Cohabitees’ Property – All Clear Now? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted February 8th, 2012 in appeals, cohabitation, mortgages, news by sally

“It is only a short time ago since the House of Lords was asked to consider the issue of beneficial interests of an unmarried couple in Stack v Dowden. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Jones v Kernott highlights again the ongoing problems that can arise when unmarried couples separate and there is no clear agreement as to the ownership of their property interests.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd February 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

New mortgage lending rules set out by FSA – BBC News

Posted December 19th, 2011 in financial regulation, mortgages, news by tracey

“New rules to stop a resurgence in risky mortgage lending are likely to be imposed in 2013 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).”

Full story

BBC News, 19th December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ministers to decide on ‘missing’ people law change – BBC News

Posted December 1st, 2011 in missing persons, mortgages, news, select committees by sally

“Ministers will decide by next April whether to change the law on missing people in England and Wales.”

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BBC News, 30th November 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judgment of the Supreme Court in Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 14th, 2011 in cohabitation, mortgages, news by sally

“How should the court approach the determination of the beneficial interests in a property acquired in joint names by an unmarried couple? The Court of Appeal had held the decision of the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden did not allow the court to impute to the parties an intention that they would divide their beneficial interest in their property fairly. The Supreme Court revisited the decision in Stack v Dowden and disagreed with the Court of Appeal: If the presumption of joint beneficial ownership is rebutted, the court can, in the absence of finding any intention as to the shares, impute to the parties an intention that their beneficial interest would be divided in a manner that the court considers fair.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 9th November 2011

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Cohabitees’ property rights: still as clear as mud – The Guardian

Posted November 10th, 2011 in cohabitation, mortgages, news, precedent, Supreme Court by sally

“The Jones v Kernott judgment does little to resolve the grey area of ex-cohabitees’ entitlements to a share in their former home.”

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The Guardian, 10th November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jones v Kernott – WLR Daily

Posted November 10th, 2011 in cohabitation, law reports, mortgages, Supreme Court by sally

Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53; [2011] WLR (D) 321

“When a cohabiting couple bought a family home in their joint names and were both responsible for the mortgage, but without any express declaration as to their beneficial interests, the starting point was that equity followed the law so that the presumption was that they were joint tenants both in law and in equity. That presumption could be displaced by showing that the parties had a different common intention at the time when they acquired the home or that they later formed a common intention that their respective shares would change. Their common intention was to be deduced objectively from their conduct. If it was clear that the parties did not intend joint tenancy at the outset or had changed their original intention, but it was not possible to ascertain, whether by direct evidence or by inference, what their actual intention was as to the shares in which they owned the property, each was entitled to that share which the court considered fair, having regard to the whole course of the dealing between them in relation to the property.”

WLR Daily, 9th November 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Lawyers call for couples law reform – The Independent

Posted November 9th, 2011 in cohabitation, mortgages, news, Supreme Court by tracey

” Lawyers called today for new legislation on ‘co-habiting couples’ after the UK’s highest court ruled that a man who left his partner nearly 20 years ago was not entitled to half the value of the house they shared.”

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The Independent, 9th November 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Court rules on property rights for unmarried couples – The Guardian

Posted November 9th, 2011 in cohabitation, mortgages, news by tracey

“The property rights of millions of unmarried couples who split up have been clarified by a supreme court judgment that has awarded the overwhelming share of a bungalow in Essex to the woman.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fenland District Council v Sheppard and others – WLR Daily

Posted November 8th, 2011 in insolvency, law reports, mortgages by sally

Fenland District Council v Sheppard and others [2011] EWHC 2829 (Ch); [2011] WLR (D) 316

“In making a vesting order, pursuant to section 320 of the Insolvency Act 1986, in favour of a statutory chargee whose charge ranked in priority to the mortgagees’ charge over the property, the court was not bound to set aside the mortgagees’ charge where the mortgagees did not themselves apply for a vesting order. Such an order would not effectively benefit only the mortgagees by extinguishing the statutory charge if it could be shown that the statutory chargee intended to preserve the benefit of its charge, or that the extinguishment of its charge would be against the statutory chargee’s interests, in which case there would be a presumption against extinguishment.”

