Legal

Court House in London

million pound properties at Sandbanks waterfront Dorset

Home seller miffed after being haggled out of millions

It would be fair to say that most people buy and sell property for a price they think is acceptable and finding out that the buyer of your property can ...
messy path outside house

Home owners too busy to take pride in the outside of their property

In many towns around the UK, you don't have to look far to see neglected kerb sides, pavements and gardens, whether it be from overgrown weeds or garden plants or ...
image of building floor with rot

Dry rot case reaches High Court

A pre-trial hearing at The High Court in London has been told that the sellers of a beautiful Berkshire property had sold their home in the knowledge it was riddled ...
brick pointing survey ask a surveyor fault assessment

Trio of rogue traders jailed after stealing £45,000

Brothers Matty and James Rossiter and Dean Smith filmed themselves bragging about their scam, which involved preying mainly on elderly people. The fraudsters would target people that they perceived to ...
blocks of flats high rise buildings tenant holiday let

Fire safety legislation in houses and blocks of flats

The government has published its Fire Safety Briefing into the fire safety of houses and blocks of flats. We discuss the legislation in England but it should be noted that ...
Estate agent fined under money laundering legislation

Estate agents fined £1.6 million

HMRC has issued fined which total in excess of £1.6 million to estate agents who have failed to register or re-register with them for Anti-Money Laundering (AML). The fine imposed ...
house build defects

Suspended sentence for cowboy builder

The victims of a cowboy builder have been left "grossly" out of pocket, with unsafe building work carried out in their homes after taking payment in advance. The loft conversion ...
brick course on building survey

Planning issue (not) solved with hammer

A home owner in Norfolk has been charged with causing criminal damage, following a disagreement over an outside wall built adjacent to the front of his single width driveway. Keith ...
high rise fire plans not being provided to fire fighters

Most high rise managers failing fire fighters in South Yorkshire

Legislation was introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 which required some building managers to provide information to the fire service. However, few building managers have complied with the ...
photo of a sheep in the middle of a field garden village planning permission

Garden village wins legal battle

In a High Court hearing, planning inspectors have been found to have acted unlawfully when advising West Oxfordshire District Council. Rights Community Action (RCA), a climate group, challenged the decision ...
Get a survey on your home

Thumbs up to sealing a deal!

Dealing with issues to do with buying or selling property or in your current home is a stressful process for most people. So, when communicating by WhatsApp, text, Messenger or ...
Front Door of House with Letterbox

Builder fined over non-compliant fire doors

Trading standards officers in North Yorkshire have prosecuted a builder over the fitting of ‘potentially unsafe’ fire doors under consumer protection from the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Aztech Building and ...
Gargoyle on building property

Nimby neighbours (allegedly) block couple from wine society

In Ridgeway v McGuinness, The Ridgeway (Oxshott) Management Company (RO) sought to prevent Emma and Terence McGuinness from replacing their four bedroom single property with two separate dwellings on the ...
Gavel used by judge in courts of law

Construction company brothers and accomplices jailed

Two brothers have been convicted of committing tax fraud while running construction installation companies in Hull. The proceeds of the brothers' fraud amounted to more than £7 million. Father of ...
Landlord and tenant claim rejected leasehold reform act

Landlord and tenant claim rejected through underpaid fee

A claim has been thrown out of High Court because the solicitor mistakenly underpaid the court fee. Barry Roy Peterson and Andrew Charles Blake (the claimants) were the successors in ...
substantial property in Wales

Renting Homes Wales Act amended

The Welsh Government has published a draft amendment to the Renting Homes Wales Act, which affects the terms of converted contracts and any subsequent renewals that replace them. The Renting ...
house buyer conflict of interest solicitor

Conflict of interest solicitor fined £32,000

A solicitor with over 30 years’ experience has been disciplined for conflict of interest by working with ‘the other side’. John Charles Wright held a management position with the south ...
rather splendid view from Appledore with no visual intrusion over neighbours

Supreme Court rules on visual intrusion

The ‘rather splendid’ view offered by the viewing gallery at the Tate Modern in London has, after all, been deemed a visual intrusion. High Court judge, Mr Justice Mann, had previously ...

Tenant jailed for trying to sell rental property

In February 2020, Andrew Smith took on the tenancy of a property, having claimed that he had moved to the area for work. However, less than two weeks after taking ...
Money to buy property anti-money laundering register AML

Property developers to pay millions to National Crime Agency

An investigation by the National Crime Agency has resulted in the recovery of £4.3 million from two property developer brothers with a 30 year career in the business. The proceeds ...
Party Wall diagram

The Party Wall Act – know your rights

A recent court decision has concluded that the Party Wall etc Act 1996 did not apply because a Notice under the Act was not served on a neighbour. So how ...
rental home survey

Sex for rent – at last!

