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Prior to the introduction of revised procedures (set out in regulations under Section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 , which came into effect in July 2002), people who had to cross common land in order to reach their homes were sometimes...
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An Annual Residential Property Tax (“ARPT”) comes into effect on 1 April 2013. It will apply to UK residential property valued at over £2m, which is held by “Non Natural Persons” (companies, partnerships (with a corporate...
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Stamp Duty Land Tax The following update focuses on the announcements made by Chancellor George Osborne in this year’s Spring Budget, in relation to Stamp Duty Land Tax. With effect from 21 March 2012 Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for purchases of...
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After another cold, wet summer and with dull economic prospects at home, you might be thinking of buying a property abroad or even making a permanent move to foreign climes. If so, as well as it being essential to take independent and high quality legal...
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Since 1st January 2005, all electrical work carried out in dwellings has had to comply with Part P of the Building Regulations and be carried out by a person who is competent to do the work. All work which involves adding a new circuit to a...
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This fact sheet provides guidance for those involved in the development of residential properties whether new builds or conversions of existing properties . On 1 September 2008, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) introduced new procedures in...
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High Value Residential Property - Additional Tax Charges from April 2013 The Finance Bill 2013 was published on 11 December 2012. This draft legislation confirms that from April 2013 the following will apply: An Annual Residential Property Tax...
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After carrying out an extensive consultation exercise, which closed in October 2011, squatting in residential properties has now become a criminal offence. Criminal squatting will occur when: a person knowingly enters a residential building as a...
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Commonholds are a relatively new way of holding property and will be attractive to some flat owners who wish to take the ownership and management of the freehold of their block of flats out of a management company. They may also become increasingly common in...
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Supplies of land and buildings (e.g. sales and lettings) are usually exempt from VAT which means that no VAT is payable on these transactions, however this also means that the supplier cannot recover any VAT on their expenses. To enable the supplier to...
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Applications to Leasehold Valuation Tribunals - when does time start to run for making an application for a Vesting Order? Where a claim for leasehold enfranchisement has been brought and the Landlord and proposed purchaser (known as the “nominee...
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The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, amongst other things, brought in the right to enfranchisement on a collective basis. The Act enables residential long leaseholders of flats to act together to purchase the freehold of their...
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Since 2003 qualifying leaseholders have had the right to take over the management of their block of flats from their landlord, under provisions made under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 . Leaseholders who take advantage of this right have more...
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Leaseholds are, by their very natures, wasting assets and need to be approached with some care. If you have owned your lease for two years, you can make the Landlord grant you an additional 90 years and cancel any ground rent you may be paying. Many...
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1. Introduction 1.1Before the passing of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“the Act”) the only right that tenants of long leasehold flats had to manage the day to day running of their flat and the block in which it was situated, was...
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Until the passing of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 tenants of long leasehold flats had little opportunity to wrest control over the day to day management of their flats and block except where they could prove that their landlord was not...
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When you ask for a redemption statement from your mortgage lender, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to see an additional charge termed ‘mortgage exit administration fee’ (MEAF), which, while it will be shown in the mortgage offer letter, is...
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Section 153 of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002 requires landlords of residential properties to include with demands for service charges a summary of their tenants rights and obligations in relation to those, and similarly in relation to...
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Although a very recent technological development, the mobile phone is considered a necessity by many people in the UK. However, despite their popularity, the communication masts on which the networks depend have been regarded, since their inception, as...
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Whether you are planning to refurbish and sell a house or to construct a whole new apartment block, almost all your plans will be governed by planning laws and any local restrictions. Planning restrictions are more stringent in conservation areas, for...
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To incentivise the use of empty properties, the Government introduced several changes to empty rates relief which became effective in April of this year. Prior to 1 April 2008, all empty properties benefitted from reduced business rates of up to 50% of the...
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The House of Lords’ ruling in the recent case of Yeoman’s Row Management Limited and another v. Cobbe [2008] All ER (D) 419 has restricted the legal remedies available for those situations where a property deal is abandoned by one party before...
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This is a summary of the regulations brought in on 1 October 2007 under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“the Act”) by The Service Charges (Summary of Rights and Obligations, and Transitional Provision) (England) Regulations 2007...
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Most people buy and sell the property they live in without any thoughts about tax (other than, perhaps, Stamp Duty Land Tax). However, there are some circumstances in which selling the property you live in can cause tax problems. Some of the main ones are: ...
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In recent years, increased mobility and growing rates of home ownership have meant that ever-larger numbers of people nowadays inherit properties from relatives who lived many miles away. Similarly, many buy-to-let properties have been purchased in areas...
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