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Following the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire, Dame Judith Hackitt was appointed to carry out an independent review of building regulations and fire safety in England. In her ‘Building a Safer Future’ report, Dame Judith identified a range of areas that required reforming.    As part of the implementation of these reforms, the government introduced the Building Safety Act 2022 - paving the way for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to establish a new regulator for building safety: The Building Safet

Property management specialist Kingston has appointed Paul Carter as its new Managing Director to drive forward the continual growth of the business.  Paul took up his new role this month at the Newcastle-based company, firmly established as one of the North of England’s leading leasehold block and estate management firms. Kingston manages a wide range of developments across the North East, Cumbria and Yorkshire regions with further growth into other geographical areas anticipated in the future. It also h

Birmingham-based estate management firm MetroPM has integrated the block management portfolio of Nick Plotnek Associates. Matthew Arnold, managing director of MetroPM, said: “Nick Plotnek Associates specialises in lease extensions, purchase of freehold and acquisitions, along with block and estate management.  “Having managed several of the estates for some 30 years, Nick Plotnek has taken the decision to focus on lease extensions and freehold purchase, transferring the block management portfolio to Metro

The deverellsmith group, London based recruitment & talent solutions partner for the property industry, announced that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Daisy Chain. Daisy Chain is an online platform where professionals can match + connect with flexible employers to enhance their careers and work-life balance. Originally, the platform focused on supporting returning parents (specifically mums) to find work whilst being able to balance childcare and employment. The platform now supports an

Principle Estate Management has won a prestigious contract to look after a world-famous skyscraper in London that was once named “The Lipstick” by former prime minister Boris Johnson. Strata SE1 is a 44-storey building which stands at Elephant and Castle, in the London Borough of Southwark, and has more than 1,000 residents living in its 408 apartments. At the time of its construction in 2010, the 147-metre property was London’s tallest residential building and the first building in the world to have thre

Startling new research, commissioned by Japanese Knotweed Specialists, part of the Grounds Care Group, has revealed that the majority of UK homeowners would consider concealing the presence of Knotweed when selling their property.  A survey of 3,000 homeowners, the largest of its kind in the UK, uncovered that only 49% of homeowners would disclose the presence of Knotweed on their property when selling.   Japanese Knotweed is the most invasive plant in Britain and one that can cause significant damage to

Roughly one in five people who request an online valuation go on to sell according to data from instant online valuation specialists, The ValPal Network. Data insights show that the average sales cycle from the point of requesting an online valuation (via ValPal), to completing on the Land Registry is 220 days, while properties in the W postcode sell the fastest in just 198 days. 62 days on the market according to Rightmove, and a whopping 135 days for the finance and conveyancing process according to dat

Birmingham-based MetroPM has been appointed to manage a mixed-use development in the Jewellery Quarter. The new appointment is to manage the historic The Million Pen Building which now houses 21 luxury apartments and four commercial units. Ian Smallman, director of MetroPM, said: “Million Pen is a Grade II listed building at 3-5 Legge Lane which was originally built in 1893 as a steel pen manufacturer. “This historic building has been sensitively developed to showcase its original features while bringing

Peabody will apply a 20 percent social value weighting to its scoring criteria when awarding contracts to suppliers, after a successful two-year trial. The move means organisations tendering for Peabody’s business need to demonstrate a clear benefit to residents and communities, as well as delivering on quality and value for money. Peabody estimates the trial generated £20-million-worth of social, economic and environmental benefits for communities, and it will now apply the 20 percent social value weight

At a recent Board Meeting of The Property Institute (TPI) on 10th February, it was agreed that Dr Nigel Glen would stand down as Executive Chair. Nigel played a pivotal role in the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), as its former CEO, and following ARMA’s merger with the Institute of Residential Property Managers (IRPM) in 2022, as the Executive Chair of The Property Institute. During his time at ARMA and TPI Nigel has overseen ARMA and TPI’s input on many policy goals and initiatives incl

Yorkshire estate agency, North Residential has appointed property expert, Liz Dennison to its management team with a view to setting up a presence and growing market share in the Northallerton region. The news comes just six months after the team at North Residential moved to become independent of Knight Frank in Harrogate and more recently expanded into Pocklington as part of ambitious growth plans. Liz brings over 30 years’ experience in the Yorkshire residential property market and was previously head

PropTech boss, Neil Cobbold, has called on landlords worried about the upcoming compliance burden they are facing due to legislative changes in the PRS to consider using letting agents to protect themselves and their properties. Cobbold, Managing Director of client accounting and automated rental payment specialists PayProp UK, believes the current raft of proposed measures set to affect the PRS this year will be followed by further reforms. He said: “No matter which party wins the next election, reformin