Policy
UK housing market “remains a long way from overheating” – JLL
Reacting to the Bank of England's February Inflation Report, released today, Jones Lang LaSalle has praised the Government for "sticking to a bold plan that appears to have worked," as signs of liquidity…
Should we restrict overseas investors buying up UK homes?
Last week, a leading think tank pitched the idea of setting up a “non-resident housing investment agency” to limit property purchases by wealthy foreign buyers and keep a lid on the capital’s house…
Boles swipes at office-to-resi naysayers
Planning Minister Nick Boles has comes out swinging against local authorities that have "an irrational objection" to office-to-resi permitted development rights.
Should we be applying punitive taxes to empty homes?
Rather than complaining and propagating the confiscation of empty homes, commentators should be applying their energies to making the planning process efficient, less political and more productive, says…
Curb Appeal: Think tank calls for restrictions on overseas buyers
A leading think tank has pitched the idea of setting up a "non-resident housing investment agency" to limit property purchases by wealthy foreign buyers and keep a lid on the capital's house prices.
Soil & Trouble: Subterranean Development & The Law
Icebergs; Mega-basements; Batcaves; There's no shortage of shouty opinions on London's basement bonanza.
Call To Farms: Buying and developing agricultural land for residential use
We all know it's been a shrewd investment in recent years, but just how easy - or sensible - is it to buy up and develop farmland?
HIP Hop: RICS recommends Home Reports for England & Wales
An independent inquiry, commissioned by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, has suggested that Home Reports - which sound rather similar to the much-maligned Home Information Packs that were ditched…
Flood insurance deal will cover domestic properties “regardless of whether leasehold or freehold” – ABI
The Association of British Insurers has rebutted yesterday's claims that proposals set out to provide affordable flood insurance will leave leasehold properties, council homes and the entire rented sector…
Wimbledon joins basement ban camp
Merton council is the latest London borough to make a move on banning mega-basements, with a spike in dig-down applications in Wimbledon Village driving the clamp-down.
“Utterly nuts” to slam door on foreign investors – BoJo
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has thrown his weight behind the capital's foreign buyers, warning luminaries at last night's Mansion House London Government Dinner that we'd be "utterly nuts" to "slam the…
“Significant” changes to listed building consent afoot
There's some pretty major planning changes on the way in 2014 for anyone with an interest in developing or buying listed buildings.