Articles in ‘Property Disputes’ Category

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many, if not all, areas of our personal and business lives. But one area that has ground to a halt is the housing market. So if you were in the process of buying a house, or were looking whilst the lockdown took effect, we have put together a few FAQs for house buying during coronavirus.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is urging the Government to introduce an emergency stamp duty holiday to help revitalise the post-pandemic housing market. This is a measure that we would certainly support.

Associate Beth Heley in our Residential Property, Farms & Estates looks at the pros and cons of a simultaneous exchange and completion for residential property sales and purchases, as the country awaits guidance on easing the current lockdown measures.

Rishi Sunak is considering an overhaul to CGT which could lead to those with second homes and buy-to-let properties paying tens of thousands of pounds more in tax when they come to sell.

A long-awaited announcement has been made by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

The SDLT Holiday explained:

A question frequently asked by landowners is what is the difference between an option agreement and a promotion agreement? And which should they enter into?

According to the results of the latest “Which?” survey revealed today, 27% of UK adults have suffered some form of nuisance caused by their neighbours in the last year. The most common problem is noise caused by loud voices, music, pets or building work.

There are many circumstances where you might look into getting an injunction in a property dispute. For example: a developer building very close to your property may affect your right to light; a neighbour interfering with your right of access or causing noise nuisance, or people trespassing onto your property.

When buying a property there are a many things to consider; the crime rates in the area, the surveyor’s report, the potential returns of investing in commercial property, the proximity of a river to name just a few.

In most cases, issues are resolved during a purchase, the purchaser moves in and lives happily ever after. However, as was the case recently with a professional gambler, a property owner may be shocked to later discover that their humble abode is surrounded by a strip of land they thought was theirs but is, in fact, owned by someone else.

Disclaimer: This story is not about the saga of Lady Gaga cooking on an Aga (unfortunately). Authorised guarantee agreements (AGAs) have been featured in a string of court cases dating back to 2005. These have included whether the performance of the AGA can be guaranteed by a guarantor (known as a GAGA) and now whether a lease can be assigned to the tenant’s guarantor.

It’s widely acknowledged that the coming into force of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (the Act) on 1 January 1996 significantly changed the law regarding landlord and tenant liability following an assignment of a tenancy.