WLR Daily, 3rd November 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Valuers Breathe Sigh of Relief – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted September 28th, 2011 in mortgages, negligence, news, valuation by sally

“Since the early 1990s it has been common place for ‘the ordinary domestic householder purchasing his own home’ to pursue the valuer contracted by the prospective mortgagee for negligent over-valuation.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 19th September 2011

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Mortgage lenders cut lists of ‘approved’ solicitors for conveyancing – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2011 in conveyancing, mortgages, news, solicitors by sally

“As if finding a property, saving for a deposit and passing credit and salary checks weren’t enough for would-be homebuyers, lenders have thrown in a new issue: your solicitor. An increasing number of borrowers are finding that their lender will not work with the law firm they have chosen to do their conveyancing – a situation that is reducing consumer choice and can add costs, hassle and delay to the homebuying process. And the problem is likely to grow.”

Full story

The Guardian, 2nd September 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Swift 1st Ltd v Colin and others – WLR Daily

Posted July 29th, 2011 in land registration, law reports, mortgages, sale of land by tracey

Swift 1st Ltd v Colin and others [2011] WLR (D)  262

“The holder of a charge over a property had full power of sale under the Law of Property Act 1925 irrespective of the fact that the charge had not been substantially registered. All that was required to exercise that power was for the mortgage to have been executed by deed.”

WLR Daily, 27th July 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bank of Scotland plc v Zinda – WLR Daily

Posted June 27th, 2011 in appeals, law reports, mortgages, repossession by sally

Bank of Scotland plc v Zinda [2011 EWCA Civ 706; [2011] WLR (D) 208

“An agreement between the mortgagor and mortgagee consolidating the unpaid instalments leading up to a suspended possession order and the future mortgage instalments thereby enlarging the total amount of loan did not have the effect of creating a new contract of loan displacing the original contract of loan. Nor did the agreement affect the survival of the suspended possession order entitling the mortgagee to take immediate possession of the mortgaged property without any further order based on the new contract.”

WLR Daily, 23rd June 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Home owners receive compensation after they were sold mortgages they couldn’t afford – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 22nd, 2011 in banking, compensation, financial regulation, fines, mortgages, news by sally

“Home owners who were sold mortgages during the property boom that they couldn’t afford are to be given compensation following a ruling by the City watchdog.”

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd February 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Housing and legal bodies warn of ‘dire consequences’ from new mortgage rules – The Guardian

Posted November 17th, 2010 in financial regulation, housing, mortgages, news by sally

“A coalition of the UK’s leading housing and legal organisations have written to Chancellor George Osborne warning of ‘dire consequences’ for homebuyers and the building industry if Financial Service Authority proposals for mortgage regulation are implemented.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010

Posted April 9th, 2010 in legislation, mortgages, repossession by sally

Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 published

Full text of Act (PDF)

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Wife wins mortgage appeal after husband’s affair – The Independent

Posted March 25th, 2010 in appeals, matrimonial home, mortgages, news, repossession, undue influence by sally

“A wife who signed a joint remortgage with her husband while he was having an affair will no longer have to meet her repayments, the Court of Appeal ruled today.”

Full story

The Independent, 24th March 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bradford & Bingley plc v Ashcroft – WLR Daily

Posted March 12th, 2010 in appeals, debts, law reports, limitations, mortgages by sally

Bradford & Bingley plc v Ashcroft [2010] EWCA Civ 223; [2010] WLR (D) 74

 “There was no need to re-analyse a part-payment of a mortgage debt or to put a gloss on it in terms of acknowledgment for the purposes of calculating whether or not the limitation period had expired because s 29(5) of the Limitation Act 1980 made provision for a freestanding mechanism for the computation of time.”

WLR Daily, 11th March 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Angel Solicitors (a Firm) v Jenkins O’Dowd & Barth (a Firm) – Times Law Reports

Posted March 10th, 2009 in enforcement, jurisdiction, law reports, mortgages, solicitors by sally

Angel Solicitors (a Firm) v Jenkins O’Dowd & Barth (a Firm)

Chancery Division

“Where solicitors were in breach of their undertakings to redeem or discharge existing mortgages and charges over property being sold, the court was not required to conduct an inquiry as to the loss suffered by the addressee of the undertakings as the result of their breach.”

The Times, 10th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Banks gear up for legal battle as era of the free mortgage approaches – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 4th, 2009 in banking, mortgages, news by sally

“Banks are gearing up for a legal battle ahead of tomorrow’s interest rate decision, which could mean they owe borrowers money.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 3rd February 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk