Theresa May’s announcement at the Conservative Party conference that foreign investors into the UK property market were going to be targeted with an additional SDLT levy has caused further consternation within the industry. Asserting a determination to “level the playing field” for those who live and pay taxes in the UK, the Prime Minister paved
Category Archives: Real Estate News
Subscribe to Real Estate News RSS FeedLaw against revenge evictions extended to all Assured Shorthold Tenancies
From 1 October 2018, the government’s clampdown on so called “revenge evictions” has been extended to all existing assured shorthold tenancies, including those which pre-date the commencement of the Deregulation Act 2015. The regime introduced by section 33 of the Deregulation Act 2015 is intended to prevent landlords from serving section 21 notices to recover
Urban exploration: a trend that’s going through the roof
From abandoned tube stations and former WW2 bunkers to cranes and skyscrapers, it seems barely a week goes by without a news story (or Instagram post) appearing showing an urban explorer in an area once thought of as off-limits. A quick YouTube search brings up over 36,000 results for “urban exploration skyscraper” and “urbex” (as
PropTech Decoded: Smart Buildings
As our daily lives become more and more integrated with technology we take a look at two ways in which advances in tech can be used to improve the existing buildings in which we live, work and play. Renewable Energy New buildings have the luxury of the latest energy efficient technology either through design or
Radical proposals on enfranchisement rights
The sale of houses on a leasehold basis has been criticised in some quarters because of its apparent unfairness to leaseholders. Leaseholders, in contrast to freeholders, lease a property for only a number of years. The question then being, what happens at the end of the term? Enfranchisement rights provide leaseholders who hold a lease
Call for Evidence on EPCs
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
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
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
Right to rent legal challenge
A challenge to the government’s right to rent measures began yesterday (6 June) when permission was granted to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), a charity, to proceed with a judicial review challenge. A full hearing will follow. The basis of the challenge is that the checks cause discrimination on grounds of
Whose shoes? What subrogation means and why it matters
Subrogation is a well-known principle of insurance law, which also affects real estate. It means that an insurer who has settled a claim may then “step into the shoes” of the insured and try to recover what it has paid from anyone who has contributed towards, or caused, the loss. In real estate, landlords’ insurers
It’s just not cricket (but it is Blockchain)
Last week, the property press ran the tantalising story that parcels of Lord’s cricket ground were up for sale by New Commonwealth, an enterprise which describes itself as a “new property-owning democracy” that provides “access to prize assets for the man on the street, not just the landed elite”. Of course, part of Lord’s is
Directors disqualified for breach of competition law
For only the second time in its history, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured the disqualification of directors whose companies have infringed competition law. In May 2017, the CMA concluded its investigation into the conduct of six residential estate agents operating in the Burnham-on-Sea area. The CMA found that the estate agents had
New Lease Code for Old
The professional statement, “Code for leasing business premises”, published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) incorporates the proposal for a new lease code. The consultation period in relation to this proposal ends on 12 April 2018. Following the consultation period, the RICS intends for the revised Code to replace the existing Code for
Update: public register of beneficial ownership of UK property by overseas entities
What’s new? The government has published its response to the April 2017 call for evidence on proposals for a register showing who owns and controls overseas entities that own UK property or participate in UK government procurement. The regime would catch any legal owner of registered land which is “overseas” and therefore would include commonly
Why did commonhold fail? The Law Commission issues call for evidence asking for the industry’s views
The Law Commission has issued a call for evidence on commonhold law to understand why commonhold as a form of ownership has proved to be so unattractive to the property market. This aligns with the government’s announcement in December 2017 to look at whether and how it can reinvigorate commonhold law, following the widely publicised
BHS Company Voluntary Arrangement – Landlords Win on Penalties
Collapsed retailer British Home Stores cannot challenge its own company voluntary arrangement as an unenforceable contractual penalty and must repay rental discounts to its landlords, the High Court in England and Wales decided yesterday. The case, in which Hogan Lovells represented the successful landlord, provides important guidance on the operation of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs),
Flexible Permissions: Change can do you good
Do you have an asset that’s proving difficult to let? Would you just like to maximise marketability? A “flexible” or “dual-use” planning permission might be able to help. A flexible planning permission allows occupiers to switch between specified planning uses without the need for multiple planning permissions. The right to switch lasts for ten years
Law Commission gears up for driverless cars
Just before Christmas, the Law Commission announced plans to develop laws to support the safe development and use of driverless cars in the UK. The aim is to develop legislation which may be ready as early as 2021. The Law Commission is an independent law reform watchdog for England and Wales and this review is
When will register of beneficial ownership by overseas companies be introduced?
The government has confirmed to parliament its timetable for the introduction of a public register of beneficial ownership of UK property by overseas entities. This follows on from the government’s consultation in April 2017 on establishing such a register which we blogged on last year (see here). In December 2017, the government confirmed that it