A High Court judge has overturned planning permission for a house extension in Medway, Kent, in a case that rules ‘climate change is a legitimate planning issue’. In a shock decision, Mr Justice Lane overturned the council’s ‘irrational’ decision and decided in favour of Bill McLennan who vehemently objected to his neighbour’s proposed extension on the grounds that it would significantly block sunlight to his solar panels despite the Council granting permission for the project to go ahead.

If you are buying or selling a house, flat or other property in the UK you will most likely need the services of a conveyancer to deal with the legal aspects of the transaction. With many firms offering conveyancing services it can be difficult to know which one will provide you with the best service.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that they will be centralising probate registries as part of a £1 billion reform programme resulting in the closure of regional probate registries. The move will see regional probate registries close and all probate services, except for some administrative work, centralised at the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre in Birmingham. The restructuring is designed to improve the service by bringing together expertise in one central location.

JC Solicitors were delighted to support the Alzheimer’s Society annual Cupcake Day event this month.

We asked people to guess the number of sweet treats in our huge mountain of cakes in our Alton office window. For every ‘guess’ we donated £1 to the fundraiser.

In tax year 2015/6 a total of 658 families living in Guildford, Surrey were subject to inheritance tax. This is more that anywhere else in the country. The average amount paid per family was £231,000. For a point of comparison, only 31 estates in Wigan (Greater Manchester) valuable enough to attract an inheritance tax (IHT) liability.

Evaluation of the Government’s proposal to repeal Section 21 of the Housing Act 1998

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Housing announced a ‘generational change’ to private renting in their report titled Overcoming the Barriers to Longer Tenancies in the Private Rented Sector. By repealing section 21 Housing Act 1998, this government would end so-called ‘no-fault’ evictions. This is a ‘significant step’ considering that the majority of landlords were against removing this type of eviction. Many landlords rely on the section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction as this usually provides a swifter outcome in the court than other avenues.