A new government-backed mortgage scheme to help people with 5% deposits get on to the housing ladder is now available to lenders. First announced at the Budget, the scheme will help first time buyers or current homeowners secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit to buy a house of up to £600,000 – providing
The number of properties offloaded by landlords fell to a seven-year low in 2020 as the coronavirus crisis meant investors had limited opportunities to sell up, research has found. Across Britain, an estimated 131,900 properties were sold by landlords in 2020, marking the smallest number since 2013, according to estate agents Hamptons. Looking just at
Thousands of crucial frontline health workers and their dependents will be granted free visa extensions. Free one-year visa extensions will be automatically granted to eligible overseas health and care workers whose visas were due to expire before 1 October 2021. Since starting the free extensions last year, the Home Office has extended the visas of
Families coming to live in the UK from Hong Kong using a new visa route will benefit from a support package worth £43 million, the Government says. New welcome hubs will help arrivals from Hong Kong to access housing, education and employment to build a life in the UK, according to the Ministry of Housing,
People have been urged to apply for a British passport to allow more time for it to be processed. The government said while it is still illegal to holiday overseas and the “Stay in the UK” regulation remains in place, by applying for a passport now, people can make sure nothing stands in their way
The overhaul of the UK’s asylum system will “punish” people seeking safety and put more lives at risk, refugees living in the country have said. As reported by PA, the Home Secretary announced “the most significant overhaul of our asylum system in decades” and people who arrive in the UK illegally will no longer have
Court fees across the civil and family jurisdictions are set to increase as the government seeks millions more to fund the service. The Ministry of Justice this week opened a consultation on a plan to increase fees by around 8% across the board – including at the Court of Protection. The income threshold for receiving
Building owners could face unlimited fines following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety, the Home Office has announced. As part of the government’s work to ensure people are safe in their homes, these limitless fines will be handed out to anyone caught obstructing or impersonating a fire inspector as well as to
Hundreds of coronavirus laws have been brought into force in the last year, amounting to some of the most sweeping powers curtailing freedoms in peacetime history. Rules on why people could leave their house, what they could do, where they could go and who they could see while being bound by orders on wearing face
Councils in England will have more freedom on how they spend the money from homes sold through Right to Buy (the sale of a council house), to help them build the homes needed in their communities, under reforms announced (20 March 2021) by Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP. The package will make it