Planning permission is now needed to change a family house or flat into a shared letting property.

New national regulations that have just come in mean that anyone wanting to let their home to three or more unrelated people will need to apply for permission from the Council. Investment landlords looking to buy more student properties will also be affected.

The regulations will affect anyone who is planning to let their property to three or more people on a shared basis in the future, although will not affect the properties that are already let in this manner.

Land Conversion

Values for arable land in the UK recently hit new highs of GBP 5,000 and in some case GBP 6,000 per acre. But with possibly 15 houses being able to be built on an acre, this is nothing compared with the GBP 250,000 that you can expect to pay for an acre of land with planning permission in one of the cheaper regions of the UK. In the South East this could be over GBP 1m and in London GBP 3m per acre is not uncommon. The same holds true for other land uses, like industrial, retail and commercial, but with different figures applying. So if you have any land, anywhere, 'converting' its present use to a higher value use could make you considerably richer.

In this day and age, we have no choice but to be more environmentally aware, after all, global warming is something that will affect future generations. Policymakers and eco-friendly campaigners have done a sound job in bringing environmental issues to the fore and making recycling easier. With the rising cost of landfill and the knowledge that in some areas of the US approximately 30% of all landfill waste derives from the demolition and construction of property, there is a growing trend for more ecologically-friendly building practices. One such practice that is on the increase is "deconstruction".

A new way of letting council and housing association homes in Plymouth called Devon Home Choice will be introduced on Wednesday 13 January.

Plymouth City Council has been advertising homes to let to give customers more choice for the past three years, but has now joined a partnership of all local councils in Devon.

Under Devon Home Choice, council and housing association homes available for rent will be advertised on the internet, in newsletters and on digital TV.

People with applications on the new Devon Home Choice housing register will be able to bid each week for up to three homes that meet their needs. From all the bids, the successful person or family will be the one who is eligible, has the highest housing need and has been waiting the longest.

New Train Lines mean potential areas for Property Investors to invest in the UK

Are you looking to invest in property or looking to buy for the next 10 years and want a chance for your property to grow in value over the coming years more than others?

Then start investigating and watching what happens to the following areas which according to the BBC have been earmarked for researching whether old railway networks will be brought back to life.

Many people may be wondering if England is still a healthy and vibrant place in terms of property and real estate investment. If England is still highly investable and can still offer good returns on investment in the future, then you will more than likely be wondering where the best investments can be found. Have you heard about the English partnerships redevelopments projects? Read on.

City residents whose Council homes will shortly transfer to Plymouth Community Homes are being invited to bid for a share of the Money Tree Fund which will be handing out £2 million in its first year.