No fault evictions to be banned – what will be the effect on tenants and landlords?

The Renters’ (Reform) Bill 2023 was introduced to parliament last year, promising comprehensive reform of the private rented sector. It will provide welcome news for renters in particular and will see England completely ban no fault evictions as part of a long-awaited package of reform of the private rental industry. The scheme will affect approximately 11 million tenants and 2 million landlords in England according to the Department of Housing.

While the policy, which was part of the Conservative’s 2019 manifesto, is still set to go ahead, it faces a rush against time to complete it prior to the next general election in 2024. Many have criticised the lack of progress since reform was promised in the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto.

But what are no-fault evictions? And how will the ban will affect landlords and tenants alike? Keep reading to learn more about no fault evictions and how they could affect you.

What is a no fault eviction?

The Housing Act 1988 enacted the “Section 21 Notice” law, which allows landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason. Under the current law, landlords can terminate their Tenancy Agreement (AST) with a tenant by giving a valid “Section 21 Notice” to the tenant after a fixed tenancy ends – known as a “no-fault eviction”. This means that the landlord does not have to have any reason to evict the tenant.

Landlords can also serve a section 21 notice at any time during a periodic tenancy, one which has no fixed end date.

Landlords are required by law to give tenants a Section 21 notice at least two months in advance. Therefore, this is the minimum time required for a landlord to evict a tenant. However, if the tenant refuses to leave after this period, eviction may take longer. The “expedited” court process typically takes nine weeks to complete. But it could be longer if the court is particularly busy. Bailiffs can take another four to six weeks after the court process is complete to evict tenants.

Why has the ban on no fault evictions been introduced?

An estimated 40 families in England have been threatened with “no fault” evictions every day since the law was introduced. Last year, research by the housing charity Shelter revealed that almost 230,000 tenants in private rental housing had received no-fault eviction notices since April 2019, with almost 17,000 of those evictions occurring during the same period.

To the dismay of tenants, no fault evictions are often abused by bad “rogue landlords” who use them to intimidate tenants into keeping quiet about the state of disrepair or poor landlord practices. Some tenants revealed to the media that they have always abided by the rules of the lease and paid rent on time. However, when they found some problems with the property and raised it to the landlord, they hoped that the landlord could repair the property. Instead, they received an eviction notice. This can discourage tenants from seeking help from their landlord.

To address such issues, the Conservative Party pledged in their 2019 election manifesto that they would end the practice, hoping to ban no fault eviction notices. However, that promise has not yet been fulfilled. The government has finally released a ‘white paper’ called A Fairer Private Rented Sector, which proposes the repeal of Section 21 evictions, which will be brought to Parliament as the Renters’ Reform Bill.

On May 17, 2023, the long-promised plan to abolish was finally realized, when the Renters’ Reform Bill was introduced to Parliament on the same day. The bill would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants without fault. In addition to banning “no fault evictions,” the government issued other measures through the bill. It launched a “12-step plan”.

In its 12-step plan, the government pledged to end unreasonable rent review clauses and unreasonable rent increases, as well as allow tenants to challenge any excessive rent increases. The law will also make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent properties to families with children or those receiving benefits. In addition, the law also gives tenants the legal right to bring pets, and landlords will not be able to “unreasonably” refuse.

Alongside this, a new ombudsman process will be introduced, which all landlords will be required to join. The aim is to provide tenants with a fair, just and binding solution to a number of issues. The idea with this is that the process will be faster, cheaper and less adversarial than the court route.

How does the new law affect tenants and landlords?

There is no question that the end of no fault evictions is good news for tenants, providing greater security and stability to their housing arrangements and reducing the risk of being caught without warning or explanation. At the same time, tenants also have more power to challenge evictions as they are able to contest the grounds used to evict them.

For landlords, the changes are mixed blessings. On the one hand, the end of no fault evictions has made it harder to evict tenants, with landlords having to think more about the grounds they use for evictions and that they have enough evidence to support their cases.

On the other hand, these changes encourage more responsible landlords to enter the market, as the risk of renting to problem tenants, such as those with anti-social behaviour, appears to have decreased. In the long run, landlords can be more motivated to keep good tenants who pay rent on time and take good care of the property.

