Gateley makes senior resi development hire
Moore Batch’s Charles Cantoni joins law firm with the biggest specialist resi development team in the UK
Four Berkshire estate agents accused of illegally fixing fees
The alleged price-fixing cartel operated for almost seven years from 2008, says the Competition & Markets Authority
NCA slaps Unexplained Wealth Orders on three prime London properties worth £80m
Investigators are looking into how the acquisitions of three high-value homes were funded, suspecting a link to a politically exposed person believed to be involved in serious crime
Property Ombudsman issues revised Codes of Practice with ‘substantial’ changes for agents
TPO’s new Codes for property agents comes into play on 1st June, including ‘substantial’ updates to reflect the Tenant Fees Act, Client Money Protection, GDPR requirements, and expanded guidance on dual fees and referral fees
Select Committee flags five money laundering loopholes
160 properties worth over £4bn have been ‘identified as being purchased by high corruption-risk individuals’, reports the Joint Committee on the Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill
‘It is clear that the UK’s current approach to Japanese knotweed is more cautious than it needs to be’ – Government Select Committee
A Government panel has declared that the property industry is ‘overly cautious’ about the notorious weed
Opinions sought on new money-laundering rules for high-end letting agents
The EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive is slated to come into play in January, requiring UK letting agents dealing in rents above €10k per month to carry out AML checks on their clients. A Government consultation has been launched to assess what impact this might have on the industry
Bishop & Sewell appoints a PCL property law specialist
Paul Barnes has joined law firm Bishop & Sewell as a Partner
Castle raffle branded ‘unfair’ by Advertising Standards
Cash prizes were awarded instead of the freehold to Orchardton Castle, prompting a complaint to the ASA. The castle’s owner is calling for the ASA itself to be investigated
Candy ‘facing £1.5bn legal battle’ over One Hyde Park penthouse; dismisses claim as ‘pure fiction’
More legal wrangling for property tycoon as company director launches High Court action over ‘£175m’ sale that never happened; defence documents describe claim as ‘vague, incoherent, vexatious, scurrilous and obviously ill-founded’
Government to ban ‘no-fault’ evictions in ‘seismic’ rental sector shake-up
James Brokenshire announces Government’s intention to abolish ‘no-fault’ Section 21 evictions, in what’s being billed as the ‘biggest change to the private rental sector in a generation’
Fraudster jailed over Fulham house sale scam
‘Sophisticated’ attack duped solicitor into sending purchase funds to a bogus account