Policy
Cut The Red Tape: Why London’s developers are stuck between a rock and a hard place
The capital's residential developers are finding themselves in an impossible situation;
Capital Loss: Why a mansion tax could spell disaster for the entire London property market
Despite this week's proposed rejig by Labour, the introduction of a so-called mansion tax would have a disastrous effect on the London property market as a whole, not just above £2million, argues…
Number of ‘mansions’ in the UK has doubled in five years – Knight Frank
Knight Frank has been having a think about Ed Balls' latest proposals, and highlighted what could very well be the first case of fiscal drag before the introduction of a new tax.
Balls details plans for mansion tax on ‘ultra-high-value’ £2m+ homes
"How can it be right that the foreign buyer last month of a £140 million flat in Westminster will pay just £26 a week in council tax — the same as the average-value property in that council area?
Take A Running Jump: Why we don’t need Brussels’ property market ‘advice’
The European Commission is attempting to interfere and meddle from across the North Sea, in a highly sophisticated and particularly specialised local market, the dynamics of which it simply does not understand.
RBKC Basement Policy Review: Inspectors appointed & hearing dates announced
Things are ticking along with RBKC's review of its basement, conservation and design policies.
Interpreting Carney’s cautionary words on interest rates
The Governor is on the money this time but Cable seriously needs to update his information, says Trevor Abrahmsohn...
Land Registry to centralise local searches
The Land Registry is to become the sole registering authority for Local Land Charges (LLC) in England and Wales, with the aim of streamlining the conveyancing process.
King’s Road or World’s End? New location mooted for Chelsea’s Crossrail2 Station
Last year's public consultation into the route and options for Crossrail 2 (CX2) - the Chelsea-to-Hackney line - has thrown up a new option for the location of the Chelsea station.
Osborne gives BoE ‘weapons’ to guard against property market risks
"There is no immediate cause for alarm" about the property market, proclaimed George Osborne in last night's Mansion House speech, but "there are on the horizon things that should give us some causes…
Pickles promises end to ‘outdated’ short-term renting rules
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has pledged to get rid of laws dating back to the 70s designed to prevent Londoners from renting out their homes on a short-term basis.
Tax Discredit: Why next year’s CGT changes could be a very bad idea
To continue to attract investors to our country, we need to offer the prospect of stronger returns than our European counterparts and that’s not going to be achieved by hiking up tax bills, says David…