As 2025 unfolds, the property industry eagerly anticipates how the market will evolve following political and tax changes at the end of last year, including the scrapping of the Non-Dom tax system and the US election. US clients remain significant. We have onboarded several new clients based in the US who are seeking a second home/pied a terre in London and with reports of an increase in homes going on the market there should be more stock to choose from.
Our overseas clients are usually unfamiliar with our leasehold system of ownership which can seem antiquated. In the King's speech last year, the Government confirmed an intention to establish commonhold as the norm for flat ownership, in an attempt to provide a fairer form of property ownership compared to leasehold. In this edition we explore some of the key advantages and disadvantages to commonhold, and the challenges faced to reinvigorate this as a new form of property ownership.
The Renters' Rights Bill aims to provide tenants with more stability by converting short-term tenancies into rolling tenancies, which cannot be terminated by landlords except on specific grounds. However, the Bill introduces new provisions allowing landlords to evict tenants with four months' notice if they intend to sell the property, potentially making tenants' positions more precarious, as explored by Alison Taylor, Of Counsel.
Finally, a contract race involves a seller issuing contracts to multiple interested buyers, with the first to exchange securing the property. While it can expedite sales, it may also deter buyers and complicate the process, as it challenges the good faith principle typically relied upon in conveyancing, as discussed by Louise Moore, Managing Associate.