There is no uniform statutory definition of “dwelling” or “dwellinghouse”. Under the Housing Act 1988, a room in a house in multiple occupation is capable of being the tenant’s “only or principal home”. Under the Finance Act 2003 on the other hand a property must be self contained, having its own sleeping quarters, sanitary facilities, cooking facilities an independently controlled space heating, as well as its own access. in order to be a dwellinghouse. 

The principle of “ad medium filum”, which translates as “to the middle”, is the legal presumption that, where a property fronts on to a road. the title includes the portion of the road, up to the centre line. If the road is a public highway then the surface vests in the highways authority by virtue of s263 Highways Act 1980 but the subsoil can still be party of the property.

If you’re considering buying a flat with a short lease, it’s important you know what you’re dealing with and what implications it may have. We’ve put together a simple guide to help you get to grips with short leases, including how this may affect you getting a mortgage and what’s involved in applying for a new lease.

A short lease is normally found when the property / flat you are purchasing is sitting on someone else’s land (the freeholder). The short lease refers to the short period of time left to use to home and the length of this can vary, but in essence, the shorter the lease period, the less the property is worth. Most residential leases used to be around 99 years long but many modern flats carry a lease of 125 years or more, as do ex-local authority flats.

Read rest of article…

Land is a vital commodity. So much so that a whole branch of the law has grown up around the subject and it even has its own central registry. It is nonetheless possible for land to be “lost”. A strip of land might be mistakenly left over after the sale of several plots with the owner not realising he has not disposed of it or a land owner might without his descendants (if he has any) knowing that he owned a particular piece of land. It was long since decided that land is too valuable to be allowed to go to waste and so the doctrine of adverse possession grew up to combat the risk.

Read rest of article…

As of 1^st April 2016, there will be new stamp duty charges introduced, whereby an additional 3% will be added to each stamp duty rate band on purchases of second properties. These charges are to be introduced by the government as a way of freeing up the housing market for buyers by increasing the cost of buying second homes (i.e. landlords buying for buy-to-lets) by thousands of pounds.

Read rest of article…

Veteran war reporter, Max Hastings, has told of his shock when he and his wife Penny found out that her house in West London had been sold for £1.3m despite not being for sale!

The house is question was kept by Penny as part of her children’s future inheritance and for over two years had been let out to tenants with no intention of being sold. But the solicitor who had contacted them was stipulating that a woman had come to him as she had bought the property, received the keys, received planning permission for alterations, changed the utilities to her name and had even employed builders to fit a new kitchen.

Read rest of article…

There are many reasons why you might want to obtain copies of the title documents relating to a property. Perhaps you are trying to resolve a boundary dispute, or you need to understand what covenants might bind the land. Maybe you want to check for rights affecting it or you might be considering buying it.

It’s relatively easy to buy copies of documents but it can be harder to understand what you’re looking at once you do! That’s where the latest edition to our suite of services, the Title Report, comes in. As well as establishing what documents of title the Land Registry holds for the property you’re interested in and providing them our report cuts through the “legalese” and explains the key points in plain English.

Read rest of article…

The Land Registry is the Government Department responsible for maintaining records relating to land in England and Wales. Founded in 1862, its principle duty is to maintain a register of the ownership of and interests affecting land in England ad Wales. Where land is registered with the Land Registry (and around 80% is) it guarantees title to the land and this state backed guarantee is the cornerstone of the modern property market. It means that buyers can buy land and know it will not be affected by any adverse interests save for any they already know about before their purchase.

Read rest of article…

Thanks to the Land Registration Act 2002 and its predecessor the Land Registration Act 1925 it is now compulsory when land in England and Wales changes hands or is mortgaged to register the land with the Land Registry, the government department responsible for maintaining records of land ownership and interests in land. If the land is already registered as a result of a previous transaction, the change of ownership (or new interest created) must be registered in order for it to have legal effect.

Read rest of article…

Before I go any further, I should make clear that the purpose of this article is explain how home rights (the right of a spouse or civil partner to occupy the matrimonial/partnership home) are protected at Land Registry. It is by no means a general commentary on the rights of a spouse or civil partner on the breakdown of the relationship. It is not intended to be professional legal advice and should not be treated as such. If you need advice following the breakdown of a relationship then you should seek the advice of a solicitor specialising in family law.

Read rest of article…