Overall, the changes have been welcomed by renters, as well as some landlords who value stability and security. However, it does create some challenges for most landlords, who need to adapt to the new requirements and spend more time finding evidence to support their eviction cases.

Our comments

Evveline Loh, head of the litigation team at Lisa’s Law, believes that these changes have both positive and negative aspects for landlords and tenants.

One of the main challenges for landlords is that landlords may need to rely more heavily on one of the 17 grounds for eviction to evict tenants, which can complicate their eviction process. Landlords need to find more evidence and documents to support their grounds for eviction, which can be difficult for landlords unfamiliar with the legal requirements. Additionally, landlords may need to invest more in maintaining their properties and addressing possible issues with problem tenants.

“On a positive note, these changes can help reduce risk in the rental market, strictly regulate the market, and reduce the risk of rogue landlords abusing the law to evict tenants. At the same time, the bill also helps responsible landlords, allowing these landlords to repossess their property faster, such as selling the property or moving in themselves. There will also be shorter notice periods for evictions in cases of irresponsible tenants, such as breaching the lease agreement or causing damage to the property. The reforms will also strengthen eviction resistance.”

In any case, landlords still have to keep in mind that they must abide by the law. They should not try to evict tenants without reason to avoid the risk of lawsuits. If you want to evict the tenant for legitimate reasons, you can contact a lawyer to see how to collect evidence and what kind of reasons will be more reasonable and make it easier to get the property back. For tenants, once you feel that the landlord is evicting you for unfair reasons, you can also collect further evidence to allow you to boldly fight for your interests.

If you have any questions about disrepair claims, no fault evictions, or Section 21 injunctions, please consult Lisa’s Law further. Our litigation team and real estate lawyer team have many years of experience in these areas and can provide you with professional advice.

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Welcome Lorraine

We are delighted to welcome Lorraine Hon to Lisa’s Law Solicitors. Lorraine joins the firm as a legal assistant and has made a great impression on the immigration team since arriving.

Lorraine is a LLB graduate from Durham University. She completed the legal practise course (LPC) at BPP University in August 2022. During her academic studies, Lorraine interned at a couple of law firms in Hong Kong as well as an immigration law firm in London.

Lorraine is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. She is interested in immigration and commercial law and wishes to qualify as a solicitor in 3 years.

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20 Years Long Residence – what are the visa requirements?

This guide will briefly explain the general requirements that must be met to apply for leave to remain based on 20 years residence. All requirements must be strictly met, otherwise the application will be refused.

Firstly, what is the 20 years long residence route?

The 20 years long residence route allows a foreign national to apply for permission to stay in the UK for 30 months if this person has lived in the UK for 20 years continuously, whether lawfully or unlawfully. This visa is granted under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 as the right to respect for private and family life.

What are the requirements?

In order to qualify for 20 years long residence, you must satisfy a number of requirements. These requirements are as follows:

You have lived continuously in the UK for at least 20 years, either legally or illegally.
There are no public interest (public good) reasons why it would be undesirable to grant you leave to remain in the UK.
You meet the suitability grounds which includes any period of imprisonment or time spent in prison.
You have not been absent from the UK and have not left the United Kingdom

Continuous Residence

The Definition of “continuous residence” is to show that you have been in the UK for the past 20 years without any gaps in residence. Continuous residence is considered to be broken if the applicant has:

You have been absent from the UK for a period of more than six months at any one time, or absent from the UK for a shorter period but do not have valid leave to enter the UK on your return, or valid leave to remain on their departure from the UK.
You have been removed or deported from the UK, or have left the UK following the refusal of leave to enter or remain.
You have left the UK and by doing so, showed a clear intention not to return.
You left the UK under circumstances in which you could have no real chance of returning to the UK lawfully.
You have been convicted of an offence and been given a custodial sentence, or ordered to be detained in an institution other than a prison, such as a hospital or young offenders institute, not including suspended sentences.
You have spent a total of 18 months outside the UK throughout the whole 20-year period.

Process

Before the application, you will need to provide your identification documents such as passport and biometric information, as well as supporting documents showing that you have actually lived in the UK for 20 continuous years.

