House prices in the UK rose by 4.1% in the year to March, taking the average property value to £215,847. However, the monthly figure between February and March dropped by 0.6%. The number of sales has remained stable for the last three months, but in the year to January there was a substantial fall in
Nearly 260,000 people have bought their home using Help to buy schemes and more than 870,000 have opened a Help to Buy ISA. The latest figures issued by the government show that: over 259,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes, most of these are first-time buyers more
The High Court has allowed Bombardier Transportation to examine confidential documents after it alleged that it had been treated unfairly in a public procurement exercise. The issue arose after the company failed to win a £460m contract to supply trains to Merseytravel. The court heard that such contracts attracted the same group of tenderers, who
A landlord has lost a dispute with his local housing authority over the licensing of two of his properties that had been renovated without planning permission. The issue arose out of Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004, which provided for the selective licensing by local housing authorities of private-sector housing in particular areas. In
The recent Dementia Awareness Week, organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, put the spotlight on the challenges we face as we live longer lives and encounter the illnesses associated with old age. A study published by the journal, BMC Medicine, showed that the number of people who die from dementia is set to almost quadruple in
The problems that can arise if a person fails to keep their will up to date was highlighted in a recent case involving a deceased man’s estranged wife and his new partner. The man had separated from his wife in 1994 but they did not divorce. Shortly after the separation, he began living with his
The government has postponed its proposed increases in probate application fees because there won’t be time to introduce them before the coming election. Ministers hope to go ahead with the changes later this year despite strong opposition from lawyers, charities and the public. Under the current fee structure, fees for grants of probate are set
The government has announced new measures to speed up the development of derelict and unused land for new homes. Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell said local authorities across the country will have to produce and maintain up-to-date, publicly available registers of brownfield sites. The new registers will help housebuilders identify sites quickly, helping to
A father has won his appeal against a court order allowing his estranged wife to take their three children to live in Germany. The couple had married in 2010 and separated in 2015. The father was British; the mother was German with extended family in Germany. They had three children aged between one and five
A building firm has won a dispute over a £700,000 payment after the High Court upheld a decision made by an adjudicator. The firm had been contracted by some developers to provide pre-construction services for a proposed retirement village. Once the work was complete, it submitted an invoice but didn’t receive payment. The firm then