The company claims the HS2 railway has rejected nearly half of applications by homeowners who want to sell their houses . Of the requests made under the " need to sell " scheme , 151 ( 48 % ) were turned down , with 101 more pending . New rules were introduced last year requiring a " compelling " reason for a sale , such as ill health or a new job , and evidence that HS2 is preventing a successful sale . This replaced the previous regime , which required homeowners to prove " exceptional hardship " and was criticised as being too stringent , with 65 % of applications turned down .
The company building the HS2 railway has rejected nearly half of applications by homeowners who want to sell their houses. Of 317 requests made under the "need to sell" scheme, 151 (48%) were turned down, with 101 decisions pending. New rules were introduced last year requiring a "compelling" reason for a sale, such as ill health or a new job, and evidence that HS2 is preventing a successful sale. This replaced the previous regime, which required homeowners to prove "exceptional hardship" and was criticised as being too stringent, with 65% of applications turned down.