Plain-English guides to buying, selling, renting and owning property in England: the contracts, the paperwork and the rights behind them.
Owning property comes with protections that are easy to miss until something goes wrong. These are the ones our readers ask about most.
Once your ownership is registered at HM Land Registry, the register is the proof of title, and the state pays compensation if it is wrong through no fault of yours.
Title registers and plans are public. Before exchange you can check who owns the land, which charges are secured on it and what covenants bind it.
Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, an adjoining owner who plans certain works to a shared wall or close to your foundations has to serve notice first.
If you own a flat on a lease, you can ask for a summary of the costs behind your service charge and apply to the First-tier Tribunal if a charge is unreasonable.
Many owners of long leases may claim a lease extension or join neighbours to buy the freehold, subject to qualifying rules.
Light received through a window without interruption for twenty years can become a legal right that later building work must respect.
Buying a home in England is not just about agreeing a price. The real process begins after your offer is accepted and ends only when contracts are exchanged, money is transferred, and the keys are handed over. Understanding each stage helps you avoid delays, reduce risk, and make better decisions at the moments that matter […]
I’ve lost count of the number of times a client has looked at a search result and said, “But the house looked fine when we viewed it.” That’s exactly the point. Property searches are not about what you can see—they’re about what you can’t. They sit at the heart of due diligence in an English […]
When you start looking at property in England, one of the first distinctions you’ll encounter is between freehold and leasehold. It’s not just a label on the title register—it dictates your control over the property, your ongoing costs, how long your ownership lasts, and what you can do with the place. I’ve seen buyers fixate […]