A staggering 30,000 female private property renters in the UK have been offered a rent-free home in return for sex for rent - sexual favours - in just the last ...
cracks in walls neighbouring property

Essential repairs and property maintenance – trespass or not?

Going on to your neighbour's land is sometimes necessary to carry out essential repairs to your property. Consequently, the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992, provides for this with a ...
Building Safety Act now in force 2022

Building Safety Act now in force

The Building Safety Act, which overhauls building safety regulation after the Grenfell Tower fire, came into effect on 28th April 2022 and includes some changes that apply to all new ...
Homes for Ukraine scheme see homeowners opening their houses to help

Homes for Ukraine scheme

The government has now introduced its Homes for Ukraine scheme, under which sponsors are paid directly by the government for housing a Ukrainian family escaping the horrors of their war-torn ...
Lasting Power of Attorney used to attempt fraudulent property sale

Inconsistencies prevent fraudulent sale of home

A few inconsistencies were all it took for a property owner to prevent the fraudulent sale of her home. It was only when the freeholder of her property told a ...
Money to buy property anti-money laundering register AML

Widow fights ‘cruel and greedy children’ over estate

A High Court battle is underway between a widow and her son, her daughter and two stepchildren. Her husband, Patrick Seale, was a correspondent for The Observer and a renowned ...
Plumbing at Dunster Castle, Somerset

Conveyancing firm blames recent cyber breach for months of poor service

A conveyancing firm with the ambition to 'simplify moving' has left property purchasers uninformed or abandoned. A cyber security incident has been blamed for property deals breaking down, leaving some ...
Scales of justice above law courts

Judge rules on doorbell privacy row

A ruling on the unjustifiable invasion of privacy could have implications for home security devices across the country. As an audio-visual technician, Jon Woodard knew what he was doing when ...
House of Money: ownership property

Lloyds Bank sued over shared appreciation mortgages

Lloyds Banking Group is being taken to the High Court by 150 home owners later this year. The properties were all mortgaged under the bank’s ‘shared appreciation mortgage’ deal, which allowed ...
police constabulary building survey report

Fraudster sells property after presenting genuine ID

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reproached a firm of solicitors in Bradford, Yorkshire, for failing to carry out proper checks on the prospective seller of a property who turned out ...
photo of a sheep in the middle of a field garden village planning permission

Legal challenge lost over building on Oxfordshire green belt

In Cherwell Development Watch Alliance v Cherwell District Council & Anor [2021] EWHC 2190, the High Court ruling on 30th July has dashed all hopes of preventing the building of 4,400 ...
Cryptocurrency used to buy property

Cashing in your cryptocurrency to buy property?

The National Crime Agency has expressed concerns over the use of cryptocurrency to purchase assets including property in the UK. Cryptocurrency can be used to covertly move funds between people ...
House plans of a traditional older building

TA6 Part 1 pilot scheme announced for buying and selling property

Is the Law Society helping to increase conveyancing fees? The Law Society, in conjunction with InfoTrack and Perfect Portal, has announced the introduction of a new pilot scheme designed to ...
New houses roofs property mortgage highest multiple

House builders using settlement agreements to disguise poor quality buildings

The chairman of the Parliamentary Housing Committee says house builders should be forced to let home owners know when systematic defects might affect their new property. Clive Betts MP said some ...
apartment buildings

Housing secretary announces leasehold reform

A long-awaited reform of property law in England has been announced by the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, including leasehold reform with new rights and protections for leaseholders in England. Properties ...
Bromley-by-Bow Gasholders, London

Gas explosion builder cleared of health and safety breaches

Magistrates in Salisbury have cleared a builder of health and safety breaches, after a gas explosion at the property on which his company worked. The block of flats was partly ...
high rise fire plans not being provided to fire fighters

The cladding companies putting profits ahead of safety

The inquiry that follows the June 2017 fire, in which 72 people died at the Grenfell Tower in West London, has highlighted some of the shocking tactics of the management ...
chandelier in apartment

Property worth £10 million surrendered to NCA

Despite never having been convicted of a crime, a Leeds businessman has handed over 45 properties, and the Poundland brand name, to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The properties handed ...
new building being built

