Ministers are resisting pressure from a green quango to force hundreds of thousands of homes to be fitted with “water-saving devices” – a move the environmentalists said will protect a rare species of snail. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) this weekend concluded a review into so-called water neutrality laws and ruled…
Upon his appointment as the new Housing Secretary, Michael Gove’s brief was made clear. The former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was told that the first and foremost item in his in-tray was the cladding crisis which continues to affect hundreds of thousands of residents and property owners. Originating from the Grenfell fire disaster…
Ikea is to buy the flagship Oxford Circus store occupied by Topshop in a £385m deal following the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire. It will give the Swedish furniture chain a presence at the heart of London’s shopping district amid booming demand for its products since lockdown was lifted. Topshop fell into administration last November after years of…
Nearly 15 years after a burst housing bubble tipped the world into the worst financial crisis for a century, booming property markets are triggering an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. From New Zealand to South Korea, prices are soaring. An Auckland fixer-upper, which couldn’t even boast its own toilet, changed hands for more than NZ$2m…
Thousands of homeowners are set to benefit after investor Aviva and housebuilder Persimmon Homes agreed to “landmark” commitments on leaseholds as part of the competition watchdog’s investigation into unfair practices in the sector. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Aviva – which invested in freeholds from developers – has agreed to remove ground rent…
Rishi Sunak repeatedly refused to confirm that state pensions would rise as quickly as wages this year, but insisted that the so-called triple lock was “still government policy”. With pay expected to increase by as much as 8pc as battered earnings recover from the Covid crisis, the triple lock rule would commit the Government to increasing…
