Budget 2021: Levy for property developers to fund removal of unsafe cladding October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reiterated plans for a levy for property developers to help create a fund to remove unsafe cladding. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak said property developers with profits over £25m will face a levy at a rate of 4 per cent. This will be used to help create a £5bn fund to [...]
Calls for at least £15bn funding for remediation works to tackle cladding crisis October 26, 2021 The government has been called on to announce more funding to tackle the cladding crisis at tomorrow’s Budget. Law firm Irwin Mitchell also called for measures including giving leaseholders up-front government funding for remediation works, with no repayment obligation. While the government has announced £5bn to address the issue so far, the sum required is [...]
Ikea snaps up former Topshop Oxford St flagship for £378m October 26, 2021 IKEA has bought the former Topshop flagship store for £378m on Oxford St. The 214 Oxford St store was formerly owned by Arcadia, before the demise of fashion brands Topshop and Topman. Now, the Swedish-origin furniture giant is set to open up in autumn 2023, after the site was bought by Ingka Investments, the investment [...]
Home sales set to hit highest level since 2007 October 26, 2021 The housing market is set to hit the highest level of sales since 2007, with 1.5m sales forecast for 2021. According to the Zoopla September House Price Index (HPI), combined market activity is set to amount to £473bn in transaction values this year. This is a £95bn hike on 2020. House price growth is currently [...]
Budget: Regeneration of brownfield sites could deliver 160,000 new homes October 25, 2021 A cash injection of £1.8bn, set to be announced in the Budget this week, should help brownfield sites covering the equivalent of 2,000 football pitches to be turned into plots for new homes. It is hoped hundreds of thousands of homes could be built on regenerated land across the country, while England’s planning system will [...]
Rogue landlords: Calls mount for national registration scheme October 24, 2021 The government is facing calls for a national registration scheme to aid councils in tackling rogue landlords in England. A white paper is expected to be published in the coming months that will look at the idea, according to the Guardian. Councils that require rental homes to be registered under local licensing schemes are more [...]
Lending platform calls on Treasury to privatise land registry October 24, 2021 Lending platform Brydg has urged the Chancellor to consider the privatisation of the HM Land Registry. The registry’s digitisation plans are “lagging”, according to the firm, which wrote to Rishi Sunak ahead of the Budget on October 27. Brydg called for a funding boost for the service as well as for ministers to consider privatising [...]
Landlords: Government fund falls short for renters struggling with Covid debts October 24, 2021 Fresh government funding to help vulnerable renters struggling with Covid debts has been described as falling short. A £65m support package for those battling Covid rent debts was revealed this weekend by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. English councils will be able to help low-income households at risk of eviction or homelessness [...]
Focus On: Brighton – an investors’ paradise October 22, 2021 Thanks to the ability for many people to work from anywhere or pop into a central office on an ad hoc basis, increasing numbers of professionals are moving out of London in search of locations with a less frenetic pace of life – something the seaside city of Brighton will continue to benefit from. “Brighton [...]
Property of the Week: An ultra-modern property in Brixton Hill October 22, 2021 The most sought-after design feature you can add to the back of your house is an entire wall of foor-to-ceiling glazed doors that open onto your garden. Not only do you get natural light flooding in throughout the year but your courtyard melds into your living space in summer. When the property was completely refurbished, [...]