Major housebuilders under investigation over leaseholds

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it is investigating four of the UK's largest housebuilders, following what it described as 'troubling evidence' over their methods of selling ...
Gavel used by judge in courts of law

Grosvenor Property Developers consultant faces prison

Sanjiv Varma, who claimed to be a consultant to developer, Grosvenor Property Developers Ltd, has been found guilty of contempt in the High Court for failing to disclose assets and ...
New houses roofs property mortgage highest multiple

Ban on ‘No DSS’ after court judgement

The case against 'No DSS' stipulations stepped up a notch when two mothers recently won out of court settlements against two letting agents. A judge in York County Court ruled ...
Money to buy property anti-money laundering register AML

Stoke on Trent solar panel company accused of Erroneous Transfers

Tenants of properties in Stoke on Trent have accused a solar panel company of mis-selling by making Erroneous Transfers. The company worked with the City Council offering free panels with ...
London high street property

McMafia law claims London properties

Three multi-million homes in London has been seized as part of the National Crime Agency's Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) powers, or so-called 'McMafia law'. The properties in Hampstead, Chelsea, and ...

Court of Appeal rejects appeal against first Unexplained Wealth Order

The Court of Appeal has rejected Zamira Hajiyeva's appeal against the UK's first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO), meaning she must now reveal the source of her wealth. She has been ...

Estate agent price-fixing cartels broken up by CMA

The three price-fixing estate agent cartels that colluded to fix fees for letting and selling properties have now been broken up by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Price-fixing results ...

Home owners take legal action against mortgage lenders

The Treasury has pledged to be working on the removal of barriers to cheaper deals that have trapped 'mortgage prisoners'. However, 150,000 people under the banner 'UK Mortgage Prisoner Action ...

Landlord v Tenant, Residential v Commercial – Supreme Court ruling in leasehold enfranchisement / planning dispute

In Sequent Nominees Ltd v Hautford Ltd [2019] the Supreme Court justices have ruled that a freeholder was entitled to withhold consent from a leaseholder who wished to apply for ...

Nottingham breach of planning regulations fined £20,000

A Nottingham couple have become embroiled in a dispute with their local council over a breach of planning regulations by building in their back garden. Ishitaq Ahmed and his wife ...

Homeowner says Persimmon Homes solicitor failed to highlight restrictive covenants

A homeowner in Pembroke has complained about her discovery of several restrictive covenants on her property, although she wasn't informed about them when she bought the new build property, even ...

Legal: Restrictive covenants preventing sale of property

The neighbouring properties of 141 and 141A Dunstans Road in East Dulwich, London, originally formed a single double fronted Victorian home. In October 1983, the home's owner split the property ...

Is it legal for a landlord to lock access to a shared property’s thermostat?

A landlord has installed a locked cover over the Nest thermostat of the shared house she owns in Ealing, London. The move means that hot water and central heating settings ...

Overage Agreement explained in light of recent High Court ruling

Properties and land are often sold if there is a potential for increased value with an overage agreement. Case law has recently addressed the clause that is often used: “detailed ...

Legal: £500,000 fine for planning offence

The highest penalty ever imposed for a planning offence in central London has been given to a landlord prosecuted by Westminster City Council, who divided his home into flats without ...
image of house keys

Solicitors’ lucky escape

The House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee has conducted an extensive inquiry into leasehold reform.  This month (July 2019) the government published its response. It seems ...

Berkshire estate agents accused of price fixing

Four Berkshire estate agents stand accused by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of forming a 'price fixing cartel', exchanging information and fixing commission for their own financial gain. The ...

Is the leasehold system fair and transparent?

The Competition and Markets Authority has at long last opened an investigation into the practices of the leasehold property market. The investigation launched on 11th June 2019 follows years of ...

Legal: Wells v Devani

In Wells v Devani [2019], estate agent Mr Devani claimed that commission was payable to him by the vendor, Mr Wells, on completion of the sale of his flats to ...

New laws on electrical safety

Landlords of private rented property will soon need to ensure that the electrics in their properties are checked to ensure they are as safe as they ought to be, under ...

Greedy landlord guilty of disregarding planning enforcement

Reading Crown Court has sentenced a Langley landlord to a suspended prison term and ordered him to pay over £300,000 for costs and compensation. Talwinder Singh built a block of ...

Inadequate solicitors advice possibly leading to homeowners trapped by ‘fleeceholds’

A crisis on a scale compared to the recent PPI scandal has left home owners and MPs alike wanting answers, as new home owners are being lumbered with annual charges ...

