Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) is a lump sum payment anyone buying a property or piece of land over a certain price has to pay to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”). Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced that, as a temporary measure, but with immediate effect, buyers won’t pay SDLT on the first £500,000 of…
View Article
This is a question that I have been asked numerous times over the past few weeks. The answer is dependent on if contracts have been Exchanged or not; if contracts have been Exchanged then generally “yes”, if they have not then generally “no”. In essence “no one is bound in a sale and/or purchase transaction…
View Article
We have recently been approached by a number of residential landlords who have been told by their letting agent that they have no prospect of getting a tenant out of their investment property any time soon; the anxiety and frustration is palpable when we are posed the question “But the Tenant isn’t paying the rent!…
View Article
In recent years, commercial tenants have taken shorter leases or leases with break clauses in order to allow them flexibility due to uncertainty in the economic climate. A break clause allows a tenant a right to terminate its lease before the expiry of a fixed term. Serving a break notice should be a relatively straightforward…
View Article
The law of restrictive covenants is a complex area and a mystery to many landowners, some of whom believe that restrictive covenants cannot be challenged, however, this is not the case. Restrictive covenants affecting land arise out of an agreement that one party will restrict the use of its land in some way for the…
View Article
If the seller dies between exchange of contracts and completion of the transaction, the contract remains valid and the benefit and burden will pass to the seller’s Personal Representatives (Executors if the seller made a Will or Administrators if the seller died intestate i.e. without a Will). The practical situation for dealing with completion varies…
View Article
A general guide “Conveyancing” is the legal process of transferring home ownership from the seller to the buyer. Whilst every transaction is different, there are a number of crucial steps in the legal process that are common to each sale and purchase transaction and we have outlined these below by way of a general guide….
View Article
Taking advice, both financial and legal, is key. Extracting money from your house could impact on some aspects of your finances that are not immediately obvious for example your eligibility for means-tested benefits before you die. Equity release is where you release some of the value (equity) in your home to provide you with some…
View Article
A new permitted development right allowing light industrial buildings to be used for residential purposes without the need for planning permission came into effect on 1st October 2017. The change of use will be subject to a process of prior approval from the Local Planning Authority similar to that applicable when looking to change offices…
View Article
So this is my first property update starting with autumn; one of my favourite times of year, although, you’ll probably find me saying that every season. All have their own unique charm, don’t you think? What’s been happening? Has it been busy or not? I feel like I have been asking myself this question a…
View Article