Clarke and Son News

Basingstoke solicitors Clarke & Son LLP, have recently joined the Perk Card Scheme run by Destination Basingstoke - a new, not-for-profit marketing agency for the town of Basingstoke and the surrounding area.

The scheme aims to promote the Borough as an attractive place to live, work and visit as well as a first choice location for business. Profits from the membership scheme will go towards the marketing and promotion of Basingstoke.

As an incentive to staff, businesses around Basingstoke buy into the annual scheme that offers Perk Cards to each of their staff.  These cards then offer the holders varying discounts on products and services from 35 businesses within Basingstoke.

Clarke & Son are now offering 10% discount* on all their legal services for Perk Card Holders.

See details of our Perk Card scheme and where you can make savings!

For more information, contact Clarke & Son Solicitors or telephone 01256 320 555.

* Up to a maximum of £50. Must not be used in conjunction with any other Clarke & Son offer.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has just published a report of house building in the UK entitled, ‘Homebuilding in the UK: A Market Study’.

The report provides an in-depth insight into land supply, consumer protection, competition and the future of the homebuilding industry.

It concludes that:

• The housebuilding sector is broadly competitive and there is little evidence of house builders ‘landbanking’ to restrict supply and inflate prices
• Homebuyers can experience delays and faults and they need more protection when buying a new home.

The report also goes on to say that some organisations involved with the house building sector have agreed to implement a code of conduct and redress scheme to address the problems experienced by homebuyers. The OFT recommends statutory intervention if the industry fails to deliver an effective solution to these problems.

Read the full report: ‘Homebuilding in the UK: A Market Study’.

If you need professional help or advice on any aspect of domestic or commercial property law or any other legislation regarding buying or selling your home or business, contact Clarke & Son Solicitors on 01256 320 555.

Noisy traffic does not entitle householders to a reduction in council tax.

That’s the verdict delivered by the Court of Appeal that has overturned the decision made previously by the High Court.

The Court of Appeal held that ‘a greater level of traffic on a motorway, that itself had remained unchanged physically, was not sufficient to entitle householders living in close proximity to it to a reduction in council tax.’

The decision will disappoint homeowners up and down the country who were hoping the earlier decision would be upheld and enable them to seek lower council tax bills based on the adverse impact of increased traffic noise on their homes.

Reports in the leading legal publication ‘The Lawyer’ have indicated a significant increase in the number of women seeking advice on divorce proceedings. Reports suggest that a growing number of women are seeking to secure assets as the economic boom turns to gloom.

Meanwhile, men are seeking advice on how they are going to prevent their former wives from accessing their dwindling wealth.

More men are also asking about variations - where court orders were made years ago and the husband has to pay an annual sum to the wife but can no longer afford to.

Bhupendra Sankhla, Partner, Clarke & Son says, “In the present economic climate, I’m finding more already-divorced couples coming back to us demanding a change to their original court orders, for the men because their earnings are not keeping up with the rising cost of maintenance fees and for the women, (or the main carers of the children), because of the increased price of food and fuel.”

If you need further information, help or advice regarding Divorce, Mediation and Reconciliation, Pre-nuptial Agreements  or Informal Separation, contact Bhupendra Sankhla Partner, Family Department.

Alternatively, call Clarke & Son on 01256  320 555.

1st October 2008 marks the final roll-out of energy certificates to all buildings.

Since being introduced in 2007, more than one million Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have been produced and registered in England and Wales - with the average rating being a ‘C’ for commercial properties and a ‘D’ for homes.

The measures which come into force for October include:

• Extending the validity period of the EPC for homes when marketed for sale – currently one year - to three years. This has been the result of extensive consultation; and

• Clarifying arrangements for the October roll-out for commercial buildings already on the market which will be similar to those put in place in April and July. This means that any non-domestic building on the market before 1st October and remaining on the market will need an EPC by 1st January at the latest. If it is sold or rented out in the meantime, an EPC must be commissioned and then handed over as soon as is practicable. This measure is intended to make it easier for owners and landlords to comply with the legislation, avoid market fluctuations and is in response to expectations from the industry.

The full timetable is as follows:

Homes:

• Since 1st August 2007 all homes going on the market with 4+ bedrooms have required an EPC when sold
• Since 10th September 2007 all homes going on the market with 3+ bedrooms have required an EPC when sold
• Since 14th December 2007 all homes going on the market with one or more bedrooms have required an EPC when sold
• Since 6th April 2008 all new-built homes have required an EPC
• From 1st October 2008 all remaining homes for sale (including those which had been on the market from before the above dates) will require an EPC and all homes for rent will require an EPC when newly rented.

Commercial:

• Commercial buildings also require an EPC when built, sold or rented.
• Since 6th April 2008 this has applied to buildings over 10,000m2; since 1st July 2008 to buildings over 2,500m.sq.
• From 1st October they will apply to all remaining commercial buildings.

If you need further information, help or advice regarding Energy Performance Certificates or how quickly a certificate can be obtained, contact Paul Cowdery, (Partner, Residential Conveyancing) or Charles Marchant-White, (Partner, Commercial Services) for commercial properties.

Alternatively, call Clarke & Son on 01256  320 555.

Partners Charles Marchant-White (Commercial Property), and Paul Cowdery, (Residential Property), comment on an issue which may be of interest to property buyers seeking to negotiate on price. In particular, those with a view to taking advantage of the increased Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘SDLT’) exempt rate.