Stepney landlady wins legal fight to make noise

A pub landlady in Stepney, East London has won a landmark victory to prevent people who will live in an unbuilt development from complaining in the future about noise pollution ...

Privacy Law – visitors to Tate Modern can enjoy ‘rather splendid’ view

Property owners of the multi-million pound Neo Bankside flats next door to the Tate Modern's £260 million Switch House Building in London have lost their privacy case at the High ...

Serious Fraud Office investigating major property developments

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has opened investigations into suspected fraud related to three major property developments. Angelgate, Manchester £77 million Pinnacle Angelgate in Manchester was developed by Pinnacle (Angelgate) ...

Solicitor jailed for property fraud offences

Manchester Crown Court has sentenced a conveyancing solicitor to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of three offences of money laundering over a period of five years, up ...

New tenant rights to sue landlord

A new private members bill has been passed in the Commons, enabling tenants to take legal action if their private or social rented home does not meet the minimum standards ...

Judicial Guidance on Party Wall Act surveyor fees

What is Party Wall Work? The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 introduced a procedure for the resolution of disputes between owners of neighbouring properties, arising as a result of one ...

Moore v National Westminster Bank Plc

In Moore v National Westminster Bank Plc the High Court upheld an award of damages awarded for breach of contract by the lender when it failed to arrange a Home Buyers Report ...

Leasehold law headache continues

Barclays Bank has reignited the debate on unfair leasehold practices, after refusing to lend against a high profile development in Stratford, in the London Borough of Newham. The main cause ...

HMRC battles with DIY

In September 2010, Mr and Mrs McHugh sold the home they had built for themselves between November 2004 and December 2007. During the build, the couple lived in another property ...

Representatives of G. Graham v HMRC (2018)

Business Property Relief is currently denied to businesses that ‘consist wholly or mainly of dealing with securities, stocks or shares, land or buildings, or making or holding investments’, including property ...

Landmark legal ruling: Mills v Mills

In a legal challenge by her former husband, the Supreme Court has ruled that an ex-wife cannot force her divorced husband to increase the amount of maintenance payments simply because ...

Fraudulent sales of property

Conjoined Appeal in Court of Appeal on Fraudulent Sale of Properties: P&P Property Ltd v Owen White & Catlin LLP ; Dreamvar (UK) Limited v Mishcon de Reya; An Important ...

What the law allows you to do when confronted with an intruder in your home?

The terrifying prospect of finding an intruder in your home is fortunately something few of us have to deal with. But with the news this month that 78 year old ...

Localism Act 2011 being used to trap people in homelessness

The Localism Act 2011 gave councils the power to restrict access to social housing. Since the law change became effective, the total number of households on waiting lists in England ...

Equality laws highlight discrimination against housing benefit claimants

A recent legal case has highlighted the practices of thousands of letting agents and landlords that discriminate against tenants, in particular women. The case, brought to the county court by ...

Why aren’t more homes being bought under commonhold law?

In 2016, 98% of flats were purchased 'leasehold' - giving the purchaser ownership of the property for a fixed number of years during which they pay ground rent to the ...

New Bill could be the end of expensive boundary disputes

The cost of boundary disputes was highlighted recently in the well publicised case of the London family who lost their £600k home of 31 years to their neighbours, after losing ...

Legal loophole benefiting holiday home owners may soon close

In our article ‘why do we need new homes?’ we identified tax evasion over business rates and council tax by landlords as one of the problems contributing to the current ...

April 2018 government legislation changes to HMOs and EPCs

Spring 2018 brings with it changes to Government legislation on Houses of Multiple Occupation and Energy Performance Certificates in rented accommodation. HMO Legislation changes The Government is proposing changes to ...

Planning law update: Local Authority being challenged over breaches of air pollution laws resulting in invalidation of Local Plan

Environmental campaigner, Emily Shirley, has brought a legal challenge over Canterbury’s adoption of its Local Plan, claiming that the city did not properly consider the impact on air pollution of ...

Money Laundering Regulations update takes effect

In an attempt to further address the estimated £24 billion a year 'generated' by organised crime, the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations ...

Storm Gertrude: School collapse is the tip of the PPP iceberg

In January 2016, Oxgangs Primary School in Edinburgh made the news headlines when Storm Gertrude brought nine tons of bricks falling to the ground.  The shocking collapse identified significant defects and a ...

How to protect your property from title fraud

On 20th August this year, while working away from his home in Luton, the Rev Mike Hall was alerted by a neighbour that someone was in his house. He drove ...

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