All Professional comment articles – Page 20
-
OnlineAmbitious but incompatible? A response to the government’s ‘Planning for the Future’ paper
The Budget feels a very long time ago.
-
Online
Five tools helping to power the property industry through coronavirus
We are all having to quickly adjust to the new times we are living in.
-
Online
Tips for working from home and retaining your sanity
As we all suddenly find ourselves marooned at home, no doubt with children, partners and even elderly parents contributing to a hot pot of tension, it’s important you work out how to get through your day job without losing your mind.
-
Professional
How will Westminster council City Plan affect the property market?
Westminster City Council (WCC) is set to adopt its City Plan (2019–2040) in 2020, after a huge response to the two rounds of consultation it has carried out so far.
-
Professional
What should government’s focus be to stimulate housebuilding?
Despite recent uncertainty amid Brexit, it has not been all bad news for the housebuilding sector.
-
Professional
What can commercial landlords learn from the Hackitt review?
Industry stakeholders are still coming to terms with what the Grenfell disaster means for them.
-
Professional
Will Building Safety consultation transform construction sector?
The government’s 192-page consultation paper on the Building Safety Bill, while not a light read, should not be skipped through or ignored.
-
Professional
How should the industry react to the RICS service charge changes?
A service charge is “a means by which a landlord can recover from tenants the cost of maintaining and repairing a building and providing certain services”. However, this frequently leads to disputes, as a landlord will want to maintain investment value while a tenant will want to ensure they receive ...
-
Professional
Will the Homes Act help to improve standards in the PRS?
The Housing Act 1988 came into force in January 1989 with the intention of revitalising the private rented sector (PRS). Over time, the legislation has increased the number of households in the PRS – now at 4.5 million (19% of the UK’s housing stock), up from 2.8 million in 2007.
-
Professional
What does the London Plan say about segregated playgrounds?
Last month, the spotlight was shone on the Baylis Old School development in Lambeth, where there have been allegations of segregation between private and social housing play areas. The facts of this case have not yet been fully established, but it does highlight a potential weakness in the planning system ...
-
Professional
What standards do ‘reasonable endeavours’ obligations impose?
The Court of Appeal recently heard arguments as to whether a developer had satisfied its obligation to use reasonable endeavours to fulfil the conditions to pay overage (Gaia Ventures v Abbeygate Helical [Leisure Plaza]).
-
Professional
Can a court be asked to answer a question it has already dealt with?
Res judicata is a legal principle that means that at some point litigation must come to an end – or, in other words, a party should not be able to ask the court to re-answer a question that it has already dealt with. This principle, in the context of fraud, ...
-
Professional
How better office design can be a balm to mental health
Workplaces with less harsh lighting and quiet areas are more welcoming to people with mental health issues.
-
Professional
What does the latest PDR consultation mean for the right to build upwards?
In its desire to boost housing delivery, the government is revisiting the idea of a new permitted development right (PDR) to allow upward extensions to create new homes. The first consultation resulted only in a new national planning policy, adopted in July 2018, which offers support for the construction of ...
-
Professional
How practically should big data serve the industry?
Big data usage across commercial property is too often conceptual, and therefore needs to do more to convince the industry for its wider uptake. So what should it look like?
-
Professional
How should developers react to the government’s technological ambitions?
Last year saw the government launch its ’Road to Zero Strategy’ and introduce the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018.
-
Insight
As BTR pipeline grows, are we ready to manage the homes?
We should all be encouraged by last week’s figures from the British Property Federation showing that there are now almost 140,000 build to rent homes complete, under construction or in planning in the UK.
-
Professional
What can be done to ensure women are better represented in panel debates?
A couple of years ago, Women in Property made a decision: we would not support industry events unless there was reasonable gender balance among the list of speakers.
