Following negotiations between the Government and the insurance industry, proposals published last year stated that the most valuable properties (categorized as Council Tax Band H) will not qualify for the obligation on insurers to provide flood-risk cover.
For owners who fall into this category, Victoria Davies, a property lawyer at Harbottle & Lewis (020-7667 5000) has these recommendations. ‘Owners could undertake works to reduce the impact of flooding and ask insurers to take such measures into account in their quotations.
‘Flood Risk Reports (which insurers use) are often generated automatically, so check to see whether it takes into account any recent improvements to flood defences. We have experience of a buyer providing more up-to-date information, which allowed the purchase to go ahead where the previous risk profile had put mortgage funding in jeopardy.'
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Defanging the Gardens Trust will hurt our most precious landscapesThe Government has proposed to remove the Garden Trust's position as a statutory consultee in planning permissions for up to 1,700 historic landscapes and gardens in order to speed up building.
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A new gilded age: Sir David Attenborough christens a rare golden eagletThe first golden eagle to fledge from the nest of a translocated bird has been rewarded with a name selected by Sir David Attenborough.
