— Notes from the practice

Insights & notes.

Editorial writing from the practice on Red Book methodology, the tax process, and the way commercial property is actually valued in 2026.

Volume I
2026 · ongoing
Eight pieces · published quarterly
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The archive.

— Vol. I · 8 pieces
№ 08 Jul 2026

Sold for less than probate: reclaiming the tax.

When estate property sells below its date-of-death value, the inheritance tax on the difference can often be recovered. How loss on sale of land relief works, and the traps that quietly cancel it.

Tax · 8 min E. TaylorAssocRICS
№ 07 Jun 2026

Valuing backwards: a property as at a past date.

For capital gains tax the relevant value often sits years in the past. How a defensible figure is reconstructed as at 1982, April 2015, or the day a property changed hands.

Tax · 9 min E. TaylorAssocRICS
№ 06 Jun 2026

When the rent can’t be agreed: arbitrator or expert?

Most rent reviews settle. The ones that don’t are decided by an arbitrator or an independent expert, and which one you get shapes the case.

Commercial · 7 min J. BerlinRent review
№ 05 Jun 2026

Upward-only rent reviews: what they really do.

An upward-only clause stops the rent falling, but it does not force it up. What that means for landlords and tenants, and where the figure is really decided.

Commercial · 6 min J. BerlinRent review
№ 04 Jun 2026

Can your pension buy your business premises?

A SIPP or SSAS can own the commercial property your business trades from. Done properly it is one of the most efficient structures in UK tax.

Pensions · 8 min E. TaylorAssocRICS
№ 03 Mar 2026

The District Valuer’s eye: defending a probate figure.

Most probate valuations pass through HMRC without incident. Some don’t. What a DV referral actually looks like.

Tax · 8 min E. TaylorAssocRICS
№ 02 Feb 2026

Yields are moving. So is the evidence.

One percentage point on a yield is the difference between two valuations. In a moving market, the evidence behind the figure matters.

Commercial · 6 min J. BerlinCommercial
№ 01 Jan 2026

Why we still inspect every property ourselves.

There is a version of valuation that never requires anyone to leave their desk. This is not the one we practise, and this is why.

Method · 5 min The PracticeEditorial
— Editorial policy

Writing that earns its place.

We only publish when there’s something worth saying. Every piece is written by a director of the practice, drawn from real instructions, and meant to be genuinely useful rather than to fill a page.

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