Property development is an essential part of the activities of all those involved in the real estate sector, whether they are property developers or carrying out work on their own investment properties. Development can range from minor refurbishment to major alterations, through to completely new construction. Those carrying on these activities are principally subject to tax under general rules, but there are also some provisions which apply specifically to property development. Property can be developed either for commercial use, residential use or a combination of the two, such as where flats are built over commercial space at street level. There is much similarity between the issues that can arise in relation to the development of commercial and residential property but there are also differences. In any development it is also necessary to consider indirect tax issues as well as direct tax issues. This Practice Note considers the direct tax considerations which arise in particular on the development of land for residential use. This Practice Note is focused on the position of landowners

The tax treatment of real estate in the UK raises a range of tax issues for investors, covering both direct tax issues and indirect taxes, principally stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on purchase and VAT (including the recovery of input VAT on costs). While the majority of these issues apply irrespective of the use to which the property is intended to be put once developed, the typical treatments will generally differ depending on whether the real estate is intended to be used for residential purposes or otherwise. This Practice Note considers the particular indirect tax issues which arise on the development of land specifically for residential use and the direct tax issues arising in relation to such developments are considered in Practice Note: Development of residential property—direct tax considerations. The tax issues which arise where land is developed for other uses are considered in Practice Notes: Development of commercial property—direct tax considerations and Development of commercial property—indirect tax considerations. The tax considerations involved in both commercial development and residential development are compared and contrasted

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Lawyers and the companies they advise need to understand what their sanctions risks are in order to develop and implement an appropriate compliance strategy. Yet the landscape of sanctions compliance changed as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Prior to 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), most of the UK’s sanctions regimes came from the EU, in the form of EU regulations that had direct effect in Member States, with criminal sanctions and licensing regimes established by UK regulations made under the European Communities Act 1972. The UK’s domestic sanctions regimes were limited to freezing orders made (very exceptionally) under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ACSA 2001), transactional restrictions directed under the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 (CTA 2008), and counter-terrorism sanctions under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010 (TAFA 2010). Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, a UK domestic legislative framework was

Consists of the local plans and neighbourhood plans (taken as a whole) that have been adopted or approved in relation to an area, setting out the policies for the development of that area. Planning decisions must be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

This Practice Note provides a high-level overview of key UK legal and regulatory developments affecting investment funds and asset managers. It covers FCA supervisory priorities for 2026, the FCA’s final rules on enhancing fund liquidity risk management for UK UCITS schemes and NURS, the proposed reform of the UK alternative investment managers regime (AIFM) regime, including HM Treasury's draft replacement legislation and the FCA's proposed three-tier framework, FCA consultations on closed-ended investment funds, depositary reform and authorised funds holding cryptoasset exchange traded notes (cETNs), and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) updated recommendations on valuation of collective investment schemes (CIS). For more information on UK investment funds and asset management, and links to more detailed content, see: Funds and asset management—general—overview, Collective investment schemes (CIS)—overview, UK AIFM regime—overview, and UK UCITS—overview. For an overview of UK sustainable finance and environment, social and governance (ESG) issues relevant to investment funds and asset management, including on disclosure requirements and proposals for transition plans, see Practice Note: Sustainable finance

A type of planning regime operated by the Welsh Ministers for a large infrastructure project of national importance in Wales. The DNS regime provides a centralised decision-making process and is similar to the regime in England for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects under the Planning Act 2008, with some key differences.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. This timeline tracks the development of the Prospectus Regulation 2017/1129 (EU Prospectus Regulation) from 2015 and the development of the Prospectus Directive 2003/71/EC from 2015 to 2017. It also tracks the onshoring of the EU Prospectus Regulation, and the development of Retained Regulation 2017/1129 (UK Prospectus Regulation), which applies in the UK as of IP completion day (31 December 2020). Date Issuing body Document Description 2 October 2023 International Capital Market Association ICMA response to FCA Engagement Papers The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has responded to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)'s engagement papers on the new public offers and admission to trading regime that will replace the UK prospectus regime. The response was provided by ICMA primary market constituency comprised of borrowers and banks that lead-manage syndicated debt securities issues throughout Europe and beyond. Key themes from the response include institutional offerings on non-equity securities on regulated markets, sustainable finance, protected forward-looking statements (PFLS), primary

