Britain's Best Apartment Building Management Resource

New survey data shows most landlords haven't heard of the Renters' Rights Act's landlord database or ombudsman. Because every registration has to name the freeholder and the property manager, block managers are about to be drawn into a scheme many of their leaseholder-landlords don't know exists.

Three properties close by on the same road in the ever popular Moseley suburb of Birmingham are set to go under the hammer if not sold before Bond Wolfe’s upcoming auction in December. 

The Real Estate Advisory team at FRP has arranged a £1.43m heavy refurbishment bridge to convert a Grade II listed former smelting shed in Swansea into 12 apartments. The borrower plans to let the apartments on a buy-to-let basis once the works are complete.

MERA has provided a £2.6m bridging loan for the acquisition of a vacant office building in Reigate, Surrey, and intends to fund the conversion works once the scheme’s planning is finalised. The building already has consent for 37 flats, with an increase to 50 homes expected within weeks. The completed scheme has an estimated GDV of £10m.

Residential development and SME real estate specialist Lee Edwards has joined national law firm Clarke Willmott as a partner in its Southampton office. 

Commonhold reform is taking shape, but important questions remain about how it will work for homeowners, lenders and the professionals responsible for residential buildings, according to the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP). 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today published its response to a consultation on proposals to strengthen the regulatory framework for managing asbestos.

Metering and billing companies collect substantial sums from residents on behalf of communal heating schemes. But how much oversight do property managers really have over those funds? From pooled accounts and unexplained withdrawals to confusing bills and delayed payments, some industry practices deserve far greater scrutiny.

More than 250 building safety professionals came together for SertusLive 3, a day-long event in London, bringing together regulators, fire safety experts and construction leaders to explore practical solutions to some of the industry's most pressing challenges.

As a supporter of intergenerational living, I recently visited Marmalade Lane, a cohousing community in Cambridge. The residents own their homes, I am told, either under long leases in the case of the flats or freehold for the houses. They share many facilities including a community meeting space and kitchen, gardens, allotments, a children's play area and outside seating areas. These facilities are designed to be shared spaces for all residents although some of the ground floor flats and the houses have private gardens and most of the upper flats have balconies.

When a block changes drainage contractor, leaseholders may be told that the handover is complete because the files have been sent. A more useful question is whether those files explain the position the new contractor is inheriting. What has been investigated, what work has been recorded, and what still needs a decision?