Policy
Government announces ‘exceptional’ HS2 compensation package
After carrying out two major consultations, the government has laid out its package of measures for owner occupiers along the HS2 Phase One route between London and the West Midlands.
80% of units in four new developments ‘sold to foreign buyers’
In the latest twist in the whole "squeezed out" debate, reports have claimed that 80% of the units in a series of new Thameside developments have been bought up by foreign purchasers.
Pickles cracks down on unauthorised development
Council planning teams across the UK are being tooled up with a £1m war chest to stop unruly developers and homeowners in their tracks.
Pickles on the job
Most MPs would choose new council tax bands over a mansion tax
Seven in ten MPs believe that an extra higher rate of council tax is a better option than a new mansion tax on high value homes.
Westminster to shut door on office-to-resi conversions
Westminster City Council is pretty worried about all the office-to-resi conversions going on at the moment. So much so that it's in the process of overhauling its policy to "reverse the current trend".
Scare B&B: Just how risky are short term lets?
Following recent reforms allowing Londoners to let their property on short leases without the need for permits, an increasing number of high value homes have appeared on short term letting websites.
Is Islington about to ban mega-basements too?
Just a week after the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea claimed victory in an "historic battle" against mega-basements, another London council is eyeing up a subterranean crackdown.
Government outlines plans to help small-scale developers
Minister of State for Housing and Planning Brandon Lewis has been busy updating Parliament on the coalition government's attempts at freeing up the planning system.
At-A-Glance: SDLT Now & Then
You can read LCP's excellent analysis of the new SDLT landscape here, and go deep into all the industry reactions here, but here are a few handy at-a-glance overviews from Keats (third graph) and Chestertons…
Rising Stamp: Surveying the new SDLT landscape
The movement from a Stamp Duty slab tax to a graduated tax is a welcome move, says residential fund management outfit LCP on the first day of the new SDLT regime.
Stampede Duty: £10k ‘success fees’ offered as buyers rush to beat tax deadline
After George Osborne gave top-end buyers a window of exactly 11 hours and 29 minutes between SDLT reforms being announced and kicking in, there's been reports of estate agencies and law firms turning…
Autumn Statement: Stamp Duty hike for high-value homes
George Osborne rounded off this year's Autumn Statement with "a complete reform" of SDLT (which he called "one of our worst-designed and most damaging of all taxes"), ditching the slab structure in favour…