Monmouthshire Building Society, one of Wales’s largest and most successful financial institutions, has opened an agency in the Caerphilly offices of Howells Solicitors.

Located at 72 – 74 Cardiff Road in the town centre, the Caerphilly agency is the latest addition to the growing number of Monmouthshire Building Society agencies and branches covering the whole of South Wales from Chepstow to Swansea.

Andrew Lewis, Chief Executive of Monmouthshire Building Society, said, “As a regional building society, we remain committed to providing the best possible customer experience and part of that commitment is to maintain our planned growth strategy to increase our high street presence.”

He continued, “Howells Solicitors are one of the largest, established legal practices in Wales. We are delighted to be joining forces with them in their Caerphilly premises to further extend our competitive products and services into local communities.”

Mark Hobbs, Managing Partner of Howells Solicitors welcomes the addition of Monmouthshire Building Societies products and services. He said, “Both organisations pride themselves on providing the highest levels of customer service. We have had an office in the town for over 30 years and established strong relationships with the residents. We are delighted to now be able to offer the products and services of the Monmouthshire Building Society as an alternative to those provided by the high street banks. We have dedicated space in our Caerphilly office for Monmouthshire Building Society and our staff are very excited about launching the new services.”

The Newport-based mutual Society recently announced another excellent set of annual results, in which its assets grew to a record £819M, up from £742M the previous year. In the twelve months to 30th April 2012, it experienced 10.3% growth, whilst profit after tax reached £2.7m, as customers continued to respond to the Society’s secure track record, quality of service and competitive product range.

In the picture are Mark Hobbs, Managing Partner of Howells Solicitors with Richard Miles, General Manager of Monmouthshire Building Society, outside the Howells Solicitors practice in Caerphilly.

With Olympic and Paralympic fever creating a British summer which will long be remembered, the government are determined to build upon the goodwill and stimulate the economy with a proposed relaxation of planning rules.

Along with the proposal for the planning rules for domestic extensions and businesses to be relaxed, plans have also been introduced which might enable developers and national house builders to develop sites without the obligation of creating affordable housing. This proposal will work on the proviso that the developer can prove that the development of affordable housing might make the site commercially unviable.

The thinking behind this proposal is simple. The government is working on the premise that the easier it is for people to extend their homes, the more likely they are to do so. It is hoped this will create a welcome boost to the construction trade, which will inevitably lead to more jobs, an increased spend on materials to furnish these extensions and an additional tax income through the extra VAT.

In theory the proposals sound foolproof, but Mark Hobbs, a senior partner in the residential conveyancing department of Howells Solicitors, believes that despite the existence of much bureaucracy and red tape at present, the changes will only spark a moderate level of activity.

Mr Hobbs, said: “Generally speaking, full planning permission is required for extensions which are more than three metres from the rear wall of any property or four metres if the property is detached. The intention is for these limits to be doubled.

“Although this will doubtless be a big help to some people, from a legal perspective the area still remains a complicated one. All too often the residential conveyancing team here at Howells has to deal with problems which arise when a property is sold and all of the relevant permissions are not in place. Aside from that the need for building regulation approval will remain as well as the requirement for all electrical and gas installations to be up to relevant standards.”

There is also concern amongst residential conveyancing solicitors that the new proposals could result in an increase of disputes with neighbours, as the legislation which dictates how close to a neighbour’s boundaries a property can be developed is not likely to change. The advice from Howells is that it is always sensible and courteous to discuss any developments you wish to carry out with your neighbours first.

If the government’s proposals get the go-ahead then the advice from the residential conveyancing solicitors here at Howells, is to seek professional advice before embarking on any alterations to your home. A little time and money spent at the beginning of such a transaction can reap significant rewards in the long term.

Taken from our interview in an article in Wales Homes on Saturday 4th August 2011...

An announcement made this week will be music to the ears of prospective homebuyers, who stand to make an average saving of 10% as result of a reduction in Land Registry fees.

The cut in the cost of fees, which will take effect from October 22, means Land Registry fees when purchasing an averaged priced property costing £161,777, will fall from £218 to £204.

A Land Registry spokesman has announced that a reduction in the fees they are required to pay has allowed them to pass on savings to homebuyers.

He said: “We are lowering scale and fixed fees for applications relating to every statutory service. The alteration aims to ensure the Land Registry becomes a smaller, leaner, flexible, customer focused and sustainable organisation that is needed to deliver our objectives in a changing market.”

Mark Hobbs, managing partner and conveyancing solicitor at Cardiff-based Howells Solicitors, has responded enthusiastically to the news: “This is positive news for house purchasers. While the average saving may not be large, anything that reduces the cost involved of purchasing a property is helpful in the current climate. It would be great news if the Government considered reintroducing a period of stamp duty suspension for first-time buyers as well.”

