Opinion

The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 came into force on 6 April 2020. In relation to commercial leases, the act gives tenants under commercial leases in Scotland additional protection from irritancy (i.e. forfeiture or termination). This protection is similar (although not identical) to the protectio

Jim Bauld outlines what the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act means for antisocial tenants. The Scottish Parliament has moved to pass emergency legislation to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 is now on the statute books.

Home Office asylum accommodation provider Serco can legally carry out lock-changes evictions on refused refugees in Glasgow after permission to appeal was refused by the Supreme Court. The court refused permission to appeal in Ali v Serco Group Plc after deciding that the application does

We have all heard the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” and it seems very appropriate in the rental market at this extremely difficult time, writes Stephanie Zak. Landlords must, of course, seek to help tenants who are struggling to pay – by offering rent holidays or other conc

In light of the police-enforced lockdown and other social distancing measures, employers face a new challenge in ensuring they comply with their responsibilities whilst trying to maintain business continuity, writes Gurjit Pall. New measures are now detailed in the Home Office’s guidance to ma

Janet McIntyre and Gary Thomas summarise the details of emergency legislation introduced in Scotland to prevent the eviction of commercial tenants who are unable to pay their rent because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Irritancy is a remedy for landlords to terminate a lease early when tenants are in bre

Neil Casey guides landlords through the emergency changes to housing legislation in Scotland. The Scottish Government has passed the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill, which will now become law. These emergency provisions are due to expire on 30 September 2020, although ministers have the power to ex

Darina Kerr details the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill's provisions relevant to the commercial property sector. The bill includes changes to the notice period required by landlords to ‘irritate’, or take back, a lease and pursue tenants for unpaid rent. This is now extended from 14 days to

Solicitor Eamon Keane, early career fellow in criminal law and evidence at the University of Edinburgh, expresses 'considerable concern' over the Scottish government's hearsay reforms, which have passed stage one. The proposals in the Coronavirus Bill (at Schedule 4 Part 6) cause me considerable con

On 26 March 2020 the Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (WTCA Regulations) were made, coming into force with immediate effect. These regulations affect rights of workers to carry over holidays which they were unable to take due to coronavirus, writes Annika Neukirch. Previo

Shaun George explains how arbitration can help ease the strain of the pandemic on family law. Family law arbitration has, to date, struggled to gain traction as a dispute resolution option given the very effective specialist family law courts in some sheriffdoms and an excellent and well-managed fam

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) sets out key information for practitioners and law firms during the pandemic. It is intended to support you to ensure that necessary changes to your service to deal with the current situation do not result in additional avoidable complaints, and t

It is encouraging that companies are pausing before enforcing some contractual rights in favour of a collaborative, pragmatic approach to issues caused by coronavirus. In advising a range of businesses on their response to the crisis, our experience is that companies are not rushing to strictly enfo

On 25 March, the Scottish government published new guidance on social distancing for businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak, including which businesses are allowed to remain open during the period of so-called “lockdown”. This comes into effect immediately, writes Stephen McGowan. Leisu

The way we operate as an economy has changed, but the business world has adapted and changed with it. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all businesses to re-evaluate how they operate on a global level. Many businesses have responded by increasing their capacity to operate remotely, through the enhanc