Once you application has been submitted, you will need to book a biometric appointment so that you can attend a visa centre to submit your biometric information (fingerprints and a photo). You will not be able to submit any further documents after your biometrics have been submitted and your application will be under consideration.

Presently, the Home Office can take up to 6 months from your biometric submission date to decide an application made for the first time unless there is a delay.

There is a number of reasons why an application can be delayed, but most commonly it can be failure to provide all the required documentation, and / or the need to attend an in-person interview. Doing everything right in your application increases the chances of the approval of your application within a short waiting time.

To help avoid such potential delays, please contact us to assist with your 20 years long residence applications, ensuring that avoidable delays, and refusals are dealt with at the application stage.

20 years long residence – what happens if it is granted?

Should your application be granted you will be granted limited leave to remain for a period of 2.5 years or a period of 30 months.

You will be eligible to live in the UK within this time. You will be able work without any restrictions and study in the UK.

20 years long residence – what happens if it is refused?

Where an applicant has had 20 years continuous residence in the UK, their application may only be refused on suitability grounds (generally on grounds of public good) or if their application is not valid (for example, they did not pay the correct fee).

Extension

A person who is already in the UK on leave to remain which was previously granted for 30 months on the basis of 20 years long residence can apply for renewal of his/her leave to remain 28 days prior to the expiry of their leave to remain.

Is fast track available?

Please note that super priority service is available in which you will get a decision the next working day. For applications made within the UK, the Home Office fee is £800.

Fees

You will need to make payment of the Home Office fee, Biometric fee, and Immigration Health Surcharge when your application to the Home Office is ready to submit. Presently, the fees are as follows:

Application	Home office fee	Biometric fee	Immigration Health Surcharge
20 Years Long Residence	£1,048	£19.20	£624 per year

Please note that when applying for entry clearance, the actual fee paid may be higher due to payment being processed in the local currency.

When can you apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?

After you get the 20 years long residence, you will then be eligible to apply for ILR once you have accumulated a period of 120 months (i.e., 10 years) lawful residence. So, under the 20-year rule, it will be 30 years from entry to the UK before the person is eligible to apply for settlement.

At Lisa’s Law, we regularly assist in applying for 20 years long residence applications within the UK. We will advise and represent you throughout the process. Contact us today to start the process.

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Account Freezing Order involving seven figure sum successfully challenged and cleared by Lisa’s Law

By Yitong Guo

In the past 6 months, the Litigation team at Lisa’s Law successfully assisted an individual client to challenge two Account Freezing Orders (AFOs) against their personal accounts and have the full seven figure sum released.

Keep reading to learn about the case and how we got the desired outcome for our client.

Background

The background and conduct of the case was relatively straightforward. Earlier in 2022, our client’s various UK bank accounts were subject to AFO applications issued by the police: some were with notice whilst others were not. The time requested for the AFOs to be effective was 6 months with possibility to extend.

We produced evidence and challenged on the facts that the time requested by the application was disproportionate. Our argument was accepted by the court and the valid time of the AFOs were ordered to be 4 months instead of 6 months. Thereafter, we worked hard to prove that our client’s funds were indeed from legitimate sources by going through every transaction that was asked by the police. It was a tedious auditing process.

Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and AFO

The AFO was introduced by the Criminal Financial Act 2017. It brought into force new powers under S 303Z1 to 303Z19 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). Funds can be frozen for up to 2 years whilst authorities are allowed to investigate.

S 303Z1 provides the definition of AFO as such: (a) an account freezing order is an order that, subject to any exclusions (see section 303Z5), prohibits each person by or for whom the account to which the order applies is operated from making withdrawals or payments from the account;

(b) an account is operated by or for a person if the person is an account holder or a signatory or identified as a beneficiary in relation to the account. (See the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 )

As suggested, AFO will prevent the accounts in question from operating. The section also provides that the authorities can apply for such an order and the Court will grant the application where there are mere reasonable grounds to suspect that money held in the accounts originates from unlawful conduct or intended for use in unlawful conduct.

The AFO is a civil mechanism to freeze any suspicious assets. Although the application would normally be made by the relevant authorities including regional police forces, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the National Crime Agency (NCA), the burden of proof for granting such orders is ‘not beyond reasonable doubt’ as in the criminal case, but more so on the probability of balance. More significantly, it works as a catch all mechanism to encompass any assets suspected of being used for unlawful conduct.

When compared to other economic restraining methods, for example, the Unexplained Wealth Order (Criminal Finances Act 2017, such order must be made to the High Court, the minimum value held must be in excess of £50,000.00); whilst Restraint Orders (section 41 of POCA, criminal investigation must be underway or there must be reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual has benefitted from criminal conduct).

AFO in comparison is relatively easy for the relevant authorities to satisfy the threshold for the court to grant the application. As a result, since it came into force, AFO became increasingly popular and it is adopted by the relevant authorities to freeze and forfeit funds in the bank accounts in the UK where criminal activity is suspected.

Satisfying Result

Given the wealth of experience that our team has, we understand the purpose of an AFO and its legal effect. We responded by assisting the client to challenge the police’s allegations against our client’s funds. We first gathered and consolidated evidence rebutting the reasonable grounds of the suspicion in relation to both the source and intended use for the funds. We managed to trace and prove the source of funds and source of wealth. Furthermore, we assisted client in replying to detailed enquiries made by the police.

In the end, the reply and evidence we have supplied were sufficient to satisfy the police’s investigation. After 4 months of investigation, the Police declared the funds to be cleared of suspicion and the full sum in all accounts were released. No forfeiture was made.

Conclusion

In recent years we have seen increasing cases involving AFO which prove to be an effective tool for the authorities. As for individuals or companies who are subject to such applications or orders, you might be asked by the relevant authorities to provide confidential documents on source of funds or be asked to have face-to-face interviews.

Despite this not being a criminal investigation, we strongly recommend that independent legal advice is sought before engaging with the relevant authorities or providing sensitive information which might be incriminating. This is especially the case among individuals who might have considerable amount of cash deposit into their account. There is a possibility that this conduct raises suspicions that the accounts were used as money exchange facility (without regulation) or money laundry, and that the deposit in effect, is likely to be seized as proceeds of crime or unlawful conduct.

The caseworker for this case Yitong Guo (Solicitor); the case is led by Evveline Loh (Litigation Supervisor).

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Most postgraduates on student visas to be banned from bringing dependents to the UK

Undergraduate students are not permitted to bring their partner and children to the UK when they come to the UK to study. However, until now, all postgraduate students have had the potential to do so.

That was the case until this week, when the Home Office announced new restrictions to the student visa route. Postgraduate students will no longer be allowed to bring family members to the United Kingdom while they study unless they are on a PHD program or postgraduate research program.

The Home Office also announced that those on a student visa would no longer be able to switch to a work visa prior to their studies being completed. You can find out more about that change is our previous article here.

Rise in dependent visas

The Home Office has announced this new restriction on family members of students in light of the substantial increase in dependent visa in the UK. The new reforms will come into effect in January 2024, however the exact date is yet to be confirmed.

In the latest immigration figures announced today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it was revealed that student visas were up by 22% in 2022 at 480,000. The figure for dependents was also relatively high at 136,000, overall double 2021’s figure of 55,000 and over seven times 2019’s figure of 19,000. This goes some way to explaining the government’s desire to heavily reduce these figures as part of their overall aim to cut migration.

Students with a visa have to provide documents proving their relationship to their dependents, who must pay £490 for a visa, and also contribute an annual surcharge of between £470 and £624 towards the NHS. Postgraduate students also need to show that they have sufficient money to support their family in the UK.

If you are presently a postgraduate student here in the United Kingdom and wish to bring your family to the United Kingdom, contact us now as once the new rules come in next year it will be too late.

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Overseas students barred from switching from student visa to work visa until education is completed

In 2022 there were over 485,000 student visas granted according to the Government website. This represents a 29% increase compared with visas granted in 2021.

Many who come to the United Kingdom on a student visa complete their studies and apply for employment in the United Kingdom with their newly earned qualifications. This process involves obtaining sponsorship from an employer and applying for a work visa.