A fee currently has to be paid on the purchase of any property in the UK, as the property transaction has to be registered at HM Land Registry. The fee charged for this service is determined on a sliding scale based upon the property’s value. Once the purchase has been registered you can then expect to receive a copy of the register from your solicitor or conveyancer as evidence that the transaction has been properly registered.

For further information on this or any other matter relating to the purchase of a property, please do not hesitate to contact our expert legal team. For expert conveyancing, South Wales based Howells Solicitors are on hand. Call 0808 178 2773 today.

Buying a property and getting married are two of the major landmarks for couples as they progress through their lives. With the average age that couples are marrying on the rise, more and more people are jointly buying a property as unmarried partners. It is also becoming more common that individuals are contributing unequal deposits towards the property.

Laith Khatib, one of the leading solicitors here at Howells, says that some parties will often receive financial assistance from parents, which can lead to unequal contributions towards the property.

In the unfortunate event that an unmarried couple splits, each party is entitled to walk away with their own assets. This is of course unlike the separation of a married couple, where the division of jointly owned assets is dealt with according to divorce proceedings.

Mr Khatib, said: “If there is a disagreement, it is possible to ask a court to determine their rights, but that will be time-consuming, costly and stressful. The outcome of court proceedings will depend upon the unique facts of a particular case. However, the starting point for a court is always: where there is joint ownership, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, there is a presumption of equality.

“Consequently, if there is no evidence of an agreement to own the property in unequal shares, the partner who contributes the most may ultimately lose out. Similarly, half of any contribution made by a parent may end up with their child’s ex-partner.”

The advice the professionals at Howells give to unmarried couples buying a property with unequal contributions is to enter into a declaration of trust. A declaration of trust allows individuals to set out their respective shares in the property and to protect their own interests, as well as those of their parents. Such a provision should be put in place prior to the property being purchased, although it may be possible to do so after the event.

Mr Khatib added: “It is also a good idea to use a declaration of trust as an intention of equal ownership in the event of unequal contributions towards the purchase. With such an agreement in place, if the relationship were to break down then equal ownership would be honoured, irrespective of which party has made a bigger contribution.

“Also, if the party making the larger contribution dies or becomes incapable, those dealing with his/her estate will be bound by the declaration.”

To view the article please click here WHO cover July 28 2012.pdf (2.36 mb)

If you have found this article of interest and are yourself in a situation where you are contributing unequally to a property you are buying with an unmarried partner, call Mr Khatib at Howells Solicitors for a free initial consultation. Call 029 2040 4034 today.

I was disappointed to read the comments attributed to Theo Huckle QC the Welsh Governments Chief Legal Advisor upon the topic of Employment Tribunal Fees.

I believe it has been widely reported that the number of claims issued to the Industrial Tribunals has risen significantly in recent years and in my experience, both as the Managing Partner of a local Law Firm and as an Employer, the current system is too prone to spurious claims.

Presently any individual who feels that they may have a grievance can submit a claim to an Industrial Tribunal without it costing them a penny. The Employer is then left with the prospect of potentially spending a significant amount of time, money or both in dealing with such a claim. Many of the Employer Clients that we represent believe that it is not commercially viable to defend a claim as in so doing a considerable amount of time has to be spent in preparing and filing documentation and then attending the actual hearing itself. Furthermore there is the stress and strain of dealing with the proceedings and the fact that the case may be reported in the local press regardless of the outcome. At the end of the proceedings the Employee or former Employee then walks away from the hearing without any liability whatsoever. Frequently therefore even if the Employer feels as if they have done nothing wrong a commercial decision has to be made and invariably it is more cost effective to make a payment to an Applicant than it is to contest the proceedings. Such an outcome is hardly fair on any Employer, increases the cost of the business and prevents Employers from taking on additional staff. Mr Huckle should also bear in mind that fees have to be paid by a Claimant who wishes to bring an action for debt, breach of contract, negligence etc in the County Court and the new regulations will only bring the Employment Tribunal into line.

The current system is therefore in my view biased in favour of the Applicant who to all intents and purposes has nothing to loose by filing a claim. Further Employee or former Employee knows of the inconvenience that they will be putting the Employer to and they may be optimistic about the chances of getting something for their troubles.

Such a system does not seem to be fair or appropriate and the proposals that have been outlined will provide a much fairer platform for commerce.

Mr Huckle should bear in mind that with the economy in its current delicate state Employers should have every opportunity of flexibility and economy in their workforce and the new proposals will only assist in that regard in my opinion.

As has been specified many Claimants will be exempt from the new rules and furthermore there are many law firms who are prepared to take on good claims on a contingency (no win no fee) basis and that will undoubtedly continue which will help Employees with justified cases to make a claim and eradicate the claims with no substance – thus helping both parties.