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
Hidden charges & unexplained terms: Review flags property solicitors’ shortcomings
Over a third of conveyancers are not being up-front about fees and costs, according to a new report, while many are failing to explain key leasehold matters.
North London developer fined £18k for bat conservation crime
Landrose demolished a bungalow that was used as a breeding site for the protected Soprano Pipistrelle bat
How to give professional advice to friends
Insurance & professional indemnity specialist Sarah Elderton offers guidance on what to do when friends approach you for professional property advice, while surveyor & building disputes expert Paul Greenwood tells a cautionary tale of a helping hand that soured a building project, a bank balance, and a relationship.
Law firm takes down government’s first crack at a reservation agreement
After a sneak preview of the first draft, Hart Brown dismisses the government’s latest attempt at fixing the conveyancing system as ‘well meaning but sadly way short of what is required’
A Right To A View? What the Tate Modern judgement tells us about privacy and glass walls
Sarah Reynolds takes a closer look at the recent High Court decision involving the Tate Modern and residents of Native Land’s neighbouring NEO Bankside scheme, which should be of comfort to developers, but perhaps not to those living in glass-walled urban apartments…
Deals, Disputes & Dilemmas: On the complicated business of dual fees
Following the publication of new TPO guidance on dual fees, designed to curb the rising number of disputes, veteran agent Trevor Abrahmsohn steers us through the labyrinthine world of inter-agency dealings, offering his thoughts on best practice, and harking back to a high-profile – and complex – case involving one of London’s finest mansions…
Report calls for a ‘public interest test’ on Scottish estate sales to tackle ‘the socially corrosive effects of land monopoly’
Scotland’s ‘land monopoly’ is ‘socially corrosive’, argues a major new report from the Scottish Land Commission, as it calls for a new ‘public interest test’ on large-scale land deals.