The Chancellor is reported to be extending the stamp duty holiday by three months until the end of June in next Wednesday’s Budget (3rd March 2021). Conveyancing solicitors are adjusting to the flow rates of new instructions.
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Warehouse Boom
Freehold and leasehold warehouses are being snapped up due to the online shopping surge. Once at the derided end of the commercial property market they have now become the industry’s darlings.
Share This:- Insolvencies Loom
When furloughs are finally exhausted a torrent of commercial bankruptcies are forecast. Many businesses have been weathering this financially tempestuous epoch hand to mouth relying on these financial packages for their sustenance.
Share This:- Get Divorced Here Now
Family law solicitors have noticed an increase in the issuing of divorce proceedings as we approach the Brexit deadline of the 31st December 2020.
London, the divorce capital of the world, due to the high child maintenance orders handed down by the courts has the added advantage of having it’s rulings recognised by other European countries. However post Brexit, from the 1st January 2021, this automatic recognition is not currently guaranteed.
Share This:- Property Prices At Record Peak
An inexorable rise in the price of London property has recently been recorded by the Land Registry. Buyers, who were scratching at their walls during lockdown, have been unleashed to purchase larger properties, along with many basking in the rays of the stamp duty holiday.
Conveyancing solicitors are enjoying dealing with these new instructions.
Share This:- Landlord & Tenant – Eviction Proceedings Recommence
Possession cases which had been stayed since the 26th March 2020 due to COVID-19 recommenced on the 21st September 2020 in the county court.
A list of priority cases has been formulated:-
i) Cases with allegations of anti-social behaviour, including Ground 7A of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 and Section 84A of the Housing Act 1985.
ii) Cases with extreme alleged rent arrears accrued, that is, arrears equal to at least
(i) 12 months’ rent, or
(ii) 9 months’ rent where that amounts to more than 25% of a private landlord’s total annual income from any source.
iii) Cases involving alleged squatters, illegal occupiers or persons unknown.
iv) Cases involving an allegation of domestic violence where possession of the property is alleged to be important for particular reasons which are set out in the claim form (and with domestic violence agencies alerted).
v) Cases with allegations of fraud or deception.
vi) Cases with allegations of unlawful subletting.
vii) Cases with allegations of abandonment of the property, non-occupation or death of defendant.
viii) Cases concerning what was allocated by an authority as ‘temporary accommodation’ and is specifically needed by the authority for reallocation as ‘temporary accommodation’.
The Masters of the Rolls
On the 31st July 2020 the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Her Majesty The Queen had been pleased to approve the appointment of Sir Geoffrey Vos as the Master of the Rolls from the 11th January 2021 in succession to Sir Terence Etherton.
It is interesting to note that 6 out of 7 of the most recent incumbents of this judicial office have been of the jewish faith the others being Lords Woolf, Phillips, Neuberger and Dyson.
We find that jewish solicitors are often particularly sought after because of their perceived quality traits of intelligence, shrewdness, toughness and integrity.
If you are looking to find such a solicitor please do not hesitate to call us.
Share This:- House Prices Climb as Inheritance Battles Rise
House prices are beginning to rise as we ease out of lockdown commensurate to the growth observed in recent pre-Covid times. There were nearly half as many more inheritance claims in the High Court last year compared to the previous year. People have been alerted in this regard due to a few proceedings that have been well publicised.
Share This:- No-Fault Divorce from Autumn 2021
No-fault divorce removing all elements of blame from the process is almost a reality.
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill that has recently passed through the House of Commons will enable couples to have a no-fault divorce when it comes into force next Autumn. Final amendments are now being considered by the House of Lords.
Share This:- Tenant Forces Landlord to Enforce Lease Covenants
A lessee wanted to refurbish her flat that involved heavy structural work that could possibly have damaged the building (i.e. more than usual refurbishments for which permission would have needed to be sought from the landlord and cannot be refused if reasonable). She was given permission by the landlord to do so. A neighbouring lessee objected saying the landlord had no right to give permission for such onerous work without the consent of all of the lessees and the Supreme Court agreed.
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