News Archive: legal issues: 2010

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22, 2010 December:

Deadline looms for Bulgaria buyers

December 31st is fast approaching, meaning that all those who own land or property in Bulgaria should think about re-registering their asset or potentially face losing it forever...

FSA hands out record fines in 2010

The Financial Services Authority handed down a record breaking £88.4m in fines in 2010, eclipsing the record it set last year of £34.8m by 154%, says City law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP...

20, 2010 December:

Housing fraudsters to face major crackdown

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has launched a new national crackdown on tenancy cheats who unlawfully sublet their council or housing association properties and deny homes to people who really need them...

17, 2010 December:

Apprentice contender accused of ‘dodgy deals'

Lord Alan Sugar's business talent show has been hit with more controversy, as another Apprentice contestant is facing accusations of crooked business deals...

15, 2010 December:

Scotland's recovery damaged by immigration cap?

Scotland's government and business community has declared it is unhappy with the immigration cuts being imposed by the UK government and wants a more flexible approach...

07, 2010 December:

Estate agent "sole agency" means what it says

House sellers tempted to disregard their sole agency agreements with estate agents need to take note of a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in the case of Nicholas Prestige Homes v Sally Neal...

06, 2010 December:

New English language reqs hit marriages

New requirements for those outside the European Union who want to marry an immigrant in the UK are now in force...

01, 2010 December:

Electricity top-up scam spreads nationwide

If you're offered cut-price energy for a pre-payment meter, watch out - it's a scam...

09, 2010 November:

Property tycoon's wife, mistress battle over cash

A property tycoon's wife and mistress both forged his will in a battle over his fortune, a court heard...

08, 2010 November:

Arizona ruling says 'buyer beware'

A new Arizona court ruling on a real estate property sales reinforces the doctrine of buyer beware...

31, 2010 October:

Police hold fire on apprentice mortgage court date

Apprentice hopeful and former mortgage broker Christopher Farrell yesterday had his bail extended until the December 8th when he'll discover if he faces fraud charges...

27, 2010 October:

Law Society kitemark to help buyers, sellers

The Law Society is launching a conveyancing quality scheme (CQS) to help homebuyers and sellers...

24, 2010 October:

NZ letting agent sentenced to house detention

A Christchurch real estate agent has been sentenced to home detention for lying to a client about the sale of his house...

21, 2010 October:

Rich pickings for burglars

As the clocks go back on Sunday October 31st, the cover of darkness can prove all too tempting for the opportunist thief. Halifax Home Insurance recommends homeowners take steps to make life more difficult for the would-be burglar...

18, 2010 October:

Slow courts not doing landlords any favours

Landlord Action is spearheading a campaign to improve the current tenant eviction system: ‘Rebalancing the law'...

13, 2010 October:

Homeowners warned to beware property fraudsters

Conveyancing solicitors and Land Registry want the public to be aware how fraudsters are targeting the properties of both individuals and companies...

07, 2010 October:

Russian and Cypriot presidents discuss investment and tourism

A surge of Russian investment and tourism in Cyprus led to a visit from President Dmitry Medvedev for the signing of agreements between the two governments...

06, 2010 October:

Help for Turkish property buyers

Unfamiliarity with the property laws and processes in Turkey has resulted in nightmare situations for foreign owners...

04, 2010 October:

Businessman charged in $225m property scheme

A California businessman has been charged with fraud and money laundering stemming from a $225 million Ponzi scheme involving investments in rehabilitated "scratch and dent" real estate...

Bulgarian PM outraged by global draining of state treasury

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, told his ministers that thousands of agencies and offices abroad are draining the State treasury...

30, 2010 September:

Scam targets UK online banking

A network used to harvest online banking details has been exposed in the UK...

U.N. hopeful of Cyprus deal to heal

The United Nations expressed hope that a deal on the divided island of Cyprus is to be negotiated by the end of the year...

Property scam ties Cyprus with Greek criminal ring

Evidence linking Cyprus to an allegedly active criminal ring in Greece has come to light...

29, 2010 September:

$6 billion freeze in a Cyprus court

$6 billion worth of Russian assets have been frozen in a court in Cyprus...

28, 2010 September:

Quebec real-estate investment scam

An alleged investment scam carried out by three Gatineau men is said to have defrauded 150 people from across Canada of millions of dollars...

False signatures suspected in 3000 Bulgarian property deals

Investigations into more than 3000 municipal property transactions in Sofia signed between 2006 and 2008 are being carried out due to suspected fraudulent signatures of its former mayor...