There are also those who have come to the UK to study and before completing their course have been able to secure sponsorship from an employer and have applied to switch from a student visa to a work visa, prior to completing their course. Immigration rules permit this, and we have helped those who have received an attractive offer midway through their studies do so.

Despite this, the Home Office has become increasingly concerned by the large increase in the number of students that are switching to work visas midway through their studies. The increase is something that the Home Office did not expect.

Change from January 2024

On 23rd May, the Home Office announced new restrictions to the student visa route. From January 2024, the Home Office’s new reforms will prevent overseas students from switching to a work visa until their studies have been completed. The government’s reasoning for this is to “prevent misuse of the visa system”.

This change is part of the government’s overall aim to cut net migration, a popular move with Conservative politicians and voters alike. Net migration was over 500,000 between June 2021 and June 2022, a figure expected to rise in tomorrow’s announcement by the Office for National Statistics. Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously stated her aspiration to cut net migration to the “tens of thousands”, a figure unlikely to be achieved even with the latest announcement.

If you have been offered an attractive job offer and wish to switch, then contact us today and we will be happy to help.

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Welcome Qingge

We are delighted to welcome Qingge Zhao to Lisa’s Law. Qingge joins the team as a legal assistant and has already displayed her aptitude in the role since joining.

Qingge is a recent LLM graduate from London School of Economics and Political Science, and is hoping to qualify as a solicitor in the future. Previously, she completed her Bachelor of Laws at East China University of Political Science and Law in China.

Prior to joining Lisa’s Law, Qingge worked as a paralegal at a law firm, and as a judge’s assistant at a local court in China.

She is fluent in both English and Mandarin.

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May 19, 2023
Family, Family Law, FAQs

Probate – frequently asked questions

In the last article in our series of frequently asked questions about some of the biggest Family Law topics, we take a look at the topic of probate, the process of dealing with someone’s estate once they die.

At Lisa’s Law, we specialise in probate and all other major aspects of family law. Need help with probate? Get in touch with us today.

But without further ado, let’s get into the FAQs.

What to do after someone passed away?

You first need to register the deceased’s death, obtain the death certificate, plan their funeral, and submit an application to the Court. If the deceased has a will, the executor named in the will can apply for probate, which he/she will have the authority to do so from the day the deceased passed away. If there is no valid will, it is a bit more complicated. Family members will need to submit an application to the Probate Registry for a grant of representation.

What is a grant of representation?

A ‘grant of representation’ is the generic term for the legal order issued by the probate court in the estate of a deceased person in England and Wales. The grant gives legal authority to prove that the executor or administrator (the personal representative) can administer the estate. There are two common types of grants of representation: (a) a grant of probate, which is used where the deceased left a valid will appointing executors who are able and willing to prove the will; (b) a grant of letters of administration, which is used when the deceased died without a valid will.

What do you need to do before applying for a grant?

Executors/administrators first need to identify assets and liabilities and ascertain the value of the estate, this might include checking how much is left in the bank account(s) or checking whether there is anything valuable left in the deceased’s safe. If the deceased owned properties, the value of the properties needs to be ascertained. They would also need to acquire information on the amount of outstanding liabilities as of the date of death, any credit card bills etc.

If the total amount of the estate is over the nil rate band (£325,000 for 22/23), the executor/administrator should deliver an account to HMRC giving full details of the deceased’s estate and pay the relevant inheritance tax. The executor/administrator also will need to submit an application for the grant of representation.

What do you need to do after obtaining the grant? Is a grant necessary?

The grant application involves filling in an application form, you would also have to submit the original death certificate and the original will. After the grant is issued by the court, you would have to repay all the debts owed by the deceased before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries. If there is a will, the estate can be distributed according to the testator’s wishes. If there is no will, you would have to administer the estate according to the intestacy rules.

It is necessary to apply for a grant if there are real properties in the estate, or if the deceased had a large amount of cash in his bank account(s), or if he had stocks and shares. That is because in order to deal with these assets, organisations such as the banks, the Land Registry and companies etc would need to see the original grant issued by the court.

Does inheritance tax need to be paid before the application for a grant of representation?

