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Landlord and Tenant Cases, and Housing generally

  • Citizens Advice Bureau provides information on housing matters.
  • Shelter provides housing advice in England, with sections on Homelessness, Finding accommodation, Help with housing costs, Home ownership, Renting privately and EU Accession. For advice in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, start here.
  • Coventry Law Centre has set up a detailed advice section on housing, welfare benefits and employment. The briefing sheets can be downloaded in pdf or Word formats. There is also a very extensive set of links on legal advice centres and resources in each of these areas.
  • Landlord-Law is a site set up by solicitor Tessa Shepperson to provide "packaged" advice to private residential landlords and tenants. There are documents and forms which can be filled in online, an extensive set of FAQ's (based on real questions sent in to Tessa), an interactive "Tenancy Trail" allowing tenants to find out what kind of tenancy they have and the implications of this, a questions and answers section where you can put a question to Tessa to answer, book reviews, regular features articles, a monthly cartoon, and a regular newsletter. There is also a Law Reform section with information about government consultation papers, plus a directory of Local Authorities showing services provided by LAs to the private residential sector. Much of the site is free but there are modest charges for some services and to become a "member". Members have access to fixed fee legal services eg for repossession and advice, and can purchase 'Online Kits' for bringing county court claims for rent arrears and repossession.
  • Enfranchisement Solicitors is a site from Bonallack and Bishop - Salisbury, Andover, Amesbury, Verwood and Warminster relating to the legal situation for leasehold property. The site includes information on how to extend a lease, how leaseholders can join together to buy the freehold of a block of flats, how to buy the freehold of a leasehold house and how to take on the management of a block of flats.
  • Leasehold Advisory Service is an independent advice agency, funded partly by Government grant and partly by the private sector, providing free advice to leaseholders, landlords, professional advisers and others on the law affecting residential leasehold property.
  • compactlaw.co.uk is a commercial concern offering advice and documents on this topic.
  • LandlordZONE is a portal for landlords involved in letting property - novice and experienced alike. It provides free access to information, resources and contacts of value to residential & small commercial landlords, tenants, letting agents and other property professionals. There is a glossary of legal terms with extensive descriptions and information on each.
  • RIKY is an interesting site for landlords which offers a great deal of free information and advice and then provides a membership at modest prices which enables members to access forms and documents and obtain tenant credit checks. Areas covered on the site include the ability to find out what letter, notice or form is required, issue rent arrears notices, compare Landlord's Insurance and issue a Section 21 Notice. There are also sections to explain property investing, Tenancy Agreements, Landlords Tax, Legislation (TDS, HMO, HSSRS and HB) and provision of a free Tenants Handbook and a free Buy to Let Finance Guide.
  • Residentiallandlord.co.uk is a source of information and advice for residential landlords, helping them to be well informed property investors and up to date with opportunities, responsibilities and latest requirements. There is news, features, links to sources of information from Government and other agencies, and updates on latest buy to let mortgage offers, auction dates and new property developments. There is a forum and an opportunity to "ask Sharon".
  • Landlord Recoveries is a commercial service (but using lawyers as appropriate) providing tenant eviction and litigation specialists for landlords. They can assist in all areas of housing law, including evicting problem tenants, squatters and trespassers. They can also assist landlords with residential tenancies including Assured Shorthold Tenancies, Assured Tenancies, Rent Act Tenancies, Regulated Tenancies and Secure Tenancies. There is information on many of these legal areas on the site.
  • Tenancy Agreement Service provides information on the obligations and rights of both landlords and tenants in Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements (these are the most frequently used tenancy agreement by landlords when letting residential properties). There is extensive information on many aspects of these tenancies, a FAQ section and a glossary of terms used in the property market.
    Two useful blogs on landlord and tenant issues:
  • Painsmith Solicitor’s Landlord and Tenant from solicitors Painsmith.
  • The Landlord Law Blog from solicitor Tessa Shepperson.

