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Former Manchester United and England international Gary Neville has unveiled a controversial £200m project to knock down an entire city-centre block in Manchester. The 41-year-old ex-footballer plans to build two skyscrapers, a luxury five-star hotel and a plaza for a new district. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs in the area if planning permission is granted. Neville said: “There’s obviously lots of obstacles to overcome, first and foremost the consultation side and the pl

A recent nationwide study has shown a big North-South divide when it comes to people’s domestic cleaning habits. The results show there is some truth in the belief by Northerners that they are cleaner than their Southern counterparts. The survey of 200 households from each region by London Cleaning System confirmed those in the South spend the least amount of time cleaning their homes, with the average cleaning time spent each week in Greater London at only three hours and 50 minutes. By comparison,

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) has reached a major milestone and welcomed its 5,000th member, just two years after it was launched. PRS is one of three government-authorised consumer redress schemes available for the property market. While it is a legal requirement for letting and estate agents to be a member of a redress scheme, the PRS is also open to other property professionals. PRS celebrated its milestone with its 5,000th member, estate agent Anthony Hamilton in  Basingstoke. The London

Project managers based in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang are reported to have taken extreme measures to ensure their workers complete construction projects on time. Radio Free Asia claims the workers are being supplied with methamphetamines, also known as ‘meth’ or ‘ice’, to increase the work rate. Sources say there is severe pressure to meet deadlines and complete projects before winter, as thousands of workers were hired for the redevelopment schemes. This will include more than 60 struc

Social worker and mother-of-one Heidi Chalkley, 40, was tragically crushed to death by automatic garage doors in an underground car park as she left her block. It is believed she was visiting a friend who lives at the Ruth Bagnall Court in Cambridge. The friend, who was with her at the time, frantically tried to pull her free with the help of passers-by, but Ms Chalkley died “immediately” after being trapped in the rolling metal shutter. Cambridgeshire Coroner’s officer Paul Garnell said the woma

Landlords have hit back at claims by housing charity Shelter that more than a million renters are victims of law-breaking landlords. The survey of more than 3,250 renters by Shelter and YouGov uncovered a range of problems with landlords committing offences ranging from unlawful behaviour to serious criminal offences. While reports of landlords entering homes without permission and deposits not being properly protected were among the most common issues, Shelter said many cases of more shocking behavio

The Conveyancing Association (CA) has vowed to continue its fight to reform the leasehold transaction process, which it claims is fraught with delays and overcharging. The CA is campaigning to create a positive home-moving process, and says the government has its head in the sand on the issue. It has criticised the response to a question by Baroness Hayter in the House of Lords in which the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said further regulation of landlords would be burdensome

A debt collection agency that specialises in recovering arrears of ground rent and service charges has launched a legal company to focus on landlord and tenant law. Property Debt Collection director Joe Tona has set up PDC Law after he struggled to source a legal service provider that shared his vision of spearheading technology in the sector. Joe says: “I am delighted to have taken what is the logical next step in establishing PDC Law and look forward to providing my clients with an unparalleled an

The  appointment of an RTM company would not prevent a landlord from developing his property, as long as he took “all reasonable steps to minimise disturbance to the management functions of the RTM, both during and after the works”, a court has decided. In Francia Properties v Aristou, Francia, the Court considered whether the landlord was entitled to develop a new flat on the roof space of a block called ‘The Optic’ in Battersea, south-west London. The landlord was granted planning permission in 20

Leading accountancy firm Whitley Stimpson, which has offices in Banbury, Bicester, Witney and High Wycombe, is experiencing strong growth and is investing in training new staff from its core areas. Director Malcolm Higgs said: “We are proud of the high level of service we offer to businesses and individuals and believe strongly that our success is largely due to our policy of employing people from the areas in which we operate and our commitment to training young people.” Over the last year the firm has r

PDC Law is a new ABS based in Hertfordshire, dealing exclusively in residential landlord and tenant matters including the collection of service charge arrears, residential disputes, lease extensions and collective enfranchisement. They are looking to recruit a qualified Solicitor with at least 3 years post qualification experience and the ability to supervise. The right candidate must be able to deal with the following areas unsupervised: • Lease extensions of flats and houses including conducting proceed

WHAT IS LICENCE? Under most residential leases a tenant is required to obtain consent from the landlord and/or the management company before making any alterations to his/her property. It's a simple process which is also known as “An Application for a Licence for Alterations”.   Whether or not consent (a licence to alter) is required will be determined by (i) the scope of works and (ii) what the lease says. In most leases, the landlord will place a restriction on the extent of alteration, extension or oth