A recent case brought a property owner into conflict with his local council after he had been refused planning permission for a change of use of amenity land beside his house to use as a garden. The owner had bought…
When planning applications are being considered, the difference between what may seem reasonable to do and what strictly should be done was clarified in a recent case in which the court ruled that a decision made by a planning inspector…
Property company Daejan Investments Ltd. has failed in its bid to overturn Tribunal decisions concerning repair works carried out at the company’s Queens Mansions property in Muswell Hill, London. The recent Court of Appeal ruling will cost Daejan almost £270,000…
A recent case confirms the doctrine that for a guarantee to be valid, it must be in writing and clear. It involved an extremely badly drafted document in which a man purported to guarantee the performance of a management agreement…
During a recent visit to the South West, Minister for Energy & Climate Change Chris Huhne explained that the early review of the solar feed-in tariff would prevent a ‘boom and bust’ scenario. Mr Huhne explained that the feed-in tariff…
Provisions introduced on 6 April 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 made it a requirement that landlords protect their tenants’ deposits using an authorised Tenancy Deposit Scheme, if they have let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy. The rules…
The government has recently published revised proposals for new rules on the taxation of furnished holiday lettings (FHLs). According to the government’s own figures, approximately 25% of existing FHL businesses will cease to qualify under the proposed new rules. In…
When the owner of a building intends to carry out work covered by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, the owner of an adjoining building has the right to request security from the owner planning the work where this involves…
On 1 October 2010, the threshold rent for the ‘assured tenancy’ regulations to apply to a property rose to £100,000 per year. The change affects both new and existing tenancies. The previous limit, which had remained unchanged for more than…
Environmental Challenges are difficult to bring and unless the person bringing the challenge has access to effectively unlimited funds (as would be the case if a challenge were brought by a Council), then the prospects for success are slim. However,…
