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.

When a trust’s founder dies, families often assume that whatever they said they wanted will be honoured, even if the trust deed was never changed to reflect it. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision confirms that this is not how trusts work. What governs a trust after the founder’s death is the trust deed itself, not the wishes they expressed at family meetings in their final years.

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.