Before you submit an application for probate, you would first need to declare and pay the inheritance tax due. In practice, after HMRC confirms the IHT has been paid in full, HMRC will issue the IHT receipt to the Probate Registry directly (not to the payee). Once the Probate Registry has the record of the IHT receipt, it can proceed with the relevant probate application. Therefore, in order to obtain the grant, the personal representatives will have to pay any IHT due on the delivery of the IHT account.

Is it correct to think of inheritance tax as a death tax?

Most people understand inheritance tax to be a tax on the deceased’s estate (property, money and belongings), but this is not entirely true. The value transferred for IHT purposes is measured by the “loss to donor” principle, which means if an individual gives away an asset, the value of his overall estate is reduced. The amount of this reduction is the ” loss to donor “.

For inheritance tax purposes, a “chargeable transfer” is not only a transfer on death, but also applies to lifetime gifts. In effect, when an individual dies, he is deemed to have made a chargeable transfer of the amount equivalent to the value of all his assets at the date of death. If a gift is made during an individual’s lifetime, the value transferred by that gift may also be subject to inheritance tax, as there would be a loss to the transferor of the estate as a result of such an actual disposal. Of course, there is no inheritance tax involved in arm’s length transactions, i.e. where a sale is made without any “gratuitous intent”. Expenditure on the maintenance of an individual’s family is also not considered to be a transfer of value for inheritance tax purposes.

What are Potentially Exempt Transfers?

Potentially exempt transfers are deemed to be exempt while the donor is alive. All gifts between individuals are generally potentially exempt transfers, whereas a gift to a corporation is not a potentially exempt transfer. A potentially exempt transfer will not give rise to an inheritance tax charge while the donor is alive. If the donor survives for 7 years from the date of the gift, then the potentially exempt transfer will be fully exempt. If the donor dies within 7 years of the transfer of the gift, it becomes a chargeable transfer.

It is important to note that if the transferor retains any interest in the assets after giving them away, regardless of when the gift is made, it does not qualify as a potentially exempt transfer, which is known as a gift with reservation of benefit.

Inheritance Tax nil-rate band

The nil rate band is the maximum amount on which an estate is not subject to inheritance tax. Everyone is entitled to a tax-free nil rate band, which is £325,000 in the tax year 22/23. The portion of an estate that does not exceed the nil rate band threshold is charged at a rate of 0%. Any part of the estate above the threshold is subject to a rate of 40%.

What should I do if my relative passes away without leaving me any inheritance in the Will?

Testators are free to dispose of their estate, but they have to satisfy the test of testamentary capacity, and they have to comply with the formal requirements for making a will, etc. They can choose to not make a will, in which case their estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 gives the Court the power to change how the deceased’s estate will be distributed so that the deceased’s family and dependants will be able to get a certain amount from the estate.

The effect of the said legislation is that the testator will not be able to disregard the need of someone who is dependent on him. However, the purpose behind the legislation is not to reward disappointed beneficiaries but to ensure that the reasonable needs of dependents are met.

What are the conditions for making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Survivors and Dependants) Act 1975

The first requirement is that the deceased had to be domiciled in England and Wales at the date of death. There are also strict time limits on the application as it must be brought within six months of the date of the grant of representation. If six months have passed, it can only be brought with the permission of the Court.

The applicant can be the deceased’s spouse or civil partner; the ex-spouse who has not remarried; a cohabitant who has lived with the deceased for at least 2 years; a child of the deceased or a person who was considered a child by the deceased during his or her lifetime; a person who was wholly or mainly dependent on the deceased immediately prior to his death. An applicant may apply to the Court for reasonable financial support in respect of the deceased’s estate.

What are the factors the Court must consider in an Inheritance Act claim?

The Court must first consider two questions: (a) Whether reasonable financial provision has been made for the applicant under the Will or the intestacy rules and (b) if not, what order should be made for financial provision from an estate. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 gives a list of factors for the Court to consider, this includes:

the financial resources and needs that the applicant has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
the financial resources and needs which any beneficiary of the estate of the deceased has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
the financial resources and needs which any other applicant has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
any obligations and responsibilities which the deceased had towards any applicant or any beneficiary of the estate of the deceased;
the size and nature of the net estate of the deceased; any physical or mental disability of any applicant or any beneficiary of the estate of the deceased;
or any other matter the Court may consider relevant, including the conduct of the applicant or any other person.

