A “Village Green” is an area of open land on which “a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality… have indulged as a right in lawful sports and pastimes on the land for a period of at least 20 years”. In order to protect a right to continue using an area of land for those purposes it must be registered under the Commons Act 2006. Once registered, the land must remain open and cannot be developed.
Development issues a Village Green presents
November 21st, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Property Developers 2 Comments »
Process of Getting a Conveyancing Quote
October 24th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Property Conveyancing 2 Comments »
If you are buying or selling a property then, unless you are planning to do your own conveyancing, you’ll need to instruct a conveyancer (i.e. a solicitor or licensed conveyancer) to represent you. So with thousands of law firms out there to choose from, how do you go about getting a conveyancing quote? First you need to decide what you’re looking for. Do you want a local firm, whose offices you can visit, or would you rather do everything by phone, post and email?
Acquiring the Freehold of a Leasehold House
October 13th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Landlords, Legal No Comments »
Most houses in England and Wales are freehold. This means that the owner has a right to remain on the land and in the house in perpetuity (forever) or until he sells or transfers it, at which point the new owner takes over the right. Although technically the land (and therefore the house) actually belongs to the Crown, for all practical purposes it is owned by the home owner. There are some houses however that rather than being freehold are let on long leases. These are known as leasehold houses.
What You Need to Know About Conveyancing Contracts
September 27th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Property Conveyancing 1 Comment »
The conveyancing contract (sometimes referred to as the agreement) is a document which contains all of the terms and conditions to which a conveyancing transaction is subject. Once contracts are exchanged those terms become legally binding on all parties.
Confusion clouds landscape for consumers legal services
July 18th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal No Comments »
The confused system of regulation for legal services risks leaving consumers without protection when things go wrong, the new Legal Ombudsman warns today. Against a backdrop of a rapidly changing legal landscape, there are particular difficulties in areas such as claims management and will-writing companies, he says.
What Can I Do About My Neighbour’s Nuisance Tree?
June 29th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Local Authority Searches 2 Comments »
Trees can be wonderful though they can also be a terrible nuisance in gardens, particularly small gardens and particularly if they are allowed to grow too large. If your enjoyment of your property is adversely affected by a tree belonging to a neighbour, is there anything you can do?
Read the rest of this entry »
Protecting a Right to a View
June 21st, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Property Conveyancing 1 Comment »
In English law there is no such thing as a legal right to a view. This was established in Aldred’s Case 1610, which showed that to qualify as an easement a right must be “sufficiently definite”, whereas a right to view is far too general in terms of the land which bears the burden.
Boundary Disputes – What you need to know
June 13th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Property Conveyancing No Comments »
Boundaries are one of the major causes of disputes between neighbours. Whether one neighbour is encroaching on another, there is an argument that the boundary line is in the wrong position or shared boundary is not properly maintained, issues that might start out as trivial can quickly escalate.
Party Wall Act 1996 – What you need to know
May 3rd, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Legal, Top tips No Comments »
When considering building a structure on or near the boundary between yours and a neighbour’s property it is important to consider the provisions of the Party Wall Act 1996 to ascertain what your obligations and rights are.
Estate Agents and Sellers Making False or Misleading Statements
April 18th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Estate Agents, Legal, Property Conveyancing No Comments »
When buying a property it is important to ensure that you inspect everything that you can and that you have surveyed everything that you can’t, such as the structure or the electrics and central heating system. This is because of the principal of caveat emptor – Latin for buyer beware.
Read the rest of this entry »
Alternative Business Structures – Business Entity
March 14th, 2011 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Estate Agents, Legal, Mortgages 1 Comment »
Currently, a solicitor who is performing “reserved legal activities” (activities which only a solicitor is permitted to perform such as the key elements of a conveyancing transaction) for the general public is only permitted to practise in a firm wholly owned by solicitors. The Legal Services Act 2007 (“the Act”) however introduces a new type of business entity, the Alternative Business Structure (ABS).
