News
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 [...]