When a sale falls through, most people assume restitution means simply giving back the money and the property. A recent High Court decision shows it is rarely that straightforward, particularly if the property itself has changed in the interim. The ruling explains how restoration costs should be worked out, and why the condition of the property when occupation begins can matter years later.

Paying rent under a residential lease does not automatically make you a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision shows that the real question is whether the landlord is letting property in the ordinary course of business. That said, even where the CPA does not apply and a lease is validly cancelled, a landlord cannot simply tell a tenant to leave without following the correct eviction process.