On Thursday 26 July 2018, the government published a Call for Evidence on Energy Performance Certificates. The deadline for responding is 19 October 2018. The government is particularly keen for responses from building owners and occupiers (both domestic and commercial), estate agents and others involved in the sale or letting of buildings, anyone involved at
Monthly Archives: July 2018
Whose property is it anyway? Government publishes plans for beneficial ownership register
Draft legislation to implement the government’s proposals for a “beneficial ownership register” has finally been published and the government is seeking views on the detail. The Registration of Overseas Entities Bill follows hot on the heels of last year’s consultation on the proposed register and provides some much needed flesh on the outline plans. The
Tangled in Knots – Beware of Japanese Knotweed
Japanese knotweed has blighted UK properties for over a century. The invasive plant’s roots and stems spread rapidly and have the capacity to smash through concrete, damaging a building’s foundations. Eradicating the knotweed is another headache entirely. As a result, securing finance on blighted properties can prove to be very tricky. These issues were at
The CRC is dead: long live Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
On Wednesday 18 July, The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (Revocation and Savings) Order 2018 was laid before Parliament. This Order will come into force on 1 October this year and will abolish the CRC when its current Phase ends. This means that, from 1 April 2019 onwards, there will be no further obligation to monitor
Time’s almost up for residential letting fees
Seven months on from its publication in November 2017, the draft Bill to ban residential letting fees has undergone the Committee Stage of pre-legislative scrutiny without amendment and now heads back to Parliament for its Report Stage. As the Bill looks increasingly likely to become law, we take stock of the Bill’s aims and review
The Road to Zero – What does it mean for you?
What is it? On 9 July 2018 the Government published its Road to Zero strategy. This sets out how the Government plans to lead the world in zero vehicle emissions. It follows the Government’s Air Quality Plan which prohibits the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040. This means that electric vehicles are
10 things you need to know about MEES and residential property
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (“MEES Regulations“) introduced the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (“MEES“), which aim to encourage landlords to improve the energy efficiency of buildings via a restriction on granting new tenancies and continuing existing tenancies where the property has a sub-standard EPC rating. Below are 10 key
Assets of Community Value – a NIMBY lifeline?
Objectors are always looking for new, low cost ways to stop or delay the offending development. Lobbying for town and village green designations used to achieve this, but as the effectiveness of that route has been hampered by changes in the law NIMBYs have been offered a lifeline in the form of Assets of Community
Overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector
Since the introduction of assured shorthold tenancies under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988, tenancies of 12 months have become the norm. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has just launched a consultation on “Overcoming the Barriers to Longer Tenancies in the Private Rented Sector”, asking whether measures that would encourage or compel