Company News

Just over 4 years ago Richard Crabb joined us from DTZ to add agency to the services we offer. Time has flown and the business has really established itself and expanded with some excellent business done and an increasing profile. We are always looking for the right staff to take the business forwards in all areas and are very pleased to confirm the expansion of the agency team with Oliver Workman joining in January 2014. After working in Cornwall for 2 years Oliver is moving back to the area with his family and is looking forward to meeting clients and joining an expanding team and office.

Rates pain

Business rates are under the spotlight again with Graham Ruddick highlighting the Telegraph’s Fix the Rates campaign which calls for business rates to be frozen for two years and then reformed. Mr Ruddick cites research by PwC which shows the tax burden for Britain's leading retailers has increased by 65% since 2005, driven by an 80% increase in taxes outside of corporation tax, such as business. They now pay a total tax rate of 59% and their tax bill rose to £3.99bn in 2012, compared with £3.86bn in 2011. Business rates have been blamed for hampering investment in shopping centres and other commercial developments.

Did you really appreciate the serious implications of The Energy Act 2011 for both landlords and tenant?

From April 2018 it will become unlawful to rent property with an energy rating of F or G unless a package of measures has been carried out under the ‘Green Deal’ to improve the property

This will effect 18% of Commercial Properties and has the potential for some contentious negotiations at the end of a lease term, possibly preventing re letting or indeed surrender. The implications for dilapidation negotiations could be very complex particularly if there is a covenant to meet Statute in the Lease

The Green Deal is a financial framework (up to 25 years) to enable fixed provision of improvements to avoid upfront costs and will bind future owners and occupiers. Repayments are made via energy bills.

For further information on this or any other dilapidations issues please call 01242 584674 pressing option 1 or email contact@nickbevan.co.uk  

Concerns over rush to launch Help to Buy second phase

Most papers report that fears have been raised over the PM's decision to rush forward the second phase of the Help to Buy scheme with warnings that it could backfire and prevent people getting on the property ladder whilst threatening to create a new housing bubble. Mr Cameron said: "I am not going to stand back while people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder, to own their own flat, to own their own home, are being trashed." He added that he had the support of NatWest, RBS and Halifax. In response Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “With all the concern expressed about Help to Buy - rushing into it seems less than responsible on part of government.” Andrew Montlake of Coreco commented: "This is an extraordinary announcement by the government, especially as one of the biggest issues with part two of the Help to Buy scheme was that there was some concern whether lenders would be ready to introduce the scheme in January, let alone October." A leader in the FT argues that Mr Cameron should have reconsidered the scheme rather than bringing it forward, and adds that the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee should have the power to examine the scheme whenever it wishes rather than just annually as is now the case. Peter McKay in the Daily Mail says that the last crash occurred largely because banks were lending 100% mortgages to people who could not afford them with the buyer and lender relying on the value of the property rising. He says that we were told this reckless lending would never happen again. He wonders though, isn't guaranteeing 95% mortgages a little reckless also. The Times' Anne Ashworth says the scheme looks likely to be the most controversial ever government housing package. The Daily Mail reports that NatWest and RBS banks are preparing to extend their opening hours to deal with a surge in demand for the state-backed mortgages.

Miliband's 'land grab' criticised

Ed Miliband has come under criticism after unveiling measures to extend towns into the countryside and seize land back from developers who are not building houses. Mr Miliband vowed to issue compulsory purchase orders to developers who had planning permission to build on their land, but refused to do so. He said they could also be fined. John Acres, of the planning advisers Turley Associates, said the compulsory purchase order threat was "worrying". "This looks suspiciously like a 'land grab' on private developers who may have sites that are stalled through problems of viability or stymied by planning conditions - which could delay rather than deliver new housing," he said. Graeme Leach, the chief economist at the Institute of Directors, added: "The fundamental problem with the housing market is the public-sector planning system, not private-sector builders. It's hard to imagine a more statist solution to a problem caused by the state." The Mail's Alex Brummer also weighs in on the debate. He argues that giving "draconian" powers to councils to seize land from property owners is an assault on ownership rights and risks corruption. Mr Brummer also notes that Labour has failed to recognise that the best brownfield land is public sector owned, thus it would just be seizing land back from itself.