaid following your father’s death or earlier sale of the property.  This is something that you should look into. 

For more information please contact Jacobs & Reeves   http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk

From our property lawyer

The roof of my property has started to leak.  I have complained to the landlord and the lettings agents to get it repaired, but they have not done anything.  I am concerned about damage to my possessions, and also potential mould issues. 



The landlord should be responsible for repairing the roof.  You (or a solicitor) would need to check your lease to confirm that it is the responsibility of the landlord.  If it is the landlords responsibility, and they are failing to repair it then it is possible for you to be able to instruct a contractor to repair the roof, and then deduct that cost from your rent.  You really should seek legal advise on this process as there is a specific procedure, and if you fail to follow it correctly then the landlord can claim that the non-payment of rent is not authorised and seek to evict you.  I would suggest you contact us so that we can advise you further.


For more information please contact Jacobs & Reeves  http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk

From our property lawyer

I am hoping to move shortly. How is the actual moving date decided? I would like to move on a Saturday so I do not need to take a day off work. 

 
The moving date (known as the completion date) is usually decided when everyone in the chain is ready to sign their contracts. Sometimes, when there are a lot of people in a chain, it can be difficult to reach agreement although it is extremely rare that a sale falls through because agreement cannot be reached about a completion date. In a typical case someone in the chain will suggest a date which suits them and that date is passed on to all the others in the chain. If everyone can agree the date then that is settled. Often someone will not agree the date and will suggest an alternative date and again that is passed on up and down the chain. This process will continue until everyone is happy with the date. Often this process is handled through the solicitors or estate agents but sometimes, particularly when there are only a few people in the chain, the buyers and sellers speak to each other direct and sort the date out.

The legal completion has to take place between Monday and Friday as the majority of legal firms are closed on Saturdays and in any event purchase monies have to be transferred through the Chaps transfer banking system which is only available Monday to Friday. If you are only buying then there is no reason why legal completion cannot take place on a Friday and you can move in on a Saturday or even later if you wish. However if you are selling then you must move out on the completion date as your buyer will have paid for your house on that day and is entitled to move in. In that case you will have to take a day off work to move.

If any readers require any further assistance or advice on tenancy or conveyancing matters they should contact our conveyancing department who will be happy to discuss your requirements.  Please also note that we prepare HIPS for sellers on a very competitive basis when using our sale conveyancing package.  Further details can be supplied upon request.  

For further details contact Jacobs & Reeves.  http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk

From our property lawyer

I have tenants in my house and am about to place the property on the market.  The tenancy was an initial six-monthly with a one-month notice.  This started in December of 2007, but there has only ever been one tenancy agreement.  The Agents tell me that this is ok since the terms continue, but I would like your comment on this. 

The property will normally need to be sold with vacant possession, unless of course the buyer wants to buy as an investment and is happy to purchase with the tenant in place.  Unless the buyer agrees to buy with the tenant in occupation I would not advise that you exchange contracts giving vacant possession until it is known that the tenant has actually vacated the property. Even if the tenant has promised that he will leave on a certain date you cannot be absolutely sure that he will leave and if he does not then it is you that will be in breach of your sale contract.  Regarding the fact that the tenant is still in occupation under the original 6 month tenancy agreement signed in 2007, you may only have to give 1 month's notice instead of the usual 2 months notice. However, we would always advise you to take specific legal advice before giving notices as this can be a tricky area of law. In all other respects, so long as it was correctly drawn up initially, there should be no particular problems with the fact that it was granted in 2007.  Certainly, as you are now considering marketing the property, you should not sign a new tenancy agreement as you will have to give that for a minimum of 6 months. 

Contact Jacobs & Reeves for more details on this post. http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk