If you are being accused of causing a nuisance or have engaged in behaviour which is considered to be anti-social, then it may be claimed that you have breached the terms of your tenancy.

If this is the case then your landlord may seek either an anti-social behaviour injunction or a possession order.

If your landlord takes court action then you have the right to defend yourself. This will involve you providing the court with a full defence explaining the situation.

Burd Ward Solicitors can assist you throughout the process and if necessary represent you at the court. If there is a breach of your tenancy agreement but the court considers that no further breaches will take place, then the court may be willing to order a suspended possession order.

This will allow you to remain in your home so long as you abide by the terms of the order, for example, not to engage in anti- social behaviour.

It can be easy to simply ignore all of the letters and court papers coming through your door, however this will only make the situation worse.

Burd Ward is one of the very few local legal firms that deal with housing matters and claims for possession or warrants of eviction.

Burd Ward has the benefit of the legal aid franchise and act as duty solicitor at Birkenhead County Court.

Burd Ward’s expert solicitor Paula Suckley (pictured) specialises in housing law and has more than 20 years of experience in dealing with housing issues. She said: “It is in our experience that the earlier you seek advice then the more chance you have of obtaining a positive result.”

Paula would be happy to advise and assist you to keep your home. Don’t bury your head in the sand, let Paula help save your home. Our offices are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, further appointments on Thursdays to 6.30pm. Contact Paula Suckley by emailing ps@burdward.co.uk or phone 0151 639 8273.

According to a press release issued on the website of the National Housing Association on 26th January 2016 older people, disabled people and the most vulnerable could be left in a position of being unable to pay their rent due to planned changes for housing benefit, which were confirmed by the Chancellor in November 2015.

The changes could result in many schemes such as women’s refuges, specialist dementia accommodation and veterans’ services being closed. The National Housing Federation, in conjunction with Age UK, Mencap and Women’s Aid have called upon the Government to confirm that the new benefit cap will only apply to people that do not need the extra support.

More than 50,000 households could be affected over the course of just one year, losing an average of £68.00 per week each.

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid said

“Women’s Aid has been working alongside the Government to ensure the national network of specialist women’s domestic abuse refuges is on a financially sustainable footing, so that the women and children fleeing violence in the home always have somewhere safe to go. An estimated 12,000 women will stay in refuge every year, more often that not, with their children. Uncertainty about the future of housing benefit payments is already directly impacting on services, plans for the future and a risk to the future of refuge provision is a risk to women and children’s lives. We are urging Government to make clear their intentions to exempt domestic violence refuges from these regulations as a matter of urgency.”

Phillip Coburn, Director with Burd Ward Solicitors comments

“The courts are already clogged up with possession claims and evictions involving Social Landlords and Social Tenants, many of which are due to previous Government reforms on housing benefit culminating in under occupancy charges (“the bedroom tax”) being applied. Many social tenants, vulnerable or not, are unable to meet the shortfall. The new changes will only serve to increase the strain on the courts and the Legal Aid system which is currently in place to help with the funding of such hearings. It seems likely that the changes will result in less income for Social Landlords, more court proceedings being issued and more reliance upon the Legal Aid Agency for payment to assist with the court hearings. It would, in my opinion, appear to be self defeating.”

The breakdown of a relationship is always difficult. With the mixture of emotions it often makes it hard to have constructive discussions with your former partner about the things that matter most, such as arrangements for your children or the family finances.

Many people look to legal advice at this time to steer them in the right direction, but there is another way. Many of us find it difficult to discuss emotive issues such as arrangements for our children or financial concerns.

Family mediation is a positive way to resolve issues arising from relationship breakdown by utilising the skills of a trained third party to help guide you through.

The mediator is there to offer help to both people equally by helping to guide you through those tricky
discussions without taking sides.

Victoria Syvret (pictured) is a resolution trained mediator who is specially accredited by the Family
Mediation Council and offers her mediation services at Burd Ward Solicitors.

She said: “I am passionate about the benefits of mediation for separating couples. Mediation allows separating couples, whether married or not, to retain control of their own family’s arrangements, providing them with an environment where they can discuss the issues relevant to them freely.

“As a family lawyer as well as a mediator I can draw on my experience in family law matters to help steer them through those tricky discussions and offer them options they may not have thought about to work through their ideas for a solution.”

Family mediation is a positive way to resolve issues arising from relationship breakdown. The kind of issues you might need to discuss includes:

• Looking after your children
• What will happen to your home
• Sharing your money and other assets
• Financial support

The mediator does not make any decisions for you, but works along with you both to tackle the issues closest to your heart in a constructive and timely manner.

Mediation is one of the few areas in which legal aid is still available. If one party is eligible for legal aid the other will also receive their initial appointment and first joint meeting for free.

For more information about mediation at Burd Ward, please contact Victoria Syvret today on 0151 639 8273 or vs@burdward.co.uk

UK Car Discount’s website has reported that the recently disgraced VW group has admitted to manipulating Co2 and Mpg figures in over 800,000 cars. The most recent update came just a short while ago when they announced that 430,000 2016 model year VW cars have been affected. This is worrying to those who have recently bought or are waiting for the latest model, though no more cars leaving the factory will have these problems or manipulations – you should check out the list at to see if your car is affected.

The VW Group has released details of multiple online portals that will tell you whether your car is affected and detail the severity of the problem. These online portals are expected to be open for customers in the next few days.

If you are still considering whether or not you should make a claim then please get in touch for no obligation free advice.

Volkswagen have stated that only a small group of employees was responsible for cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests and there was no indication board members were involved. Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said investigations into the affair were going well, but the scandal was the result of a “chain of errors” and it would still take months to say which individuals were to blame. Analysts have said VW could have to pay out tens of billions of euros to cover regulatory fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits.

VW’s Matthias Muller has advised AutoExpress that it wont just be US vehicle owners who will be receiving compensation from VW, stating “Our customers are our focus and we take care of all our customers…We’re working on an effective package for all our customers.” Muller also confirmed the VW will be compensating customers for a drop in resale value as a result of the scandal. VW has also confirmed that if there are any tax implications as a result of the remidal work to vehicles, it will undertake to make any back payments.

The Guardian Reported that “The company will start to repair cars fitted with a defeat device next month. The recall of vehicles with 2-litre engines will begin in January, with 1.2-litre vehicles in the second quarter of 2016 and 1.6-litre vehicles in the third quarter. Vehicles with 1.6-litre engines will require a new flow transformer device, part of the air intake system, to be fitted alongside new software”

If you wish to make a claim then please call our free phone number 0800 0190324 or complete our questionnaire.

In this years Autumn Statement chancellor George Osborne announced that buy-to-let landlords and people buying second homes from April 2016 in England and Wales will have to pay a 3% surcharge on each stamp duty band.

Mr Osborne said the new surcharge would raise an extra £1bn for the Treasury by 2021.

The SDLT surcharge means that for properties worth between £125,000 and £250,000, where the Stamp Duty Land Tax is normally 2%, buy-to-let landlords will pay 5%.

Buy-to-let landlords will also be hit by a change to Capital Gains Tax rules.

From April 2019, landlords will have to pay any CGT due within 30 days of selling a property, rather than waiting till the end of the tax year, as at present.

Phill Coburn comments

At a time when many people are struggling to purchase properties this will more likely than not mean less properties being available to let. Unless the Government can persuade mortgage companies to revert to 100% mortgages for all then the increase in Stamp Duty could be self defeating if local authorities are faced with more and more homeless persons.
Coupled with higher rate tax relief on Buy to Let mortgage interest, and wear and tear allowance, being phased out one has to wonder whether there will remain any attraction for investors and savers to step in to, or remain in, the Buy to Let market.

To discuss how the changes in SDLT are likely to affect you or to find out more about our fixed fee conveyancing service, contact us on 0151 639 8273.

Our office will be closing at 5pm on Wednesday, 23rd December 2015 and will re-open at 9am on Monday, 4th January 2016.

Emergency contact numbers

In cases of an emergency only you can contact us on 07590 061 589 or 07958 811 232.

Reuters.com reported today that Volkswagen cut 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) from its investment plan for next year on Friday, as the German carmaker braces for a multi-billion-euro hit from its emissions cheating scandal.

Volkswagen (VW) is battling the biggest business crisis in its 78-year history after admitting in September that it cheated U.S. diesel emissions tests. It said earlier this month it had also overstated fuel consumption in some vehicles.

Analysts have said the scandal could cost the company 40 billion euros or more in fines, lawsuits and vehicle refits.

Whilst in the US it has been reported that “a dealer familiar with Volkswagen’s plans says the automaker intends to offer $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers to owners of smaller diesel cars.

The offers would be a gesture of goodwill to owners with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines that have been implicated in an emissions cheating scandal. The offers could be announced Monday.

The dealer says owners would get a $500 Visa debit card to spend on anything they wish and a $500 voucher for oil changes, service or merchandise from dealers. The dealer didn’t want to be identified because details of the program haven’t been announced.

VW has admitted that about 482,000 diesels from the 2009 to 2015 model years have software that turns on pollution controls during government tests and shuts them off on the road”.

In Canberra Australia more than 10,000 Australians have signed onto the Country’s second class-action suit against Volkswagen AG

In the UK no further comment has been made by VW and there are no reports of any offers to those affected.

We will keep you updated as news is released.

If you want to claim fill in our initial questionnaire.

The Guardian has today reported the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal has deepened after US authorities accused the carmaker of installing defeat devices into luxury sports card including Porsches.

We have approximately 300 people registered with us to make claims against Volkswagen. If you think that you may be affected by the latest events in this on-going scandal please contact us either by calling 0800 0190324 or by filling in our initial questionnaire.

What’s your VW worth now?

1.5 million cars in the UK potentially affected Including: Audi, Passat, Skoda, Seat!

Register your claim NOW!

6.5 Million set aside by motor industry to cover cost of fines, recalls, compensation claims and legal costs.

If you purchased the vehicle, from 2008 onwards, then you may be entitled to a full refund under the Miss-selling rules because of its alleged low emissions as well as a possible claim for loss in market value of the vehicle, extra fuel charges, and potential car tax implications!

Nik Ellis MD of Laird Assessors, National Engineers and Automotive Experts, has said “A vehicle bought for its green credentials is suddenly not the environmentally responsible care we once thought. There are also tax implications; lower emission vehicle, meaning many VW’s could see significant hike in their tax band…should the emissions scandal spread to the UK’s Volkswagen…then we are likely to see a diminution of the value of the affected models” and this would be at the very least.

It has been reported in the press that “…drivers are paying an average of £350 more a year than they would if the car had the declared fuel efficiency. The advertised number of miles to the gallon is not a true reflection nor is their actual performance on the road. In other developments:

• Switzerland has banned the sale of affected vehicles made by VW – and calls have followed for Britain to follow suit;
• Worried British car buyers are cancelling orders – while industry experts say consumers can now ‘name their price’ for VW cars;

Those affected are thought to be:

• Eco and Blue motion vehicles built post 2008

If you have one of the above vehicles then get in touch with us now on 0800 0190324