Walker Morris

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It sets out the main homelessness duties owed by local housing authorities (LHA) in England and Wales pre-implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 on 3 April 2018. It explains the different duties owed in England and Wales, together with the assistance offered in each jurisdiction and remains relevant for all English applications made prior to 3 April 2018. It is for background information only.

This Practice Note considers the various cancellation and withdrawal rights that are available in relation to credit agreements and consumer hire agreements that are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974). In both cases, it is assumed such agreements are not secured on land, or used to help buy land.

This Practice Note, produced in partnership with Ruth Bamforth of Walker Morris, considers the particular pensions issues which arise when a charity takes on outsourced services from a local authority which participates in the LGPS. The LGPS is a defined benefit occupational pension scheme which provides pension benefits for, broadly speaking, local authorities and private sector contractors who have been admitted to participation.

This Practice Note, produced in partnership with Russell Kelsall of TLT LLP and Caroline Castle of Pinsent Masons, looks at how the Financial Conduct Authority regulates consumer credit licences, which consumer credit activities are covered, what activities insolvency practitioners or office-holders may need a consumer credit license for, what interim permission is, which exemptions are relevant plus practical points to consider.

The Payment Accounts Directive (PAD) is intended to enhance transparency and comparability for consumers in respect of payment accounts. The PAD makes it easier for consumers to compare fees charged by banks and other service providers across the EU, facilitates consumer switching of payment accounts and entitles all EU consumers to open a payment account that enables them to perform essential functions such as receiving their salary and paying bills. This Practice Note provides a background to, and gives an overview of, the provisions of the PAD and the technical standards and guidelines made under it.

This Practice Note focuses on the intellectual property (IP) aspects relating to the development of new and emerging technology, provides practical advice for parties engaging in collaborative working and the key considerations for protecting and enforcing their IP rights.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived is not maintained. Rationalisation of the ownership, occupation, management and use of property holdings to provide a more efficient and cost effective solution has assumed growing importance in the public sector. This Practice Note identifies the legal and commercial issues associated with acquisition, construction and disposal of government buildings.

This Practice Note explains the types of intellectual property (IP) rights which a business might own, including trade marks, designs, copyright, databases, and patented or patentable technology. It is an introductory guide which can assist the business when reviewing its IP portfolio, conducting an audit or deciding what IP protection to secure for its assets. See also Practice Notes: Protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights and Exploiting intellectual property rights.

This Precedent, produced in partnership with Oliver Wheeler of Walker Morris LLP, is a draft application notice seeking a declaration that a transaction is void under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

This Precedent is a witness statement in support of a claim by a liquidator in a compulsory liquidation seeking a declaration that a transaction is void under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

This Q&A sets out whether there have been any proposals to change the provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) (CCA 1974, ss 86B and 86C) which require (in broad terms) a lender to give a notice of sums in arrears when the customer’s arrears meet certain thresholds. This Q&A is answered in light of the finalised temporary guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority which says customers, if they have a coronavirus (COVID-19) related payment holiday, should not be treated as being ‘in arrears’.

This Q&A considers whether a customer under a regulated credit card agreement must pay a debt which has been assigned to a debt purchaser where the agreement does not allow assignment.

This Q&A sets out whether the CCA requires (or ever required) notice to be given to a customer under a credit agreement regulated by the CCA and secured on land (a secured regulated agreement) before the rate of interest could be varied.

This Q&A sets out whether a borrower can make use of the time order provisions in sections 129 and 135 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the CCA) where the borrower’s agreement (which was secured on land) was, until the implementation of the MCD, regulated by the CCA and is now is subject to the MCOB.

This Q&A considers the effect of section 82(3) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

This Q&A considers key legal issues for where an individual guarantor is giving a personal guarantee for a law firm consumer client’s fees, including whether the guarantee is a regulated credit agreement and the application of the CRA 2015.

This Q&A sets out the key legal issues to consider when lending money to friends where no security is provided.

This Q&A considers whether a modifying or new agreement is required where a lender agrees to extend the term over which a Regulated Consumer Credit Agreement is to be paid by way of forbearance.

This Q&A considers whether it is permissible to have joint bank accounts for up to five users.

This Q&A considers the implications of the measures confirmed by the FCA to help people with some of additional consumer credit and consumer hire products relating to motor finance, high-cost short-term credit, rent-to-own, fixed-sum credit BNPL and pawnbroking agreements