Property, Leasehold and Housing

2016 has been something of a roller-coaster ride for followers of residential property market activity. The first quarter of the year was notable for a mini-boom as landlords and second home buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of the changes to stamp...

The latest national data from the Land Registry on residential property prices has been published today. The UK House Price Index has been updated with actual selling prices reported to the Land Registry for the month of August. Highlights for the month...

In her speech earlier this week to the Conservative Party conference, Amber Rudd, the new Home Secretary announced harsher potential penalties for landlords of properties in England, who fail to check the immigration status of tenants and let accommodation...

The Homelessness Reduction Bill is due for its second reading on 28th October 2016 and if passed, should mean that private tenants will not need to wait for physical eviction by bailiffs to be accepted as homeless by local Councils. The notice of eviction...

The government has indicated that it does not plan to regulate landlords further by imposing on them the requirement to belong to a redress scheme. In the House of Lords, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town asked Her Majesty’s Government whether it plans...

The High Court has held that a tenant was entitled to relief from forfeiture despite the tenant’s 14-month delay in applying for relief on the condition that the tenant paid the landlord’s arrears and costs. The case, Pineport Ltd v Grangeglen...

The Supreme Court has ruled that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which relates to the right to respect for private and family life, cannot be relied upon to challenge a possession order. In the case of McDonald v McDonald, the...

In the case of Alexander v West Bromwich Mortgage Company Ltd, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court decision regarding inconsistent details in a mortgage offer compared with the standard conditions attached to the actual mortgage contract. The offer...

Measures to improve the energy efficiency of certain private rented property in England and Wales were introduced by the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. Part 3 of the 2015 Regulations prescribes a minimum...

The High Court has held that a limited partnership (LP) did not validly exercise a break clause in a lease.  In Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership v Brook Street (UK) Limited, the LP had taken an overriding lease of the building of which the...