Device fingerprinting involves the collection of various information elements to produce a unique pattern for identification. Online users can be tracked by combining a number of features including: • data derived from the configuration of a device • data exposed by the use of particular network protocols • cascading style sheet information • JavaScript objects • HTTP header information • clock information • transmission control protocol stack variation • installed fonts • installed plugins within the browser • use of application programming interfaces Fingerprinting can be used as an alternative to cookies and can be passive, without any obvious querying of the machine, or active, which involves more invasive querying.

Devise refers to a gift of real property made by will. In modern UK and Irish practice it is used to describe a testamentary disposition of land or buildings, as distinct from a bequest or legacy of personal property, although many contemporary wills and statutes now use “gift” or “disposition” more generically.In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, “devise” is a traditional term recognised in succession law and conveyancing, and appears in older legislation and case law on wills and estates. It typically covers freehold or leasehold interests passing under a valid will, including where property is left to trustees on trust.In Ireland, the term is used in a similar way in wills and probate practice, and appears in the Succession Act 1965 and related case law when describing gifts of land under a will.In Scotland, succession law uses different terminology (such as “bequest” and “legacy”) and does not rely on the devise/bequest distinction, although Scottish practitioners will recognise the term when dealing with cross‑border estates or older English or Irish wills.

A devisee is a person who receives real property (land or buildings) under a will. In modern UK and Irish practice the term is largely historical and overlaps with “beneficiary”, but it still appears in older wills, case law and some commentary. Traditionally, “devise” referred to a gift of real property, so the devisee was distinguished from a “legatee”, who received personal property. That distinction has been eroded by statute and practice; many modern wills use “beneficiary” for all gifts, whether of land or personalty. In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, “devisee” may still be encountered when construing earlier instruments, dealing with title deduced from historic wills, or interpreting statutory or contractual wording that tracks older terminology. In Scotland, succession law is differently structured and the term “devisee” is not a core technical expression, though it may appear in English-influenced drafting or commentary; the functional equivalent is simply a beneficiary under a will receiving heritable property. Understanding the role of a devisee is relevant when advising on will interpretation, property succession, completion of assents or transmissions of title, and disputes over testamentary gifts of land.

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to IHT on pension death benefits: At Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024, the government announced that it will bring unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension into a person’s estate for IHT purposes from 6 April 2027. This will apply both to defined contribution and defined benefit schemes, as well as to UK registered schemes and qualifying non-UK pension schemes. A technical consultation on the implementation of these changes ran from 30 October 2024 to 22 January 2025 and the measures are brought in by Finance Act 2026. For more information, see Practice Note: Hot topic—the reform of inheritance tax on pensions and News Analyses: Unused pension funds and death benefits to be brought within the scope of inheritance tax and Autumn Budget 2024—Private Client analysis — Inheritance tax. When a person dies, they will usually have owned some assets which form part of their estate at their death, such as land, investments, cash, furniture, electronic devices etc. A grant

Devolution is the process of pushing down decision-making to lower levels within the nation-state. Specifically, it refers to the process of giving the smaller nations within the UK their own parliamentary and governmental structures. This Practice Note summarises in brief terms, the taxes which have been devolved to or which are variable by Scotland’s own law-making body, the Scottish Parliament and which may affect individuals. The Scotland Act 1998 (SA 1998) created a Scottish Parliament of 129 members (MSPs), elected on an 'additional member' system of proportional representation. The first election was held in May 1999 and the new Parliament acquired primary legislative powers on 1 July 1999. A devolved tax is a tax specified as such by SA 1998, Pt 4A. The devolved taxes are: • land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) (see LBTT below) • Scottish landfill tax (not covered further in this Practice Note) • air passenger duty from April 2018 (not covered further in this Practice Note) • the aggregates levy, once the power to devolve it is exercised (not