Real Estate Law and Construction Law

Owning a property in Spain often begins with excitement. A retirement plan, a family holiday home, an investment for the years ahead. Unfortunately, it is often only after someone dies that families discover owning property in another country creates legal and administrative issues they had never anticipated.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has expanded liability for unlicensed HMO and selective licensing offences to include superior landlords and freeholders, not just immediate landlords. This article examines what constitutes a 'reasonable excuse' defence and outlines practical steps freeholders should take to protect themselves from potential enforcement action and rent repayment orders.

Rebecca Lee shares her journey from law firm receptionist to qualified solicitor, discussing her passion for helping clients through life's most challenging moments in wills and probate work. She reflects on career highlights including managing a £4.2 million estate and her commitment to charitable fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

The UK and EU are negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement that could fundamentally reshape plant variety protection across both jurisdictions. This development raises critical questions about unitary rights, regulatory alignment on GMOs, and the preservation of UK autonomy in agricultural innovation policy.

Peter Harker, head of Natural Capital at Saffery, discusses how landowners are navigating the transition from traditional farming subsidies to ecosystem service payments, exploring the opportunities and challenges of biodiversity net gain schemes, carbon credits, and environmental commitments that can span generations. The conversation examines whether natural capital represents a genuine strategic opportunity or simply a replacement income stream...

As sustainability pressures mount and net-zero targets drive demand for carbon offsetting, UK landowners face a significant opportunity to generate income through carbon credit schemes. With the market contributing £1.2 billion to the UK economy in 2025 and carbon credits trading at £25-£35 per tonne, peatland restoration and woodland creation projects offer substantial returns while enhancing biodiversity and environmental protection.

Homeowners with a secured loan registered as a second charge against their property face specific considerations when switching mortgage lenders. The existing loan affects borrowing capacity, loan-to-value ratios and requires careful legal handling to manage charge priorities. Understanding how to repay or retain the secured loan during a remortgage helps homeowners navigate the additional legal steps and costs involved.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham first committed to leasehold reform in his first appearance at the Commons despatch box as Prime Minister. He promised to “reform this unfair system”, framing it as a cost-of-living issue, and saying he was looking at “where people face unfair charges that they can’t avoid”

Explore the latest developments in English property law and their implications for residential and commercial real estate transactions. This analysis examines recent regulatory changes and their practical impact on property owners, developers, and legal practitioners navigating the evolving landscape.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has fundamentally changed how landlords can increase rents in assured tenancies, eliminating section 21 notices and contractual review clauses in favor of a statutory tribunal process. Early tribunal decisions reveal critical patterns around evidence requirements, procedural compliance, and property condition assessments that institutional landlords must understand.

The case concerns a dispute between a commercial landlord and tenant over responsibility for remediating combustible cladding at a hotel near Wembley Stadium. As the building is a hotel rather than a residential block, remediation orders under the Building Safety Act 2022 do not apply.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham first committed to leasehold reform in his first appearance at the Commons despatch box as Prime Minister. He promised to “reform this unfair system”, framing it as a cost-of-living issue, and saying he was looking at “where people face unfair charges that they can’t avoid”