Policy
Questions over Westminster’s “£31m loss” on s106 payments
Labour Councillors have accused Westminster Council of allowing developers to "buy out" their on-site affordable homes obligations at a "cut price", and losing out on a massive £31,130,387 as a result.
RBKC scuppers Notting Hill uber-basement plans after celebrity brouhaha
Kensington & Chelsea planners have rejected proposals for a subterranean extension under an £8m Notting Hill house, after an outcry from celebrity neighbours.
Mansion Facts: Here’s why a £2m+ home tax wouldn’t work
Taxing mansions has been the talk of the town for four years now, but August was a bit quiet on the Mansion Tax front.
Tax ultimatum for second home owners
HMRC has laid down an ultimatum to second home owners who haven't paid their Capital Gains Tax yet; come forward by the end of the week or we'll come and find you.
Don’t Believe the Hype: Why this ain’t a housing boom
How much of this "housing bubble" is actually media-driven, asks Trevor Abrahmsohn...
As hip-hop raconteurs Public Enemy advise, "Don't Believe the Hype"
Planning for Dummies: Boles launches simple guidance portal
Planning Minister Nick Boles has (nearly, finally) published a new national online planning guidance resource for public testing and comment.
Root & Branch: Why the UK’s outdated property tax system needs a serious overhaul
Stamp duty is now at a level that jeopardises the economic viability of a property purchase; a sliding scale would make far more sense, says David Hannah...
Landlords policing immigration would be “bureaucratic and overly cumbersome” – RLA
The Residential Landlords’ Association has put in its official response to the Government’s consultation on plans to introduce mandatory tenant immigration checks (announced back in May) – opposing…
Jones Lang LaSalle revises forecasts; PCL prices to rise by 6% in 2013 and 3% nationally
Jones Lang LaSalle has joined the flurry of firms significantly revising their market predictions up for the rest of the year and beyond.
Pickles wants cameras in planning meetings after bloggers threatened with arrest
Eric Pickles has warned that freedom of speech and independent journalism are under attack in local government, after local residents were threatened with arrest for filming and reporting council meetings.
Defra puts the wind up DECC over rural house prices
There's a storm brewing between the Depart. for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Dept. for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) over what impact wind turbines have on rural house prices.
Who says UK Property PLC is out of the woods?
For London's estate agents, the consequences of all this housing market hype are potentially devastating, says Ed Mead...
It must be the silly season.