Blog Posts: January 2009

Under the new Companies Act, Companies House are entitled to charge penalties for the late filing of Annual Accounts . These will come into force on 1st February 2009. Yesterday, they announced that new penalties will be as follows: For Private Companies (Ltd's):Less than 1 month late: £150Between 1 month and 3 months late: £375Between 3 months and 6 months late: £750More than 6 months late: £1,500For Public Companies (PLCs): Less than 1 month late: £750 Between 1 m.... (read more...)

The Government has recently made further changes to the Home Information Pack Regulations.  With effect from 6 April the following changes will come into effect: 1.  All HIPs must include a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) which will provide some basic information about the property. 2. In relation to leasehold properties, the PIQ will include a summary of things such as rent and service charge and as a result the requirement to include certain leasehold documents in the HIP .... (read more...)

If the last 5 years are anything to go by, businesses will continue to face pressure from new rules and regulations, especially around employment policies and practice.  Let's just hope that some sense prevails, given the current challenges faced by all firms. In the meantime, this extract from our December ezine details some of the known legal changes coming into effect in 2009. The Health and Safety Offences Act comes into force in January 2009. The Act will increase penalties for b.... (read more...)

To survive in 2009 landlords and tenants need to make sure they are better prepared than their competitors.  Here are a few New Year's resolutions that may help: For Landlords: 1. Revalue your property portfolio  2. Take advantage of the Cousins Business Law free business lease review for landlords 3. Avoid business rates on empty property but also bear in mind the changes to empty property relief for financial year 2009/10 For Tenants: 1. It's time to renegotiate your .... (read more...)