How much do your change for the application for a grant representation?

Depending on the complexity of the estate, our fees start from £2,000 to around £5,000+VAT.

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Late-night sausage rolls on the menu as Greggs and Westminster Council reach license agreement

There are many who, after a night out on the town, may find it difficult to resist the siren’s call of the nearest fast-food establishment. However, licensing rules in England and Wales often prevent certain hospitality businesses from opening late at night. Such a situation recently arose in a dispute between the high-street bakery chain, Greggs, and Westminster Council over the past year. However, in the lead up to an appeal hearing, the two parties finally came to a license agreement earlier this week.

But what was this dispute about and why are Greggs unable to sell ‘hot food’ from their flagship Leicester Square store?

Keep reading to find out.

Background

Prior to opening its flagship Leicester Square store last year, Greggs applied for a license under the Licensing Act 2003 to sell hot food between the hours of 11am and 5am. This formed part of their plans to operate the store 24 hours a day, however this was quickly quashed by the council’s decision to reject the application. This decision was informed by claims by the police that a successful application could lead to a wave of “crime and disorder” through “late-night disturbances and antisocial behaviour” in the area. This is despite the fact that a nearby McDonald’s is allowed to open late into the night.

The situation is slightly complicated by the fact that Greggs doesn’t need a license to sell products such as sausage rolls and other bakes as they are made elsewhere and kept at an ‘ambient temperature’ in the store.

Greggs does however need permission to sell hot food and drinks, including bacon baps, sausage breakfast rolls, chicken goujons, as well as tea and coffee between 11pm and 5am. Schedule 2 to the Licensing Act 2003 specifically refers to ‘hot food and drink’ between the hours of 11pm and 5am. Food is only considered to be hot if, prior to being supplied to the consumer, it has been heated for the purposes of being consumed above the ambient air temperature. The point of supply is defined as being when a meal is served at a table or when a takeaway is handed to the customer.

This only applies to premises such as takeaway food outlets and night cafes, with shops, stores and supermarkets selling cold food and cold drink from 11pm not licensable as providing late night refreshment.

Greggs announced its intention to appeal the ban in April 2023, with the three-day appeal hearing scheduled for 16^th May at Westminster magistrates court.

Greggs and Westminster reach agreement

Despite the scheduled court hearing, the two parties reached an agreement in the last few days to trade into the early hours at its Leicester Square store. The agreement will allow Greggs to open the flagship store until 2am from Thursday to Saturday, and until midnight from Sunday to Wednesday.

Despite this, the bakery chain will continue to be unable to sell hot food after 11pm. This means no chicken goujons and potato wedges for customers, but hot drinks will be permitted.

Further conditions will also be applied to Greggs, including the installation of CCTV, use of door supervisors, as well as the requirement to clear litter outside the premises. Greggs have argued that the overnight hours would mainly attract shift workers and emergency service workers, rather than groups of antisocial people.

Our comments

The continued restrictions on Greggs being able to sell hot food late at night seems fairly arbitrary considering that the nearby McDonald’s is able to do so. Westminster Council stated that Greggs would “need to try to convince the court that their evidence provides exceptional reasons for allowing the premises to operate until 5am”, which clearly it failed to do.

The official guidance on the licensing of late night refreshment states that the reason for the regulations is because of alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder in the night-time economy, particularly if they are near pubs and nightclubs. Clearly, this disproportionately affects a capital city like London, which has continued to seen a decline since Covid. This is exemplified by the fact that there has been a 27% fall in the number of hospitality employees working between 6pm and 6am since 2018.

Fundamentally, it is important to ensure that you and your business understand the rules regarding the licensing of late night food and drink. This also applies to the sale of alcohol, which can itself carry a punishment without the appropriate license.

As a law firm which specialises in commercial law, if you have any doubts regarding whether your business requires a license, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!

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Have questions about this article? Get in touch today!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, our phone lines are open and we will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

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Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

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Background

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Our comments

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