Let us set the scene: You get injured at work. Your employer becomes liable to you for damages. Then they go bankrupt. And to top it off, your boss never took out insurance. Not ideal. That’s exactly what happened to William Campbell who, after injuring his hand at work, raised an action for damages against [...]
With the recent announcement about LBTT made by the SNP to change the thresholds of property tax yet again, people are left a little confused. Let’s simplify what has been announced... What is LBTT? In October 2014 the Scottish Government proposed a new alternative to stamp duty called Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which [...]
Johnson Legal are very proud to be a first mover in using drone video camera technology to go that one step further in producing high-end Edinburgh property videos. In partnership with Moving Property, we've been producing some beautiful aerial scenes - take a look at this video for our Dean Path Property Can we help [...]
Introducing - Viewpark, 7 Hillhead,Broomieknowe, EH19 2AJ ‘An imposing and elegant ‘C’ Listed detached Georgian house sympathetically extended to provide a substantial and elegant family home within delightfully picturesque gardens’ Viewpark is a superb sized and elegant detached Georgian villa which dates back to the 1820’s. Set back within beautifully maintained gardens, circa 0.62 of [...]
Flooding is a growing risk for homes in Great Britain. Property doesn’t necessarily need to be close to a river or the sea or situated on low lying ground to be exposed to flood risk. Surface water, groundwater and overflowing sewers are increasingly common causes of flooding.
Edinburgh is unique as a local government area in that it has private legislation empowering the Council to serve demands on co-owners to carry out common repairs, and in the absence of compliance from co-owners - for example the separate owners of a block of tenement flats - the Council is empowered to carry out the work themselves and to recover the costs from the co-owners thereafter.
How far are you willing to go in marketing your home in order to see it sold? Since the repeal of the Property Misdescription Act on 1st October 2013 and its replacement with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPR) and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPR), selling your home brings with it an increased duty to declare its faults.
You do not have to be particularly wealthy or a business owner to make use of Will trust provisions to make tax savings and to protect assets into the future. Business owners and investors should however consider trusts to maximise the very generous reliefs that are available to qualifying businesses interests. There are different types of trust. These can be set up in lifetime or take effect on death under the terms of the Will or a Deed of Variation within two years of the death.
The recent case of Minutes for Direction by doctor AB illustrates the power of the Sheriff Court in determining where an “incapax” adult should reside. Incapax means that the adult can no longer make informed decisions about their affairs, so a guardian is often appointed to do this for them. The mother had Alzheimer’s disease and so her daughter was her guardian – she made the decisions about her mother’s welfare, property and finances. The daughter’s powers extended to making arrangements for the long term care of her mother, but she had not yet done so, meaning the mother had been in and out of NHS hospitals for three years...
The City of Edinburgh Council’s new policy from 1 January 2014 introduces a 200% council tax charge on long term empty properties.