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Andy Hill, the founder and Group Chief Executive of award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group, formally received his OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) at an investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, July 11th, in the same week as the company’s 24th anniversary. Earlier in 2023, Andy was named in His Majesty King Charles III’s first New Year's Honours List for services to Affordable Housing, an area of the housebuilding industry where The Hill Group has been a pioneering presen

Introduction The new legislation for the Building Safety Act has very honourable intentions, but unfortunately it has confused Property Managers, with some Managing Agents refusing to take on new buildings that are ‘in scope’ of the Regulations. This may be due to a lack of understanding on a simplistic level of what needs to be done when it may not be necessary for a Property Manager to get ‘stuck’ in the depths of the legislative requirements – while I am not a specialist consultant on this subject myse

Almost half (47%) of project professionals working across the built environment believe skills shortages could impact the delivery of projects intended to deliver a social benefit, new research by the Association for Project Management (APM) has found. APM has launched its ‘Future Lives and Landscapes’ campaign to help identify and overcome challenges facing projects intended to deliver societal benefits across the UK, now and in the future. Working with research company Censuswide, APM surveyed 1,000 pro

Growing estate management company Preim, has welcomed a whole host of new hires and internal promotions, boosting its number of estate management staff across the business.   Preim has upskilled its existing workforce but also welcomed fresh faces from around the country, embracing remote working to support the growing geographical reach of the estates it manages.  The increase in staff numbers will ensure Preim’s estate management team can support the company’s growth, allowing it to continue to de

QUESTION I live on the first floor of an apartment building. My neighbours above and below me are constantly playing loud music after 11pm at night. I have previously reported this to the property management company and they asked me to try to speak to the neighbour myself to resolve the issue. I live alone and do not feel comfortable approaching them about the noise by myself.  It is almost every evening. Is there anything else I can do or what would be the best course of action?   ANSWER Within residen

UK residential renters want landlords and property managers to demonstrate their green credentials, with close to three-quarters deeming it important and close to half considering it a deal-breaker when choosing to rent a property, according to research from MRI Software, a global leader in real estate technology solutions. MRI’s Rental Housing Trends and Preferences report, based on a survey of more than 2,000 UK renters, also revealed that nearly four-fifths want to own their own property eventually, on

The winners for the Enfranchisement & Right to Manage Awards were announced at our glamorous awards ceremony on 6th July 2023 at The Royal Horseguards. The ceremony was hosted by Magician Ben Hanlin, and attended by more than 230 individuals from across the sector.  We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the winners, highly commended winners and finalists.  We are extremely grateful to our judges for all of their time, effort, commitment and continued support. Of course, we also wan

The Building Safety Act is making huge changes to the industry, and agents are worried. That’s what Fixflo discovered when it asked them what they wanted to know about building safety. The repairs and maintenance specialist received so many questions at its first building safety webinar in June that it has arranged another one for July.  The live event will see Nigel Glen, Non-Executive Director, Emeria, Dorian Lawrence, Managing Director, FR Consultants, and Shaun Lundy, Director of Strategy and Innovati

Recently launched Build to rent operator MYAH has selected Spike’s resident engagement portal, Spike Living, to be its core technology solution thanks to its successful track record in creating communities and streamlining operational processes. MYAH, which stands for ‘Make Yourself at Home’ has worked with Spike to create the MYAH app, a white labelled version of its Spike Living portal. This will provide residents with a one-stop app helping them to stay better connected and allow staff to manage enquir

Four staff who started at Principle Estate Management back in 2021 have graduated with flying colours from their apprenticeship programmes. Principle, headquartered in Birmingham but with offices in London and a property portfolio across the UK, invested in the staff development via Protocol Consultancy Services. Stephanie Jobson, operations director of Principle, explained that all four apprentices would now be continuing their development by working through the ranks of the Institute of Residential Prop

With stricter building safety regulations, net zero obligations and shrinking profit margins piling on top of block managers’ usual duties, there’s no doubt that it’s a challenging time to work in the industry. To discuss how we can tackle these challenges with resilience, intelligence, and optimism, Fixflo gathered nine directors and CEOs of major firms for a roundtable. They professionally filmed the session and the recording is available now. From service pricing to the opportunities of AI, the group c

ELM Group is celebrating the significant savings it has negotiated for the gas contract at one of its retirement properties located in Barnes, London. Last month, the retirement property management company secured a 65% saving on its previous annual contract costing residents over £92,000. The new figure equates to a saving of over £60,000 over the course of the next two years. The not-for-profit company has released this information as part of its regular estate review which it uses to identify opportuni