Housing Minister lowers majority requirement for community right to build
Grant Shapps, the coalition’s Housing Minister, has dropped the threshold of agreement needed for his “Community Right to Build” scheme from 80-90% to 75%. The scheme is part of David Cameron’s wider “Big Society” policy of placing responsibility for community decisions in the hands of local people. In measures announced in July of this year, […]
CML warns of drop in house prices if FSA plans go ahead
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have worried conveyancers with its warning that proposals by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to encourage responsible lending, will cause house price falls. The financial watchdog is currently consulting on ways to stop "excessive" mortgage lending and has already proposed affordability tests for all mortgages to ensure that lenders […]
BBA reports another drop in mortgage lending
The British Banker’s Association (BBA) reported yesterday that mortgage lending has fallen for the third month to 31.767 mortgages approved in August, down from 34,219 in July. Gross mortgage lending of £8.1bn in August was 7.6% lower than a year ago. However, high street banks continued to see fairly strong mortgage repayments, so that net […]