In this month’s Property Surveying Newsletter … we discover how a property was sold fraudulently using genuine documents, look at home affordability and remind ourselves what can happen to a database in the wrong hands
The Property Market Monthly Fact File
The property market fact file is a collection of data compiled each month by our Chartered Surveyors and the propertysurveying.co.uk team, reflecting survey data, statistics, trends and information from the property market. This provides a single place where anyone with an interest in UK property can find the information they need.
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.
Local planning authorities to refer environment-related decisions
Environment Secretary, George Eustice, has said that local planning authorities will soon be forced to refer decisions to the Housing Secretary where the Environment Agency has raised objections.
High Street bank to become private landlord
Lloyds Banking Group is planning to become a private landlord by acquiring around 400 residential properties by the end of 2021 and another 400 next year.
Calls to demystify net zero homes
An open letter to government has called for make climate change plans to be less complicated and confusing if England is to achieve net zero. The letter says that schemes designed to improve emissions from homes are overly-complicated and far from simple to understand.
Green belt accused of causing more building in rural areas
Green belt is currently under threat, with government changes to local plans and land banking rules up until 2030 meaning some local authorities, under ‘exceptional circumstances’, will have to consider allowing the building of homes on green belt land to meet house building objectives.
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 borrowers to tie in their mortgage to the value of the property.
Worst builder in Britain … or angry builder and typical home improver?
A home owner in Leicester has accused his ‘angry builder’ of demolishing his property with a digger, after refusing to pay an additional £3,500 for work undertaken.
Countryside springs leasehold trap
An investigation began in 2019 to investigate leaseholds, after millions of leaseholders faced massive increases in ground rents and the cost of buying the freehold to their property.
South West home affordability at breaking point
Home affordability is under more strain, as an analysis of figures released by the government reveals the number of second homes in England being ‘flipped’ to become holiday lets.
And finally …
Erroneous planning decisions used inappropriate language
A member of the planning support team, working to ‘test’ new planning application software, has accidentally published test planning decisions. The published decisions included approvals for the demolition of two pubs and the rejection of other planning applications.
Written by Independent Chartered Surveyors
of the UK wide network of Property Professionals
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