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New legal decision to impact flat owners?
Apr 24, 2019

The Upper Tribunal has handed tenants an important victory concerning ‘common parts’ including roof spaces and airspace leases in leasehold enfranchisement. The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that a lease of the airspace above, and the subsoil below a leasehold block of flats must be classed as "common parts" of the building when deciding if they were to be acquired, in a decision that could potentially have a profound impact on the property sector. This means that freeholders may not able to sell 'air space' to people who wish to develop on top or below an existing block of flats. This is particularly important if it remains law as the Government is relaxing planning rules on building on rooftops, for example, to help create more homes in London.

Are volumes heading back to 2009 levels?
Mar 26, 2019

Normally in the property market, if volumes fall, then price falls will quickly follow. During the credit crunch we saw volumes slip back by 50%, on average, while property prices fell by around 20% - although some areas performed worse and others better. In some recent market presentations, I was surprised to see how far transactions had fallen back versus previous years and I even spotted that in some areas, based on Land Registry data comparing volumes from January to October 2009 versus 2018, some transactions had fallen back as far as levels experienced in 2009.

Property update from Philip Hammond's Spring Statement 2019
Mar 14, 2019

The Spring Statement from Philip Hammond wasn't the most exiting event of the day, but at least it was a rare bit of 'respite' away from the disaster that is now Brexit - or maybe not! Much of the statement repeats pledges and consultations on more changes to property taxation from previous budgets, but there is some news on where investment is going into areas such as Nottingham, Derby, Portsmouth, Southampton and the likes of Stoke on Trent. 

What if I can’t get my rental deposit back?
Dec 17, 2018

If you have been renting a property on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), by law your landlord should have: protected your deposit in a in a government-approved deposit scheme; provided you with details of the scheme at the start if your tenancy. This should be returned to you at the end of the tenancy, minus any deductions which you both agree on.

Property projects - how to save, save, save and what NOT to stint on!
Mar 21, 2016

With the Easter break on the way, if you are like me, you’ll have been saving up some jobs to do on your home. Or maybe, after the budget and burst of amazing first-time buyer initiatives, decide that weekend is a great time to start planning or even property hunting.