Latest News

A proposed shake up of the rental sectors will impact on landlords as a consultation planned for today will effectively create open-end tenancies. This proposed change to legislation will prevent landlords from evicting tenants with two months’ notice...

If a Landlord who has purchases a property with a sitting  Tenant it is essential that, as soon as possible after the purchase has completed, two Notices are served on the Tenant.  The first Notice is a Section 3 Landlord and Tenant 1985...

As we know, the Deregulation Act 2015, introduced a number of requirements that were intended to safeguard tenants and ensure basic standards of living.  The effect of these requirements is to make things more complicated for both Landlords and Tenants....

We are often asked whether or not the service and expiry of a Section 21 Notice affects the tenant’s liability to pay rent.  The answer to this is that where a Section 21 Notice has been served, the Landlord should continue to demand and accept...

Debenhams face store closures after going into administration, mirroring the struggles of local shop owners across our high streets. On 9 th April Debenhams announced they had gone into administration after negotiations failed and an offer from 30%...

Last year, the government published a significantly revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework. Anna Russell-Knee outlines some of the changes, and how they will affect clients wishing to develop property now and in the future.  Last...

Attwells Solicitors is delighted to announce that it is now a member of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP). In their own words “ ALEP is a professional association that exists to ensure that practitioners involved in...

Attwells Solicitors are pleased to announce a merger with Colchester Planning Consultants and Solicitors LSR following the retirement from practice of Linda S Russell in March this year. Linda will remain a consultant with Attwells and all the LSR team will...

In 2018 HMRC secured over £31m of proceeds of crime HMRC prosecuted 18 individuals for money laundering offences HMRC levied 655 penalties totaling £2.3m What should I do? Have systems in place to identify, verify and monitor and check...

It has been revealed that local housing associations have been using the uncertainty over Brexit to purchase discounted homes from developers in order to increase their stock. Developers in the Essex and Suffolk area including developers such as Bloor Homes...

It has emerged that a number of Developers have registered their own Housing Associations at Companies House to prevent the sale of parts of their development sites to existing Housing Associations. Hopkins Homes, who develop a number of sites in East Anglia...

This Act comes into force on 20 March 2019 and applies to all tenancies of less than 7 years. It implies into these tenancies that the property will be fit and remain fit for human habitation during the tenancy. Failure to do so will mean the tenant could...

On 12 February the Tenant Fees Act 2019 came into law implementing the so-called tenant fee ban. The provision will take effect on 1 June 2019 for new and renewal tenancies and licences.  From 1 June 2020 the law will apply to existing tenancies and...

What is the Difference Between a Leasehold and Freehold property? Freehold When you purchase a freehold property, you own it outright, including all the land it is built on. If you buy a freehold you will be responsible for the repair and maintenance...

Due to recent consultation, the government have announced that all Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns in England and Northern Ireland will need to be filed and paid within 14 days and not 30 days. The new time limit will apply to transactions with an...

4 th February 2019, Attwells Solicitors has won the Feefo Gold Service award, an independent seal of excellence that recognises businesses for delivering exceptional experiences, as rated by real customers. Created by Feefo, Trusted Service is awarded only...

Award winning property law firm Attwells Solicitors who are set to open a new office in Colchester have recruited local legal figure. Edward Powell, former Partner of Ellisons, has joined Attwells as a Senior Solicitor to support their move to Colchester....

The Government initially consulted on its plans to improve the complaints system in early 2018, with MoneySavingExpert.com surveying its users and collecting 1,200 responses were collected during the consultation. The Government pledged to evolve the...

On 24th January 2019, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released an open consultation on extending the redundancy protection period for women and new parents. BEIS has proposed extending the protection period against...

In the case of LM Homes Ltd and others v Queen Court Freehold Company Ltd [2018] UKUT 367 (LC) (20 December 2018) the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (UT) held that existing leases of the basement, airspace above and subsoil below a block of flats could be...