Latest transaction stats suggest property market is ‘treading water’ ahead of base rate decision
September’s housing market figures tell a “familiar tale” said one market commentator in response to the latest HMRC transaction numbers which showed the “market is neither sinking nor swimming, just treading water” ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) latest monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday 5th November. Anthony Codling, managing director of equity […]
Open Property Coalition to test digital processes and smart data usage
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has announced the “Phase 2” of its Open Property Coalition to test the implementation of digital processes and smart data usage in homebuying and selling. Following CFIT’s Open Property Roadmap published earlier this year, and in response to the government’s buying and selling reforms, the Coalition will […]
Neighbours granted ‘squatters’ rights’ over 48cm ‘sliver’ of land
A couple have lost a four-year boundary battle over a 48cm “sliver” of land after trying to force their neighbours to demolish a kitchen wall that had been there for 22 years. Susannah and Chris James bought a £600,000 semi-detached house in Surbiton, south-west London, in 2021. In 2022, the couple began a legal dispute […]
New home registrations drop 13% in Q3 as affordability pressures squeeze UK builders
New home registrations fell 13% in Q3 compared to last year, new figures by the National House Building Council (NHBC) show. NHBC revealed in its latest house building data that builders registered 26,231 new homes in the third quarter, down from 30,279 the previous year. With affordability pressures continuing to weigh on demand and supply-side […]
Government plans roll out of AI-assisted planning tool after initial trials suggest a 50% increase decision speed
A new AI-assisted planning tool will help to speed up planning decisions said the government which, alongside the recruitment of 420 planners through government-backed programmes, would see “families, shopkeepers and pub landlords get decisions sooner.” Over the weekend the government announced “straightforward” planning applications would be decided by expert planning officers rather than waiting for […]
£1.5bn class action against Rightmove to begin this week
The start of a £1.5 billion claim against property portal Rightmove will be heard in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) this week with the initial hearing set to determine if the tribunal allows the case to be certified on an opt-out basis and proceed to a full trial. Class members are automatically included in the […]
The dark art of right of first refusal notices
As many of you will know, right of first refusal notices need to be given to flats owners in certain circumstances when their landlord wishes to make a disposal of the freehold of their building or another relevant interest in it. Those of us who have been around as long as Albus Dumbledore are more […]
Exploring avoidable requisition rates with HMLR
Alongside the release of the latest avoidable requisition rates data from HM Land Registry now released, Andrew Robertson, Head of Customer Policy & Service Improvement joins the latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast to explore the significant improvements made while also underlining the ongoing need for firms to focus on post-completion quality and administrative accuracy. Avoidable requisitions […]
We cannot keep fighting fires. It’s time to tackle the cause
At our first Conveyancing Improvement Collective (CIC) roadshow in Solihull in September, 13 action points were raised which, if adopted, could help improve the home buying and selling process. At our next meeting in Leeds on the evening of the 25th November, we hope to build on those discussions, with the same issues being explored […]