Articles in ‘Property Conveyancing’ Category

In recent years we’ve seen a trend of more and more people working from home. But did you know that in the case of rented property, this can change the legal relationship between the landlord and tenant, from a residential tenancy to a business one?

The Estate Agents Act 1979 (“the Act”) has been with us for some 34 years, the major part  coming into force in May 1982. The important Regulations referred to at Section 18 of the Act came into force on 29 July 1991 (“the Regulations”) . So there really should be no surprises and no reasons for disputes over when a person acting as an estate agent is entitled to a commission, and how much they should be paid, and yet disputes continue and commissions are lost.

Many people find themselves in a position where they are financially comfortable with mortgage repayments, yet cannot save up the necessary deposit to purchase a home. The Help to Buy equity loan scheme offers the opportunity for purchasers to borrow up to 20% of their property purchase price (40% in London).

According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government Housing Statistical Release on 28 June 2018; there were 160,470 completions of new build properties from January 2018 to March 2018. This is an 8% increase from 2017.
There are clearly many people purchasing new build homes. However, do these prospective buyers understand the terminology frequently used by their solicitors and the developers?

A law graduate who lived with her partner won a legal fight yesterday that will leave her with half of a £1.7m home. The courts awarded Ms Ladwa half of the home despite arguments from her former partner, Ms Chapman, that she had funded the home and their lavish lifestyle entirely. The couple were engaged to be married but separated in 2016.

Owning a leasehold property can be a very complex and daunting venture both for the inexperienced and the most experienced of property owners. Failure to comply with any restrictive covenants contained within a lease can lead to avoidable and unfortunate repercussions due to the leaseholder not fulfilling their obligations.

Exchanging contracts on a house sale can be a highly exciting, but also a stressful time. But what will happen if for whatever reason you fail to exchange? In this blog which originally appeared in The Financial Times, Zainab, our head of the London residential property team explains what this could mean for the house sale?

Philip Hammond’s budget speech this week confirmed proposals announced by the Prime Minister last month to introduce an additional stamp duty land tax (SDLT) surcharge on UK residential property bought by foreign buyers.

The rules surrounding chancel repair liability can be traced back hundreds of years – however the ancient liability remains just as relevant to homeowners and buyers today.

There is no denying that in recent times the headlines relating to the London property market have been less than positive.

Headline after headline describe the capital’s property market as ‘fragile’ and ‘stagnant’ – and yet it’s housing market is often considered the envy of every other major city in the UK (and the world). So what exactly is going on with the London property market?

The creation of online search portals for buying homes was a game changer for people looking to buy a house but it also changed the landscape for estate agents. But has this change marked an improvement in how we buy and sell houses? 

After only 27 days in the role, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak is ready to reveal his first ever budget, the UK’s first in over 18 months and first as a Non-EU member state in over 40 years. Although no one can be certain what will be inside the famous red box, from the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s comments within the last few months, it is likely we will see Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) take the stage in some way.