Two new precedents have been added to the Sale and Purchase of Land guides: a Deed of covenant and a Deed of rectification. The commentaries have also been significantly enhanced. Read more...

We are pleased to announce a new Short residential tenancy disputes guide, with detailed commentary including rent arrears, noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour and deposit disputes. Repossession proceedings are stepped through in detail when acting for the landlord and acting for the tenant. Tribunal and court proceedings are discussed, as well as the current impact of COVID-19. The comprehensive matter plan is divided into two folders; Acting for the landlord and Acting for the tenant. Precedents that practitioners will find useful include: Letters and notices to tenants in breach of their tenancy agreements; Letters and enclosures for a rent repayment plan; Letters and enclosures relating to the use of a deposit protection dispute resolution scheme; A library of carefully drafted common possession notices under both s 8 and s 21 of the Housing Act 1988; A full suite of litigation letters and documents, and example content for claim forms and defences. This Short residential tenancy disputes guide is an invaluable resource for practitioners who regularly conduct landlord and tenant matters, as well as those with limited experience or those supervising junior lawyers. We invite you to explore the new guide. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

Following a user request, a new Deed of assignment of equitable interest in residential land has been added to the ‘Blank Deeds, Agreements, Statements, Declarations, Consents and Execution clauses’ folder which is available in the ‘A. Getting the matter underway’ section of every matter plan. We trust that users will find this new document helpful. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

Following user feedback, a new letter has been added to the Divorce publication providing advice on judicial separation as an alternative to divorce or dissolution.

The Land Registry hopes to release its digital mortgage service in public beta this year. In a recent news update, the Registry’s digital services manager Eddie Davies said that ‘the department is continuing to work with Coventry and Enact on the next phases of the service as well as also working with lenders to get their mortgage deeds approved and templates created. So far, the Registry has approved several deeds from lenders in the remortgage market including Nationwide, HSBC, RBS, NatWest and Santander. ‘Since opening the service to more lenders and conveyancers we have seen an increase in the number of digital mortgages registered showing an appetite in the market to use new technology. Some lenders have started offering online mortgage applications and our service helps to bring the industry one step closer to an end-to-end digital process.’