At Clarke & Son, we’re encountering instances (particularly with new build properties) where prices are dropped to £175,000 to take advantage of the increase in the Stamp Duty Land Tax exempt rate.

However, it’s often the case that the buyer must pay an engrossment fee for the preparation of the lease or transfer and this cost must be added to the purchase price as part of the consideration being paid (the total consideration will comprise the price and debt for SDLT purposes).

If, for example, the purchase price was £174,950 and the engrossment fee was £90 plus VAT, this would give rise to an SDLT liability. The key point is that SDLT is payable on all elements of consideration paid or payable to a Seller in any transaction that relates to the Property (or chargeable interest) being acquired.

In cases such as this, it’s important to resist any request to add an engrossment fee cost. It’s important that buyers emphasise to sellers that they will pay absolutely no more than £175,000.

It goes without saying that the same remark also applies at the £250,000 and £500,000 margins too although we suspect we’ll see more instances at the £175,000 margin.

While you might at first regard this as being a relatively minor issue it can have a very dramatic effect - especially at the margins of SDLT rates.

Here are some examples as to how this may work out in practice:

Consideration £175,000.00 - SDLT + £00.00
Consideration £175,000.00 + Engrossing fee £50 + VAT (£8.75) - SDLT = £1,750
Consideration £250,000.00 - SDLT = £2,500
Consideration £250,000.00 + Engrossing fee £50 + VAT (£8.75) - SDLT = £7,501

If you need practical, professional advice on any aspect of Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘SDLT’), please e-mail Paul Cowdery direct or telephone Clarke & Son on 01256 320 555.

The next phase of the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) roll-out for commercial premises is rapidly approaching and will come into effect on 1st October 2008.

From that date, every property that’s either being constucted, sold or let and consists of more than 50 square metres (538 square ft.) will need to have such a certificate.

If you are currently engaged in the process of buying or selling commercial premises, you need to be aware of the introduction of this regulation which is especially pertinent to the vendor. Deals going through at the moment and which fail to complete by 1st October will require an EPC.

Since the certificates may take some time to obtain, this could delay matters as well as create the potential for additional expense. The penalty for failure to provide a prospective purchaser or tenant of a non-dwelling with an EPC (subject to the exceptions) is fixed - in most cases at 12.5% of the rateable value of the building subject to a minimum penalty of £500 and a maximum penalty of £5,000.

In the cases where the formula cannot be applied a default penalty of £750 is payable.

The government has announced that the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) threshold for land transactions consisting entirely of residential property will be increased from £125,000 to £175,000 for transactions with an effective date (normally completion) after 2 September 2008 and before 3 September 2009.

This means that:

• No SDLT will be due where the chargeable consideration is £175,000 or less
• Where the chargeable consideration is greater than £175,000 but no greater than £250,000, the rate of SDLT will be 1%
• All other SDLT thresholds and rates remain unchanged.

Communities and Local Government has also announced other measures to increase confidence in the housing market.

Briefly these are:

• A new shared equity scheme for first-time buyers
• A mortgage rescue scheme for those facing repossession
• Improved support for homeowners who lose their jobs
• Accelerating the provision of £400 million to provide 5,500 new social homes
• Supporting critical regeneration schemes proposed by Regional Development Agencies.

Paul Cowdery, Conveyancing Partner, Clarke & Son, Basingstoke comments, “There is much scepticism as to whether the above steps will have a material effect in re-stimulating the housing market and that improvement will only be achievable when the market has bottomed out and lenders return to the market with more competitive mortgage products.”

He added, “A sustained period of lower interest rates could perhaps be the trigger but there is concern that the weakness of sterling will prevent interest rates from falling significantly. The benefit of the raising of the SDLT threshold could assist buy to let investors with first time buyers still advised to stay out of the property market and still rent until the market has stabilised.”

Finally, Paul says, “There is some help offered in relation to mortgage interest payments as the experience of the previous property recession was that excessive repossessions prevented the early recovery of the market.”

If you’re buying or selling your home and are looking for highly qualified advice, either e-mail, Paul Cowdery direct or telephone Clarke & Son on 01256 320 555.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has announced that stamp duty land tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less with immediate effect – but for one year only.

This relief will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after September 3, 2008 and before September 3, 2009.

For professional advice on buying or selling your home, either e-mail Clarke & Son’s Conveyancing Partner, Paul Cowdery direct or telephone Clarke & Son on 01256 320 555.

Certain regulations permitted the marketing of properties without a Home Information Pack (HIP).  Those regulations also had the effect of exempting properties from the requirement to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

This typically included homes which were marketed prior to the various applicable commencement dates (which in turn limited the need for a HIP to particular sized properties before removing the property size criteria altogether) and where those properties have been continuously marketed ever since.

However, the exemption provisions cease on 1st October 2008.

The effect of this is that for all properties for sale as at 1st October 2008, where contracts have not been exchanged, the seller must provide the buyer with an EPC prior to exchange. This relates to all properties being sold regardless of when listed and whether or not they have been openly marketed.

For clarity the seller is responsible for procuring the EPC, having a copy available for prospective purchasers to view and providing a hard copy to the purchaser prior to exchange.

There appears to be a lack of knowledge about this requirement across the market place. If your property has been on the market without a HIP then please let us know or at least ensure that your Estate Agent is made aware of the need for obtaining the EPC.

Moving home? For further information on HIPs or conveyancing, either e-mail Paul Cowdery, Conveyancing Partner direct or telephone Clarke & Son on 01256 320 555.