Government moves to ‘end the unjustified selling of new houses as leasehold’
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has launched a technical consultation into leasehold reforms, proposing that new lease ground rents be capped at just £10
Lord Best to lead probe into estate agency regulation & mandatory qualifications
Government follows up on plans “to raise standards across the property agent sector” with a new Working Group of industry experts
Kensington & Chelsea seeks powers to seize empty homes
Council’s deputy leader requests drastic overhaul of empty dwelling management orders to alleviate “pressing housing needs”
Budget Preview: What might the Chancellor announce on the 29th October?
Accountancy & tax advisory firm Blick Rothenberg looks at what the Chancellor might, should and should not say in the Autumn Budget, which takes place at the end of this month
‘Buyers from China are more than willing to pay their fair share’ – Juwai’s CEO on the Tory foreign buyer tax
Carrie Law, CEO of China’s No.1 international real estate website, reacts to Theresa May’s proposal to charge a higher stamp duty rate to non-UK buyers
£4.6 billion in lost tax receipts and business revenue since 2014: Why the current stamp duty regime is hurting the UK economy
Notwithstanding the latest move to target foreign buyers, the government’s incessant tinkering with high-end property levies has failed to optimise direct and indirect tax revenue, stifled economic activity, and deprived the market of the necessary liquidity and fluidity to function normally, argues Fraser Slater…
Independent review to look at expanding National Parks & AONBs
70 years after National Parks and AONBs were first established, a new review will assess if current protected landscape policies are fit for purpose
Residential Tenancies: The Long & the Short (term) of it
“There is no need to legislate for longer tenancies”, argues Mishcon de Reya’s Alison Taylor; “there cannot be a one-size fits all approach to residential tenancies”
Consultation to be held on permitted development rights for upward extensions
Housing Minister outlines a suite of planning policy tweaks
Government to launch a mandatory new-build homes watchdog
The Housing Minister has promised to create a New Homes Ombudsman for new house-builders
UK’s ‘dirty money’ crackdown sparks super-prime sell-off in London
National Crime Agency reports ‘change in behaviour’ as new powers make it harder to hide ill-gotten gains
Industry Reactions: How might the Tory foreign buyer tax affect the UK property market?
Top prime resi experts and business leaders weigh in on what Theresa May’s plan for an additional SDLT levy on non-UK buyers might mean for the property sector