Where There’s A Will There’s A Relative!

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Making a Will is a wise and important thing to do. You will have peace of mind knowing that your estate (that is, everything you own) will pass to your chosen beneficiaries.

Without a Will, your estate could pass to relatives you have not seen for years.

However, some people chose not to include a member of family in their Will. This may be a child or sibling and could be for a number of reasons, for example, a falling out or estrangement and even though most people would like to think that the relative would not try to contest the Will, there is always a risk that the relative could claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and if this happens then dealing with your estate can be lengthy, complex and expensive.

If you have a reason for leaving a relative out of your Will then we strongly recommend that you leave a personal letter with your Will explaining the reason why you have not included this particular person (or persons). You will not be around to explain why and a personal letter would help against any potential claim.

Warning about new housing estates, management charges and administration fees.

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Buying a property on a new estate? Be wary of the estate management charges and administration fees.

If you are considering purchasing a property on a newly built estate, you should carefully consider the estate management fees being charged by managing agents for maintaining communal facilities and areas on the estate as well as administration fees for providing information to buyer’s when you sell the property. This area of housing is currently unregulated and in many cases disproportionate or unreasonable fees are being charged to property owners.

More frequently, developments are being built where roads, footpaths and communal areas and facilities remain private. This arrangement is agreed between the developer and the local authority and, as all responsibility and costs for maintenance of these areas sit with the developer and not the local authority, this benefits the developer in obtaining the grant of planning permission for their developments. The developer employs a managing agent to carry out the repairs and maintenance to communal areas and facilities on the estate and the costs of this are recouped from all of the property owners.

Whilst the importance of the communal areas and facilities being maintained is acknowledged, the issue appears to be that property owners have little involvement in deciding which contractors undertake the work, the extent of the work undertaken or is required and that there is little incentive for the managing agents to keep the costs of the work to a minimum. Currently, property owners have little or no recourse if they are unhappy with the level of the estate management charge being demanded from them.

Similarly, when a property on an estate which has privately maintained areas is sold, typically the buyer’s solicitor will ask for information about the estate management charges, what areas or functions they cover and for any registration requirements of the managing agents for acknowledging the transfer of property ownership. More often than not, managing agents are charging excessively high administration fees for providing this, often, standard information. As the buyer’s solicitor needs to know this information, sellers are finding themselves feeling forced to pay it.

Below is a list of questions you may wish to ask when looking at properties on a newly built estate so that you can make a better informed decision whether you want to buy there:

  • What communal areas and facilities are on the estate and whether or not these are or will be adopted?
  • Whether a managing agent has been appointed or is intended to be appointed?
  • What will the managing agent be responsible for?
  • What are the likely costs for each property owner?
  • Is it anticipated these costs will rise significantly?
  • What costs do the managing agents charge for providing a ‘sales pack’ when a property on the estate is sold?

The Freehold Properties (Management Charges and Shared Facilities) Bill was proposed to introduce a cap on estate management fees and allow property owners the opportunity to self-manage communal areas as resident groups; however, the bill did not successfully pass through Parliament and so this issue remains unregulated.

Cheque Presented To Liam Fairhurst Foundation

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Rhodri Rees presenting a cheque to Sarah Fairhurst

Rhodri Rees presenting a cheque to Sarah Fairhurst

Pictured at their Sawston office is Rhodri Rees, Senior Partner at Adams Harrison Solicitors, presenting a cheque for £350 to Sarah Fairhurst , a representative of The Liam Fairhurst Foundation.

The donation represents one of three given by the Partners of Adams Harrison to local charities as part of its Christmas giving campaign.

Charities chosen by staff from Adams Harrison’s other two branches, at Haverhill and Saffron Walden, will also benefit from donations of the same amount.

What can a landlord do where a former tenant’s belongings are left at the premises?

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It is question that I am often asked and can cause landlords more difficulties and time having already, on some occasions, gone through the difficult procedure in getting a tenant to leave their premises in the first place.

Landlords are often faced with the issue of how to deal with belongings left behind by their former tenants at the end of their tenancies. The risk to the landlord of disposing of items of obvious rubbish may be small, especially where a tenant has vacated voluntarily at the end of the term or surrender their tenancy. There may, however, be a greater risk in either of the following situations:

  • Where larger or more valuable items are left behind.
  • Where the landlord has forfeited a lease or enforced a possession order.

A tenant is generally obliged to remove their goods from the premises at the end of the term. A lease or tenancy agreement will often expressly oblige the tenant to remove any goods at the end of the term. Some leases will also clarify what the landlord can do with any goods that may be left on the premises at the end of the term.

If goods are left on the premises once the lease has come to an end, however it ends, the items remain the former tenant’s property. The exception to this is where the former tenant has abandoned his/her belongings. In the absence of express terms in a lease, the landlord is left with the problem of deciding what to do with these.