27, 2010 September:

Spanish real estate assessor on trial

A specially extended hall in the Málaga Ciudad de la Justicia is holding the case surrounding Marbella's real estate assessor, Juan Antonio Roca today...

New restrictions for Chinese developers

Chinese developers are to be prevented from land banking by new restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Land and Resources, it was announced today...

24, 2010 September:

Beach crackdown in Perth

The mayor responsible for Australia's famous Bondi Beach says she backs a Council clampdown at Perth's Cottesloe Beach, which would see beachgoers fined up to $500 for a range of offences including flying kites, using oversized umbrellas or digging holes...

Landlord licensing fails tenants

The lack of regulation of landlords is leaving tenants exposed across the UK, according to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA)...

16, 2010 September:

Police force reduce property burglary

Radio Tactics Ltd has announced that police in Devon and Cornwall have successfully reduced property crime rates by 80 per cent...

09, 2010 September:

Property conman is jailed

A tenant who faked his identity when renting through Knight Frank has been jailed for three years after he went on to pose as its owner and sold the property...

31, 2010 August:

Share and share alike?

A cautionary tale which may spark a legal review of residential property ownership by unmarried couples...

24, 2010 August:

FBI to 'welcome criminals home'

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), dubbed Britain's FBI, is sending officers to ports and airports to ‘welcome' known criminals home from overseas...

11, 2010 August:

Mortgage fraud on the up

According to KPMG's fraud barometer, mortgage fraud soared in the first six months of 2010 - reaching a 22-year high...

29, 2010 July:

Better protection for Gulf investors

According to a new poll conducted by Arabian Business, more than 70 per cent of investors are adamant that better protection is desperately needed for international buyers investing in the Gulf region...

26, 2010 July:

Conveyancing confusion causing chaos

According to new research, us Brits are suffering from a worrying new affliction - confusion - we are scratching our heads and shrugging our shoulders over the basics of conveyancing, (the legal process of transferring property ownership) so just what can be done about it?...

22, 2010 July:

New code protects off-plan investors

Property investors buying homes ‘off plan' have new safeguards for their cash under the recently released Consumer Code for Home Builders...

15, 2010 July:

US Govt launches challenge to Arizona's law

The US government has launched a legal challenge to Arizona's controversial new immigration law which allows police to challenge anyone they suspect does not have a valid visa and is due to take effect later this month...

09, 2010 July:

Title deeds law delayed in Cyprus

Property owners and potential owners in Cyprus are facing a series of gloomy news as attempts to sort out the island's long running title deeds disputes are delayed and an expected recovery in the real estate market is failing to materialise...

25, 2010 June:

Florida owners lose sand claims

The owners of waterfront properties in Florida have lost their legal claim that sand being brought in to shore up sea defences has deprived them of exclusive beach access and is a violation of their rights...

22, 2010 June:

Naples Cardinal: property corruption scandal

Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, is to be investigated over his alleged part in a corrupt property deal. The Cardinal was, until 2006, head of the Vatican's Department for Foreign Missions and in that capacity he would have had had access to a great deal of money and an impressive property portfolio...

21, 2010 June:

Andaman Island tours 'flout Indian law'

'Human safaris' threaten the future of the Jarawa tribe in the Andaman Islands...

18, 2010 June:

Florida hoteliers urged to use BP

As the first clumps of tar from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill began washing up on Florida's beaches, the state's governor, Charlie Crist, this week encouraged affected hoteliers to claim compensation from BP...

07, 2010 June:

Prosecution of the Pod

Drivers are being warned that they could be prosecuted if caught using their iPod while driving...

20, 2010 May:

Bank of Mum & Dad: Declaration of Trust

With house prices out of the reach for most first time buyers and banks still reluctant to lend, many are turning to the ‘bank of mum and dad' for a loan or gift for a deposit to them to help get on the housing ladder...

13, 2010 May:

Hope for Spain's ‘illegal' owners

Various moves are being announced in Spain that give hope to many British owners whose property has been declared illegal and face demolition...

31, 2010 March:

Financial records landlords should keep

Landlords and property investors often have difficulty in proving how much they earn and expenses claimed to HM Revenue and Customs. To help make those claims stick and pay less tax, here's a list of financial records every property business should keep...

22, 2010 March:

How to register land as a village green

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in R (Lewis) v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council in the UK, which will make it increasingly difficult for land owners to defeat applications for registration as a village green...