Is it legal if I do a job for a customer, doing a kitchen installation, for them to pass on details about the job to another person entirely without my consent?

Unless you sign customers up with some kind of confidentiality clause, they are free to tell the world what a good, bad or indifferent joiner you are as long as they tell the truth. Indeed any customer asked to sign would immediately think there was something wrong. And remember the job is their job, their property, their scullery.

I have owned my own house for seven years, and my partner was living in rented accommodation until six months ago, she now lives with me. If we got married would she be entitled to half my house if we ever got divorced?

The property was not bought as a family home, so your partner has no right to it, even when you get married. It might be worth a diagnostic consultation with a solicitor about all the financial implications of marriage – indeed I believe all couples facing marriage should get information on how matrimonial law works on break-up. Sounds a bit negative but better to be realistic in advance.

I live in a close with six flats, three rented from a social landlord,three owned. Two of have owner occupiers and the other a private tenant. Refurbishment was done four years ago. We understood the close was to be painted but the owner occupiers voted against, three against three. I have been trying with the new owners as I did with the previous Housing Association to get the close painted but he owners refuse. I seemed to have reached a stalemate.

The deeds will have the rules for doing repair work. If it is a question of a simple majority and the work is not of an emergency nature you may struggle to get anything done. However, your landlords have a duty to you to ensure the property is kept well – check your lease to see their duties spelled out as, and keep on at them.

After a car accident not my fault, my insurers have now decided it is uneconomical to repair my car and it will be written off so I get the current market value, a lot less than I paid. Also they await a response from the third party as to whether they will accept liability. The insurers suggested I could hire a car in the meantime and that they MIGHT reimburse me for it. I am hesitant to do this in case they don’t.

Check your policy, it will dictate your cover. If the accident was the other party’s fault and they are insured, hire a car with some confidence you can claim it back from them. Re your own car, in future anyone taking out a policy see if you can get cover (even if it costs a bit more) to ensure you get the best payout for a written-off car. The moral for ALL policy purchasers is: negotiate hard, and read everything before you sign.