If the tenant has moved out and abandoned the goods, the landlord will usually be free to deal with those goods as it sees fit. If the former tenant has not abandoned the goods, however, the retention and sale or disposal of the goods by the landlord may give the tenant grounds for bringing a claim against the landlord.

A useful tool for the landlord to use is to serve a notice under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (“TIGA”). This imposes an obligation to collect the goods on the owner by giving notice and gives the person in possession the right to sell the goods if they are not collected.

The content of a notice would include that the goods are ready to collect, address as to where the goods are held and what amount if any are due to the landlord for storing the goods. If the tenant fails to respond or refuses to collect the goods then the Landlord can give a further notice of their intention to sell the goods under section 12(3) of the TIGA 1977. This notice would set out similar details as the first notice and include the date on or after which the landlord intends to sell the goods.

With both notices the landlord must give a reasonable opportunity to collect the goods. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each case.

For more information and advice on this and how this may affect you please contact Anton Bilinski who is able to guide you through this and act for you when a landlord or tenant dispute arises.

Anton Bilinski
Chartered Legal Executive
Litigation Department

Support For British Heart Foundation

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Jenny Carpenter and Shoshana Goldhill present cheque to Dianna Richardson

Jenny Carpenter and Shoshana Goldhill present cheque to Dianna Richardson

Jenny Carpenter and Shoshana Goldhill, Partners at Adams Harrison Solicitors, presented a cheque for £350 to Dianna Richardson, local manager of the British Heart Foundation shop in Saffron Walden.

The donation represents one of three given by the partners of Adams Harrison to local charities as part of its Christmas giving campaign.

Charities chosen by staff from Adams Harrison’s other two branches, at Haverhill and Sawston, will also benefit from donations of the same amount.

Support For “Friends Of The Cangle”

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We were delighted to support the New Cangle Community Primary School in Haverhill, who sent us this lovely thank you letter

The ‘Friends of the Cangle’ would like to thank you for your very kind donation towards our annual Christmas Fayre to raise funds for New Cangle CP School. The Fayre was an enormous success and we are delighted to tell you we raised a grand total of £702.48. Every penny raised will be used to purchase much needed items to benefit every child within the school. We could not have done this without your help and support.
Once again thank you so much from all of us here.
Happy New Year.

Yours faithfully

Tish Donovan
(Chairperson)

Haverhill Triathalon Sponsorship

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Haverhill Triathlon Cheque Presentation to Haverhill Scouts

Haverhill Triathlon Cheque Presentation to Haverhill Scouts

Adams Harrison are proud to sponsor the Haverhill Triathlon and would like to offer our thanks to Jack Tappin and his team whose hard work ensures its continuing success.

We also wish to congratulate those athletes who braved the atrocious weather to compete in this year’s event and as always we are pleased to donate the funds raised to the Haverhill Scouts.

10 Years Service By Rebecca Monk

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Rebecca Monk with the bouquet provided by the partners to congratulate her on completion of 10 years service with the practice.

Becky is based in our Accounts Department and is also our go to lady for all our in-house IT queries.

Rebecca Monk Of Adams Harrison 10 Years Service

Christmas Jumper Event At Adams Harrison

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The staff at Adams Harrison once again joined in the Christmas spirit raising money for charity by wearing their finest Christmas Jumpers.

Adams Harrison Christmas Jumper Event Sawston Office Dec 2019

Sawston Office – front row left Sue Lawton right Lisa Thornhill – back row left Kath Moralee and right Christine Gee

Adams Harrison Christmas Jumper Event Saffron Walden Office Dec 2019

Saffron Walden Office – left to right Lisa Kitchener; Nancy Carley,; Melanie Pratlett; Alison Helbert; Susan Kerr; Rebecca Monk and front Teresa Pitts

Adams Harrison Christmas Jumper Event Haverhill Office Dec 2019

Haverhill Office – left to right – Cathy Buck, Jenny Carpenter, Michelle Salmon

Who To Appoint As Executors Under Your Will.

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When making a Will you should consider carefully the right Executor to appoint as the role of an Executor carries important legal duties and responsibilities.

It is an Executor’s duty to administer the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will and in accordance with the law. Executors are personally liable for their errors or omissions. It is therefore extremely important you appoint somebody that you trust to carry out this role efficiently and responsibly. You can appoint an individual such as your spouse/partner, a family member or even a close friend.

You may however not wish to put this responsibility on an individual. You are therefore able to appoint professional Executors such as solicitors.

Dealing with the death of a loved one is a difficult time at best. Unfortunately it can also release underlying tensions and resentments between friends and even family members. By appointing a professional Executor such as Adams Harrison this would minimise any disputes that can arise.

Sadly, some Wills are challenged, especially where one beneficiary benefits more than others. Allegations of undue influence or lack of capacity can arise in these cases. By appointing Adams Harrison as Executors, your estate has a professional on hand who can rebut such allegations and robustly defend your last wishes.

If you wish to discuss making a Will or you require any further advice on this, please contact our Wills, Estates and Trust Team.

Leanne Mayes   Legal Executive