One common misconception about residential purchases is that the obligation to disclose full information about the property lies with the seller. However this is not the case. It is the buyer’s obligation to undertake the appropriate searches into the property to ensure that they know what they are buying. From a structural perspective, if having [...]

A restrictive covenant is a restriction on a property not to act in a certain way in respect of the land. Common examples of restrictive covenants include: not causing a nuisance to your neighbours, not carry out any development work, or not to use the land for business or trade. Before the use of planning [...]

Changes in Britain’s housing market and economy have made it more difficult than ever to purchase a property. People are now renting for longer, with the average age of the first time buyer rising. Landlords may seek to take advantage of this, by renting out individual rooms as opposed to a property as a whole. [...]

Right of first refusal under Part 1 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987  – sale of freehold title to leaseholders To quote a popular children’s film: “ogres are like onions – they have layers”. It’s not just ogres that have layers, but also the legal hierarchy of ownership of property. Common terms that any property owner [...]

The Guardian this week reported that a number of mortgage lenders are reducing the number of conveyancing firms on their approved panels. This could have costly effects for clients purchasing or selling a property with a mortgage, or re-mortgaging. When you instruct a firm to work on your property transaction the firm will in effect [...]

Boundary disputes may often seem trivial – unless, that is, you become embroiled in one yourself, in which case they tend to assume gargantuan proportions. Unfortunately, they are also depressingly common. This is due to the fact that boundaries in England have not always been precisely defined. Since mid-October 2003, it has been possible to [...]