Legal
Landlords’ immigration checks will be a “light touch” – Prisk
Mark Prisk, the Housing Minister, has claimed that landlords' responsibilities for checking the immigration status of their tenants, as proposed in the Queen's Speech, will be a "light touch"
Required Reading: Stamp duty land tax and prime residential property
Anthony Hennessy of Brecher deftly guides us through the SDLT maze, summarising the factors that owners of high value property should now be considering..
New immigration laws to tackle “beds in sheds”
"Tough" measures that will see lettings agents take a front-line role in tackling immigration, announced in yesterday’s (8 May 2013) Queen’s Speech, have not gone down well in the industry (read what Trev…
Intestacy Rules: How will the proposed changes affect rural property owners?
As the government announces potential changes to Rules of Intestate, Clive Beer of Savills Rural summarises the far reaching implications for rural property owners...
HMRC HNW unit nets a record £220m from wealthiest taxpayers
HMRC's specialist high net worth unit brought in a record £220 million of extra tax from Britain's 5,800 wealthiest individuals - those with assets of more than £20m - last year.
Mishcon bolsters property finance team
Mishcon de Reya has boosted its Real Estate Group by recruiting Raji Bartlett as a consultant.
Bartlett joins from SJ Berwin, where he was a Partner in the Finance Department for 16 years
What is a flat? Smith & Dennis v Jafton in a nutshell
So now we know when a house is not a "house" (more on last year's Hosebay ruling here), what then constitutes a "flat" in the eyes of the law? Following this week's landmark decision in the complex case …
New legal giant Dentons will “challenge the status quo”
Merger creates giant of a firm with over 2,500 lawyers, including over 500 real estate specialists, in 79 locations around the world
Thomas Eggar bolsters private client tax team as UHNWI demand grows
Top notch law firm Thomas Eggar LLP has further strengthened its private client tax team in London with the appointment of Mark Pearce as partner - the firm's third big appointment in the last few months
Land Registry goes 24/7
Some good news for impatient property hunters today; after a trial last year, the Land Registry has announced it will be offering its "Find a Property" service 24 hours a day, seven days a week from next…
Act by 5 April 2013 to wipe out capital gains on second homes, buy-to-lets and shares
Individuals who have investment properties, second homes or shares standing at a gain should consider taking action before 5 April 2013 to trigger those gains in this tax year
Botched HS2 consultation: “so unfair as to be unlawful”
Both sides are claiming victory over the latest HS2 appeals, as a judge has ruled that the consultation into property compensation along HS2's route was "so unfair as to be unlawful