Self-employed workers can set business expenses against their Income Tax bills – but the rules on what is and is not deductible are tight and did not assist an actor who ran up a £32,000 rent bill on a London…
Section 32 of the Deregulation Act 2015 came into force on 26th March 2015 and has inserted section 215A into the Housing Act 2004. This has the effect of extending the requirements to protect deposits taken in respect of Assured…
Wind turbines marching across the countryside are not to everyone’s taste and are a constant source of controversy. However, it was concerns about aircraft safety, not the visual impact on the landscape, which resulted in planning permission being refused for…
Government policy is firmly in favour of encouraging renewable energy sources, but that did not avail the would-be developers of a solar energy plant which was planned to cover more than 22 hectares of countryside. In striking down planning permission…
The Green Belt is not as sacrosanct as some might wish it to be and must sometimes give way to the modern world’s need for essential infrastructure. The point was made when the High Court gave the green light to…
Buy-to-let owners of leasehold properties and other intermediate landlords will be concerned by a Court of Appeal decision on the liability for repairs to the exterior of a building. Under the terms of the headlease, the freeholder was responsible for…
British bands from the Beatles to the Stones and the Clash to the Smiths all started out playing gigs in Great British pubs. But in recent times pubs and live music venues have come under threat of closure over noise…
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced a new Planning Enforcement Fund aimed at providing funding for local planning authorities towards the legal costs of seeking a court injunction against those who disregard planning laws. Authorities will be able to apply…
The High Court has held in the recent case of Oxfordshire CC v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2015], that a local planning authority was not entitled to fees for administering or monitoring planning obligations in a…
Most commercial tenants will know that they have a right to apply for new tenancies at the end their leases. However, many will be ignorant of the fact that their security of tenure can be undermined if their landlord plans…
