If you’re buying a property in central London the air quality may be important to you. The postal areas from the highest to the lowest are:- W1K,SW1X,SW1W,SW1Y,SW1A,SW7,SW3,W1J,SW10,W8 and W1S.
The suburbs of north east London have been enjoying a particularly strong rise in house sales. Snaresbrook, Upminster, Walthamstow and Stoke Newington have seen transactions rise significantly during lockdown. Government assistance with the stamp duty holiday and ‘help to buy’ has certainly helped.
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.