Few things strike as much fear into buyers and sellers alike as subsidence. Who would buy a property that was at risk of structural collapse? And if you are a seller, the nagging question that keeps you awake at night: should you buy a house if the tell-tale signs of subsidence are going to be […]
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Coronavirus bill extends notice for possession from two to three months but government stresses no renter can be evicted
The “complete ban” on evictions promised by the government has been widely criticised after it emerged that the coronavirus bill merely extends the notice required for possession, from two months to three.
The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, said last week: “The government is clear – no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home, nor will any landlord face unmanageable debts.”
Continue reading...When renting a home it can sometimes seem difficult to make it your own. Here OnTheMarket suggests five ways you can personalise your rental property. Rising property prices in recent decades have made it harder than ever to get a foothold on the property ladder. Richard Snook, Senior Economist at PwC, said: “We estimate that by […]
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Coronavirus advice | Sharing a bathroom | Hilary Mantel and the plague | Gentlemanly behaviour | The human virus
Three men don’t go into a pub. The prime minister says: “Only key workers should be travelling and they must be protected.” The health secretary says: “To be protected, people should stay at least two metres apart.” The transport secretary says: “Why don’t we cancel lots of trains and tubes so that people have to sit closer together?” Is this some kind of joke?
Chris Burrell
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
• Yet again we are told that people with coronavirus shouldn’t share a bathroom with other family members ( Coronavirus dos and don’ts: UK advice on behaving responsibly, 22 March). You do know that there are houses and flats in this country that have only one bathroom, don’t you? My husband and I live in one, and would invite a journalist to visit this quaint living arrangement if we weren’t practising social distancing.
Lynn Fotheringham
Over Kellet, Lancashire
My wife and I have split up and I agreed to buy out her half of the flat we bought together
Q In September 2017 my wife and I bought a flat in joint names as our permanent home and paid stamp duty. We have now separated and as part of our separation agreement, I paid her a sum of £250,000 for her half share of the flat in order to get full title of the property. I paid £2,500 in stamp duty so that means that stamp duty has been paid twice on this property. Is it possible to get this sum refunded?
MH
A It should be possible to get a refund of the second lot stamp duty land tax (SDLT) you have paid because you shouldn’t have been charged it in the first place. In the words of HM Revenue & Customs: “If you” – or in your case, your ex-wife – “transfer an interest in land or property to your partner as part of an agreement or court order because you are either divorcing or dissolving a civil partnership, you don’t pay SDLT.” And “in these cases there’s no need to tell HMRC about the transfer even if the value is more than the SDLT threshold” of £125,000.
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