    Articles on Landlord and Tenant topics

  • Tenancy Agreements – how to choose the correct agreement for your tenancy By Tessa Shepperson, web-site Landlord Law, written January 2009 Keywords: landlord, tenant, assured shorthold tenancy, disrepair, mortgage repossession, tenancy deposit, rent, rent increase, harassment, trespass

    Legal Aid - now provided by the Legal Services Commission

    For general advice and assistance, see also
    Sources of help and assistance and
    Firms of Solicitors willing to offer Free (Initial) Legal Advice by Email

  • The Legal Service Commission is an executive non-departmental public body created under the Access to Justice Act 1999 to replace the Legal Aid Board. It is responsible for the development and administration of two schemes in England and Wales:
    *The Community Legal Service, which from 2000 replaced the old civil scheme of legal aid, bringing together networks of funders (eg Local Authorities) and suppliers into partnerships to provide the widest possible access to information and advice.
    *The Criminal Defence Service which from 2001 replaced the old system of criminal legal aid and provides criminal services to people accused of crimes.
    Organisations which have met the Commission's standards will display the Community Legal Service Quality Mark or CDS logo.
  • Citizens Advice Bureau provides extensive and detailed information on "help with legal costs".
  • Scottish Legal Aid Board
  • Compact Law offers information on who is eligible for public funding, and on what types of case.
  • Fisher Jones Greenwood offers a variety of "calculators" to work out whether you are likely to qualify for legal aid, including green form and criminal legal aid; you fill in your financial details and the program advises you (but only if you have the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in).
  • Warner Goodman & Streat - Fareham, Hampshire, provides further information (take "Litigation")

    Magistrates and Judges

  • Department for Constitutional Affairs (previously the Lord Chancellor's Department) provides information on magistrates, including the work they do and how to become one and various policy issues relating to magistrates.
  • Judiciary is a new site to explain the work of judges to members of the public. Apparently there are 42,000 judicial office holders in England and Wales. There is lots of information on the roles, responsibilities and powers of the different members of the judiciary; information on the history of the judiciary; the importance of judicial independence; and key concepts like judgments, sentencing powers, practice directions, and tribunal decisions. You can even find out about judicial dress.
  • The Magistrates Association, representing 29,000 lay magistrates, is designed to help the public understand the history and the work of magistrates and includes information on how to become one.

    Mental Health

  • Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. They work by: advancing the views, needs and ambitions of people with mental health problems, challenging discrimination and promoting inclusion, influencing policy through campaigning and education, inspiring the development of quality services which reflect expressed need and diversity, achieving equal rights through campaigning and education.
  • Mental Health Foundation is a leading UK charity that provides information, carries out research, campaigns and works to improve services for anyone affected by mental health problems.
  • Wiki Mental Health is an internet resource on mental health law in England & Wales. There are three sections:
    i) Caselaw; regularly updated commentaries on the cases, with links to the full text judgments on Bailii. (Bailii contains nearly every judgment, but no specific commentary.)
    ii) Legislation; The full text of, and a simple and up-to-date commentary on, the Mental Health Act 1983, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and related legislation.
    iii) General articles to explain the concepts and terminology used in the caselaw and legislation sections and practical guidance for lawyers.
    To add to the wiki, you have to register (create an "account") but it is free.

  • Access Law, a firm of solicitors in Southampton, provide a brief summary of the Act. They are accredited with the Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel as well as being a member of Resolution and an accredited member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Children Panel. They will provide an initial free response to an email request for information.

    Notaries

  • The Notaries Society is the representative society for the 900 Notaries' Public practising in England and Wales outside Central London. Their web site has information about notaries and a search process to find one in any particular area.

    Here are some sites of notaries who give information on this topic:

  • Anderson & Co. provide leaflets which can be downloaded from the site about the functions of notaries and how to use them. The notary at the firm is Victor Warner.
  • Kober-Smith & Associates provide the full range of Public Notary services for private and commercial clients in London and internationally. The site provides an extensive set of FAQs with information on this topic, all in a number of languages.
  • Margaret Masterson, a notary in Norwich, gives useful information on What does a Notary Public do?, Seeing a Notary Public, What is the difference between a notary and a solicitor?, What is Legalisation or Apostille?, Documents in a foreign language, What identification does a Notary Public require? and What does it cost?
  • Nicholas Cook, who is part of legal firm Wollastons, in Chelmsford, describes the purpose and function of a notary and gives a guide to notarial services.
  • Philip Price, practising from the offices of Brian Barr, of Manchester, provides useful information on notaries, what they do, when you need one, how to use them and what they charge.
  • Thames Valley Notary (Bryn Howell-Pryce) provides information on the services notaries can provide.
  • Wallace & Co. - Balham, London, describes what Notaries are "for" (take the "notary services" link at the bottom of the home page). Philip Wallace says..."Documents which are sent to England to be signed here almost always need to be witnessed by a Notary Public. This is also true for Commonwealth countries or countries under British protection. Confusion arises when documents coming from English-speaking countries appear to need witnessing by a 'solicitor' or a 'commissioner for oaths'. This means a local solicitor or commissioner, but if the document is signed here it must be notarised."
  • notaries.co.uk is a commercial directory of Notaries in England and Wales.
  • John Venn & Sons gives an A - Z guide to the jargon.

