News
Property and divorce Q&A
Head of family Teena Dhanota-Jones and senior associate Sarah Richardson ask and answer some of the most common questions relating to divorce and property that clients raise with them. Question from the matrimonial department [...]
Portner supports Mental Health Awareness Week – #IveBeenThere
Portner is pleased to support Mental Health Awareness Week hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, taking place between 9 and 15 May. This year, the aim is to raise awareness of the impact of [...]
A Brief Guide to the New No Fault Divorce Rules and Procedure
Teena Dhanota-Jones recently had an article published in Family Law Week about the new no fault divorce rules and the changes to divorce procedure that came into force on 6 April 2022 . In [...]
What are the new employment law rates and limits that came into force in April?
The statutory employment rates for employees are reviewed and updated in April of each year. In this article, we set out the new rates that have just come into force. Traditionally, there is an [...]
A client-friendly guide to the new no fault divorce regime
Teena Dhanota-Jones summarises the changes to the divorce regime that will apply when no fault divorce is introduced on 6 April 2022. The government has set out some helpful guidelines about the new divorce [...]
Portner achieves Lexcel Legal Practice Quality Mark accreditation
Portner is delighted to have been recognised as a certified member of The Law Society’s ‘Excellence in legal practice management and client care’ scheme (Lexcel). Lexcel is the Law Society’s quality mark for client [...]
The options now available to Portner divorce clients
The family team at boutique West End solicitors’ firm Portner is leading the way in offering a variety of ways to resolve matrimonial and family disputes: 1. Acting for both parties For [...]
Can I ask for my costs to be reimbursed in children proceedings?
You can pursue a costs order in children proceedings. However, it is rare for a party to pursue and ultimately succeed in a claim for costs in these types of proceedings. A costs order [...]
Childless marriage and the impact on your financial settlement following a divorce
Teena Dhanota-Jones examines a recent case in which the husband argued that because the marriage was short and, importantly, childless, his wife should not receive an equal share of the assets on divorce. I [...]
Teena Dhanota-Jones appears in YouTube video talking about Christmas and marital breakdown
Partner and Head of Family Teena Dhanota-Jones joined financial expert Ceri Griffiths and psychologist Dr Anne to discuss what women who are thinking about separation this Christmas need to consider from an emotional, legal [...]
Ground rents in new residential leases to be outlawed
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill will end ground rents for new long residential leasehold properties in England and Wales. The Bill is making its way through the House of Commons and is expected [...]
Government confirms Residential Property Developer Tax to apply from April 2022
Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) will apply from April 2022 at a rate of 4% on profits above £25m from residential developments carried out by companies in the UK. In a recent article, we [...]
Portner becomes accredited Living Wage Employer
We are delighted to announce that we have become a Living Wage Employer accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. The real living wage is a voluntarily wage paid by almost 9,000 UK businesses who believe [...]
New Residential Property Developer Tax to be announced in the autumn Budget
The government has published draft legislation for the new Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) on companies that carry out residential development in the UK. RPDT will be applied from 1 April 2022, and full [...]
Portner signs Mental Health at Work commitment
One of our focuses for the months and years ahead is to support mental health in the workplace. This is an important issue and one that has been accentuated over the past year during [...]
How reliable are new home warranties and guarantees?
Press reports last week about flat owners in Swansea bringing a multimillion-pound claim against Zurich for defects in their new build property highlight one of the pitfalls of buying a new home. Can buyers [...]
Budget 2021 extends stamp duty and business rates holidays
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s says his stamp duty and mortgage measures in last week’s Budget will turn “generation rent” into “generation buy”. This article looks at these measures and the extension to the business rates [...]
Adam King quoted in Telegraph article about the impact of the pandemic on residential landlords
Property litigation partner Adam King is quoted in an article in The Telegraph entitled ‘Five reasons why the pandemic's impact on landlords is only getting worse’, saying Government support is not enough to help [...]
Portner merges with KPM Solicitors
Portner is delighted to announce its merger with KPM Solicitors LLP. KPM Solicitors is a young, dynamic practice whose partners Karen South and Matthew Stubbs and consultant Peter Green will bring significant specialist expertise [...]
The benefits and pitfalls of buying a new build home
New build homes can be an excellent option for first-time buyers as well as empty nesters ‘right-sizing’ once they no longer require a family home. Buying a new build has many benefits, but there [...]
Good news for buyers of new build homes
They say good things come in threes and that seems to be the case for anyone thinking of buying a new build home. In this article, we look at the latest Stamp Duty Land [...]
5 reasons why you shouldn’t make your own Will despite the lockdown
The Covid-19 crisis has prompted many people to try their hand at things usually done by experts. Luckily there’s no long-term damage from a wonky haircut or a burnt loaf of banana bread, but [...]
Landmark Supreme Court judgment upholds decision on absolute covenants in residential leases
A recent decision of the Supreme Court will have a significant effect on how landlords deal with applications by tenants in residential blocks for consent to do something prohibited by an absolute covenant in [...]
UPDATE: Government Advice on Moving House and Conveyancing
The Government issued advice last night on moving home and we are here to update you. The advice is clear "There is no need to pull out of transactions". However, we all need to [...]
Implications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Property Market
As the world works hard to fight the coronavirus outbreak, the expectation is that its effects on market confidence will be short lived. Most of those involved in the residential market, with long-term views, [...]
Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
With the continued situation regarding COVID-19 our priority is to ensure first and foremost the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and clients. We also understand that in these uncertain times it is [...]
Buying a property – what’s involved and how long will it take
I am often asked by buyers, either first time buyers or buyers who have not purchased a property for a number of years, for a brief synopsis of the buying process. The following is [...]
Robert Gould career story
Robert joined Portner as a partner in January to head up our Corporate Commercial department. We spoke to him about his career to date. I really enjoy cooking and initially contemplated a career in [...]
Why new homes warranties are not the guarantee buyers hope for and what they can do about it
A recent decision in the Court of Appeal highlights the extent to which companies that offer new home construction warranties will seek to wriggle out of their obligations. This is a major concern for [...]
Buying property at auction – buyer beware
An increasing number of properties are being sold at auctions up and down the country as more people are becoming aware of the opportunity to acquire property at what many consider to be below [...]
Is now the best time to transfer property owned by non-resident (offshore) companies to individual names?
With many of the tax benefits of owning UK property via offshore companies coming to an end and values having been static or even decreased since 2015, now may be a good time to [...]
