Featured Articles

Scores of landlords and block managers may have unwittingly overlooked their new legal responsibility to ensure fire door safety throughout smaller residential buildings and are running out of time to take action, according to property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood. The Fire Safety Act 2021, which followed the Grenfell Tower tragedy and commenced in May 2022, clarifies the scope of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) to help improve fire safety in multi-occupancy domestic premise

A demolished pub’s site in West Bromwich has been sold to a developer planning a retail unit and 60 new-build apartments, thanks to commercial property agency Bond Wolfe. Contracts have now been exchanged for the £1,070,000 sale of the land where the former Star & Garter used to sit at 252 Duchess Parade on the High Street. The property was sold to an undisclosed buyer who intends to use the existing planning consent to build the commercial unit and apartments. The imminent development follows recent conv

Charlie Davidson, an Associate Solicitor with London law firm Bishop & Sewell LLP, has been shortlisted in the Rising Star of the Year category for the prestigious LEAP Modern Law Conveyancing Awards 2022.  Launched in 2016, the Awards have become an annual highlight of the conveyancing calendar, with firms and service providers from across the industry competing for accolades. The Rising Star of the Year category recognises lawyers under the age of 35 who have delivered exceptional client service, hig

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate technology, announces that it has appointed Susan Avelluto to the role of Chief People Officer to help the company continue to build a culture that attracts and retains the best talent in the PropTech sector. Additionally, MRI announces that long-time business executive and author Jill Popelka is joining its Board of Directors. “I’m thrilled to welcome Susan to the MRI team,” said Patrick Ghilani, Chief Executive Officer of MRI Software. “She has an incredible

The Planning & Environmental Team at Irwin Mitchell has assisted housebuilder Chase New Homes in obtaining planning permission for the residential redevelopment of a disused school in Saffron Walden. The permission is one of the first of its kind having been granted directly by the Planning Inspectorate under the procedure contained in s62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, after Uttlesford District Council was placed in special measures due to an unacceptable number of major planning decisions b

National law firm Irwin Mitchell is expanding its Planning and Environment Team with the recruitment of Pamela Chesterman as a new partner. The appointment takes IM’s specialist Planning and Environment (P&E) team to thirteen. The team has this year been boosted by the recruitment of Jill Crawford, Senior Associate and environmental specialist in February, which was hot on the heels of Tracy Lovejoy joining as a planning senior associate in Birmingham and Victoria Tague as a planning associate in Manchest

Homebuyers are being urged to check the energy efficiency of a property before committing to buying. The removal experts at LOVESPACE have identified the most important questions that house-hunters should ask to evaluate how energy efficient their new home is. With energy bills and mortgage rates on the rise, energy efficiency is high up in the list of priorities for many buyers and renters looking to move house. To avoid unexpected costs and keep the bills down, people are advised to carry out necessary

If you’re a block manager, you’ll likely understand that lighting uses a copious amount of energy at your site. This is because there are often spaces that are brightly lit for long periods of time, maybe even 24/7. If you’re already using LED lights or are in the process of switching to LEDs, you probably have already taken a significant step in reducing your energy costs. But did you know, even with LEDs, if your lights aren’t running properly, they use even more energy? Thankfully, there’s an easy way

Property management and surveying practice Scanlans has welcomed back an experienced property manager who has retrained as a fire risk assessor, bolstering the firm’s specialist team in line with growing demand for its services. Paul Christopher initially joined Scanlans in 2005 and remained with the firm until 2016.  He returned a year later and stayed as a property manager until early 2022. He has now re-joined again, this time in a new role as part of the building surveying team led by Tony Mancini.  P

PMR are pleased to announce that they have appointed Annie McGrandles as their Head of Portfolio and Block Management.  Annie joins us after 15 years working within the industry and setting up a successful High End Block Management company.  Annie will be heading up the team which focus on supplying the best Block and Service charge candidates.  Annie will work in partnership with the PMR’s BTR, temporary and permanent on site staff and flexible work space teams. “I am excited to be working with the best

New legislation designed to end ground rents for new residential leasehold properties has been welcomed by an industry campaigner, but he claims it doesn’t go far enough. Alan Draper, managing director of property management firm Common Ground, says the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act which came into force earlier this year, was a step in the right direction but will have little impact on the leasehold system. Instead, he is continuing to campaign for the complete abolition of leasehold in favour of co

PfP Capital, the Social Value and ESG-focused real estate fund manager, part of the UK’s leading social enterprise Places for People, has appointed Catherine Webster as its new Chief Executive Officer. Catherine, who starts at PfP Capital in January 2023, joins from property development and investment specialist Quintain where she is Executive Director for Strategy and Investment, leading on business strategy, financing and investment initiatives. Catherine has worked in real estate investment and finance