Stamp duty receipts tumble by £1 billion
Latest statistics from HMRC confirm a massive fall from £12.9bn in 2017/18 to £11.9bn in 2018/19, the biggest decline seen since the financial crisis
London Mayor calls for mandatory register to enforce short-term letting rules
Central London councils and the Mayor are looking to quell the growth of Airbnb-style short-let properties in the capital, by imposing a new ‘mandatory registration system for anyone wishing to rent out a property for short term let’
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
Serving Notice on Section21: On the consequences for landlords
As the Government announces its intention to abolish the Section 21 process, otherwise known as the ‘no-fault eviction’, Peter Hermon-Taylor explains the background, key points and potentially far-reaching consequences for landlords…
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’
At a glance: Property taxes around the world
CBRE compares how the tax treatment of property differs by country, but which is the most favourable for buyers?
Labour moots centralised targets and controls for house price growth
Bank of England could set targets for property price inflation, says Shadow Housing Minister John Healey, managing the market through tougher lending restrictions.
HMRC hasn’t investigated many estate agents over money laundering
‘Everybody’s talking about money laundering but it seems like nobody’s doing anything about it’ says law firm Fieldfisher after finding out exactly how many investigations have been carried out in the last six years…
Government publishes official guidance on the Tenant Fees Ban
“If the fee you are charging is not on this list, it is a prohibited payment and you should not charge it”
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’
MPs set out blueprint for leasehold reform
HCLG Committee ‘demolishes’ the current system with a series of wide-ranging recommendations, including a wholesale shift to commonhold ownership and a lid on ground rents
£100bn of UK property is ‘secretly’ owned
Global Witness analyses Land Registry data to highlight the scale of property ownership by ‘anonymous companies registered in tax havens’