    Patents, Trade Marks and Intellectual Property

  • The Intellectual Property Office provides information on patents, trade marks, copyright and intellectual property, designed for members of the public as well as patent experts.
  • Mewburn Ellis LLP is one of the UK's largest firms of Chartered Patent Attorneys, European Patent Attorneys, European Trade Mark Attorneys and European Design Attorneys. They cover the full range of intellectual property issues: Patents, Trade Marks, Designs, Industrial Copyright and related matters. There is "basic" information in the site as well as detailed practice sheets for those already knowledgeable.
  • Williams, Powell, British and European patent and trade mark attorneys based in London, provide lots of information on patents, trade marks and intellectual property.
  • Jenkins are Trade Mark and Patent Attorneys with a very impressive set of resources on their site, including UK Patent Statutes and Statutory Instruments, comprehensively hyperlinked, here.
  • Tomkins, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys based in Dublin, provide a useful introduction to patents, trade marks and design. There is also a set of links to patent-related material.
  • Copyrightvault.com is a company set up to give musicians, authors, programmers and artists a service to register their copyright. There are plans to provide a panel of solicitors able to take on cases associated with copyright problems. The company is run by solicitor Phil Kurthausen.
  • brandslaw.com is a site set up by Field Fisher Waterhouse. The site offers free online information on all aspects of protecting brands globally, including online diagrams of the processes for UK and OHIM trade mark applications and opposition proceedings, updates on legal developments across the world, case reports covering trade mark decisions made by the UK Patent Office and the OHIM Court of First Instance of the European Communities, selected extracts from various treatises and a selection of newsletters, guides and articles to download or view online.
  • Crossguard are Trade Mark & Copyright Attorneys covering all areas of trade mark registration, brand selection, protection and licensing, copyright, design law, domain name disputes, and character and personality rights. They offer a free 20 page guide Trade Marks, Brand Protection & Related Copyright and Design available by email.
  • Name Copyright and How To Register A Trade Mark are two web sites set up by Chris Sherliker of Silverman Sherliker to advertise an e-book he has created called "How to register a trade mark". As it says on the site "The Only Way You Can Legally Protect Copyright in A Name is To Register it as a Trade Mark". Purchase of the e-book entitles the user to a free legal consultation on "any legal issue relating to the protection of your business names, trade marks, logos or any other legal aspects of name protection". There is also a free course provided with the e-book called "Brand Strategies for Success: How to Establish and Maintain Brand Dominance In Any Market".

    Planning Matters including Highways, Boundary Problems and Gardens

  • planning-applications.co.uk is a free comprehensive guide to all aspects of the UK Town Planning System, prepared by Ian P.Butter BSc FRICS a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors with over 20 years professional experience in the field of planning. There are guides to submitting planning applications, planning appeals, planning enforcement, permitted development, a database of local authority sites, links to useful sources of information and specific professional advice, as well as national Development Plan monitoring. The site also runs an email based enquiry service, with simple queries answered for free.
  • The John Hughes Partnership - Birmingham, offers information on Town & Country Planning, Highways and Environmental law, as well as a glossary of terms relating to Planning law.
  • Cavell House is a site from Nicholas Hancox, Solicitors, covering Highways Law. Topics covered include maintenance, obstruction, case law, compulsory purchase and also the law relating to the many different types of council and public body who have a role in Highways and Planning.
  • The Boundary Problems Website has been set up by Jon Maynard, FRICS, on boundaries, rights of way, neighbour problems and related topics, including how to find an expert to assist in solving the problem and lnks to other planning-oriented websites.
  • Garden Law is a site set up by solicitor Richard Smithies of Bearders Solicitors, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, with lots of free information relating to walls, trees, hedges, fences, boundaries and even whether you can bury a loved one in your garden. There is also a discussion forum were visitors can post questions and receive answers from Richard Smithies or other viewers.
  • Gary Webber is a barrister who specialises in property law, and is author of two widely used books on possession actions. His site includes substantial papers on property claims and the Civil Procedure Rules, an "on-line" book dealing with boundary disputes and other material of use to property litigators.

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    Note to solicitors or other providers of free legal information for individuals:
    Please email me - delia@venables.co.uk

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