Cassandra Zanelli

Service Charges are close to the hearts of many of us working in the property management industry. They are the lifeblood of any development. Payments are made by leaseholders to the landlord in exchange for services and it is a reciprocal relationship - many landlords are not-for-profit resident management companies, for whom service charges are their only source of income. The services landlords are required to provide, such as repairs, cleaning, insurance and management, can only be undertaken when lea

QUESTION We are a management company. Can you please tell me if there is a summons that we can use when a private leaseholder is late, sometimes months, in not getting their annual gas boiler serviced by a Gas Safety registered engineer? It is so frustrating to keep chasing wayward leaseholders, who are in the minority. 90% of residents provide without any prompting.​   ANSWER It’s assumed that the leaseholder is renting out the property so, as a landlord, they are responsible for the safety of their t

QUESTION We are shared freeholders and want to change an unclear clause in our leases. Can we draw up a Deed of Variation ourselves, or do we have to use a solicitor? ANSWER Although it is not mandatory for you to use a solicitor to draw up a Deed of Variation, it may be pertinent to do so. It seems to me you are experiencing firsthand the difficulties that can arise from unclear drafting and it would be a shame to repeat mistakes of the past. Deeds of Variation are important documents – they bind the cu

QUESTION Approx two and a half years ago a flat was left vacant after the death of the owner. It has remained so since, we are told by the executrix due to probate matters. Standing charges are fully paid and directors keep a voluntary eye on the flat to ensure it is wind and watertight as we hold a key. I do wonder if there are legal, insurance and other complications we should be aware of? It seems that the long period of vacancy MAY be coming to an end soon. ANSWER Many thanks for your enquiry. I am p

The Right to Manage (RTM) is a popular method by which leaseholders can take responsibility for the management of their blocks. When exercising the RTM, it makes no difference if the landlord’s management has been good, bad or indifferent. However, there are certain cost implications that are overlooked by leaseholders who decide to invoke the RTM process. We aim to highlight these in this article. PRACTICAL COSTS The RTM is exercised by a limited company, not by individual leaseholders. Therefore there a

A ‘nice little earner’ could leave tenants at risk of huge damages or even losing their homes. Airbnb boasts an impressive 60 million guests, across 34,000 cities, in more than 191 countries. This equates to more than 2 million listings worldwide from hosts willing to offer, in the website’s own words, “a flat for a night, a castle for a week or a villa for a month”. In light of the number of leasehold apartments available in the UK’s housing market, many are being let via Airbnb or similar schemes.

QUESTION Can you provide some information regarding sinking funds?  Can they automatically be instituted by a head lease or must provisions be provided in the sublease?   ANSWER Many thanks for your question. It is common for leases to allow the landlord to collect sums of money from leaseholders to create a sinking fund. This allows sums of money to be built up, which will then be used to cover the costs of irregular and expensive works.  The process avoids the “spikes” that would otherwise occur when th

QUESTION Please could you let me know if I have to pay the management company to extend the Lease of my flat when I own a share of the freehold? ANSWER Many thanks for your query. Leases are extended either by private treaty (i.e. agreement between the parties) or pursuant to statute. Subject to meeting the qualifying criteria, you are entitled to extend your Lease by following the procedure laid out under the 1993 Act. This does require the payment of a premium, although premiums can vary wildly dependin

QUESTION Could you please let me know if more than one Section 20 Notice can be issued in any financial year without contravening the regulations. We would like to amend our RA constitution to reflect our current ways of working, as the existing one has not been adhered to for several years (5 – 8). Any advice would be very welcome. We would like to adopt a simpler more modern way of working. ANSWER Section 20 (of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985) relates to consultation for either major works or qualifying

QUESTION I have an RPI Lease which has an annual ground rent more than 0.1% of the capital value which is now not approved of by Nationwide.  Is this likely to cause me a problem in the future? ANSWER Many thanks for your enquiry. Due to the rapidly developing nature of the issue - and with further changes afoot - it is very difficult to provide a definitive answer as to whether or not the ground rent escalation clause in your lease is likely to cause a problem for you in the future.  Back in May Nationwi

QUESTION I would be most grateful if you could give me some advice/information.   Currently I live in a converted house, there are four flats which are all owner occupied and we own the freehold between us.   Two of the flat owners want to have a management company and two do not want a management company for a variety of reasons.  Despite a lot of discussion on the issue, we are now at an impasse and there is a feeling that one party will not rest until they get their way to having a Management Company.

QUESTION We wonder if you could advise us on the following. We have a situation of a lessee who is now permanently in a care home with the power of attorney vested in three people, his son, his daughter and a lifelong friend.  The son and daughter both live in the USA and intend to rent out the flat. The lease is ambiguous with regard to sub-letting stating only: “Not to assign underlet or part with the possession of part only of the said flat”. Regardless of this, a number of flats are already sub-let. W