News and Updates

Ground rents are not a peppercorn yet: the draft Bill caps existing residential rents at £250, with nil after forty years. Commercial leases sit outside it.

On 29 July 2026 the High Court handed down two judgments on the same day: £105,000 against a fake news website that defamed a businessman, and an urgent injunction protecting a man blackmailed with intimate images through a dating site. We explain what the court did, how quickly it moved, and what both cases teach anyone attacked online.

East Midlands landlords must register by 14 May 2027. The £65 fee is the least of it: an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order.

The ban on upward-only rent reviews has Royal Assent but is not in force. What the 2026 Act changes, who is caught, and why 17 March 2026 matters.

Mandatory identity verification at Companies House has been law since 18 November 2025, and the transition period for existing directors, LLP members and PSCs closes in mid November 2026. By the end of June only 55 per cent of directors had verified. We explain who must act and by when, how the process works, what enforcement will look like, and what was postponed in August.

The June 2026 reform cut twenty nine hazards to twenty one and replaced ten lettered bands with three. The standard itself has not moved. What has changed is what a landlord must be able to demonstrate.

HM Treasury has confirmed that anti money laundering supervision of the legal profession transfers to the FCA. We separate the decided from the predicted: what was settled in October 2025, what the June 2026 powers response added, why no commencement date exists, and what firms should sensibly do now.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 arrives in stages, and the next wave lands this October. From longer tribunal time limits to new duties on harassment and trade union access, here is what employers and employees need to know, and how to prepare.

From the stamp duty rates in force since April 2025 to the home buying reforms announced in June 2026, our refreshed guide explains how conveyancing works today, what it costs, how long it takes, and what is coming next.

Restated as at August 2026. The nil rate bands are frozen to April 2031, agricultural and business property relief changed on 6 April 2026, and unused pensions enter the estate on 6 April 2027. What each means for a Will, and for the people who inherit under it.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect on 1 May 2026, abolishing section 21 and the fixed term. We explain the new law of possession, rent and letting, and the transitional deadline that expires on 31 July 2026.

Few clauses in a commercial lease are as consequential, or as little understood, as the forfeiture clause. Forfeiture is the landlord's right to bring the lease to an early end when the tenant has broken its obligations. Rent arrears are the most familiar trigger, but breaches ranging from unauthorised alterations to a failure to keep the property in repair can also found forfeiture, provided the lease itself allows it. Everything begins, and often ends, with the precise word

Preparing a Will is among the most considerate things you can do for the people you love, and among the most unforgiving documents to get wrong. English law's requirements are old, strict and still very much alive. This guide walks through what a valid Will requires, and what deserves thought before you sign. The requirements of a valid Will The Wills Act 1837 still governs. To make a valid Will you must be at least eighteen years old. The Will must be in written form. You mu

Where a person dies without a Will leaving both a surviving spouse or civil partner and children, the intestacy rules give the survivor a fixed first share of the estate known as the statutory legacy. By The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023, that figure rose from £270,000 to £322,000 for deaths on or after 26 July 2023, and it remains the governing figure today. The rules then operate with arithmetic simplicity: the spouse or civil partner takes t

Immigration law reaches into family life, work and the long project of settling in this country, and it rarely stands still. An immigration solicitor's work spans spousal and family visa applications, work visas, applications for indefinite leave to remain and, when matters become contentious, representation at hearings and tribunals. Clear advice at the outset usually saves both money and heartache later. Spousal visa applications A spousal visa is a form of family visa avai

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. The sensible first step is a conversation with a specialist personal injury solicitor, who can assess the prospects of your claim and explain what pursuing it would involve. The course a claim takes depends on how the injury arose. In a road traffic accident, for instance, the claim is ordinarily directed to the other driver's insurer. Much also turns on whether liability is

Seeking legal advice can feel complicated: unfamiliar terminology, several options to weigh and no shortage of firms to choose between. Conveyancing has acquired a particular reputation for mystery, though it need not have one, and the questions below are those we hear most often. At Trent Law our aim is simple: to guide each client through one of life's most important transactions in plain English, and to reach completion with as little drama as possible. Our full range of l

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation: for pain and suffering, for the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, and for earnings lost now and in the future. Independent advice early on is the surest way to understand your options. Instructing a personal injury solicitor Where someone else's negligence has caused your injury, a personal injury solicitor can shoulder the claim for you. At Trent Law we assess potential

Choosing a tenant is the most consequential decision a landlord makes, and the law now has a good deal to say about how the choice may be made. Most landlords want the same things: a tenant who pays on time, treats the property with respect and reports problems promptly. The task is to identify that tenant lawfully. Ask the right questions There is much you may wish to know and rather less you should ask. Questions that remain both useful and lawful include: What is your idea

Sooner or later most of us meet a problem at work: a manager acting unfairly, a colleague behaving improperly, a dismissal that arrives without warning or honest explanation. Many such problems are not merely unpleasant but unlawful, and knowing the difference is where good advice begins. At Trent Law we act for employees and employers alike, from settlement agreements to unfair dismissal claims, and with employment law presently undergoing significant reform, timely advice m