Britain's Best Apartment

Building Management Resource

Throughout 2025 I have spent hours in meetings with and on discussion panels with institutional investors, developers and local authorities. And everything I’ve picked up on in the last year suggests that 2026 will be a crossroads for Build to Rent (BTR). The fundamentals are as strong as they have ever been. Demand for quality rental homes is intense, capital is available and the development pipeline is substantial.

A substantial apartment block in the heart of Fitzrovia in London has gone on sale for offers over £11 million.  Watling Real Estate has been instructed to sell Emerson Bainbridge House on behalf of Oliver Haunch and Hina Patel of Grant Thornton, the joint administrators of Zeba Properties Ltd. 

Property management company The FirstPort Group, which manages over 100 heat networks across the UK, has set up a dedicated Energy Team. The team will support clients in meeting the requirements introduced under the Energy Act 2023 – a landmark reform set to transform the management of communal heat networks and enhance service reliability for residents.   

Glide Property Management has appointed Matthew Strong as Senior Technical Property Manager, strengthening its national team with one of the most experienced and respected professionals in the block management industry.

Selling your home is a big life moment. It’s exciting, emotional, and, let’s be honest, a bit stressful too. One of the biggest questions sellers ask is, “What exactly am I paying an estate agent for?” With so many different selling routes available today, from traditional estate agents to online agents and fast-sale companies, it’s easy to feel unsure about which path to choose.

As part of its wide-ranging leasehold reform agenda, the government has made clear its intention to breathe life into commonhold – a model that offers flat owners ownership of all shared areas, a perpetual title and collective control over their buildings. With a new Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill on the horizon, there is an expectation that commonhold will become mandatory for all new-build flats.

With an average of 87,000 home sales taking place during the month of December, Property DriveBuy has compiled practical advice for those due to complete this festive season, a time already known for being one of the busiest and most emotionally charged periods of the year. Despite this bringing the potential for a more stressful move, the analysis also reveals that there are actually significant advantages to making the big move around Christmas. 

As government, in its imminent Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, prepares to mandate commonhold as the default tenure for new flats, one developer is already offering an alternative that balances consumer control with the impetus for change.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re a leaseholder who somehow found yourself sitting on the board of your RMC (possibly share-of-freehold) or RTM company. Welcome. You’re in the right place.

The 2025 Autumn Budget offered limited stimulus for the housing market and, persistent headwinds such as sticky inflation, higher for longer interest rates, elevated construction costs, and slow planning processes continue to impact development viability. But there are still reasons for cautious optimism. The UK economy is forecast to grow by 1.4 per cent this year.

Expert guidance for landlords on how to prepare for legal changes in the UK’s private rental sector is being offered by a leading Worcestershire estate agency.