Featured Articles

The cost of living crisis will affect us all, but it is most damaging for those who already struggling. And those in digital poverty – living without a reliable connection to the internet – are the hardest hit of all, says James Prowse, Regional Development Manager of Hyperoptic. In the last ten years, the world has moved online. And, through the pandemic, the speed of that change increased significantly – alarmingly, if you’re watching from the outside and seeing your vital services disappear into the in

Women looking to enjoy a career in the construction industry are set to benefit from the expansion of the award-winning partnership between The Hill Group and Women into Construction. With an impressive £4 of social value generated for every £1 invested, the programme will now be available in Cambridge, East Anglia and London, with a new pilot programme in Bristol in partnership with Guinness Partnership. Hill has partnered with Women into Construction since June 2019. With the partnership now expanded th

A property sales consultant with more than 12 years’ experience has been recruited by Davidson Estates as the Birmingham company’s New Homes department continues to grow. Cliff Wong has joined the company from Martin & Co Letting and Estate Agents, and previously worked for more than a decade at property specialist Teamfull Enterprises in Hong Kong. Mr Wong, who has a BSc in Surveying from the University of Hong Kong, is now one of four staff in the New Homes department at Davidson Estates’ branch office

Doyenne member Sophia Rossi discusses the role of compassion in leadership with reference to the success of the female leaders during the pandemic.  During the COVID-19 pandemic female leaders have been praised for their success in handling the virus over their male counterparts yet why was this? What traits did they portray that lead them to successfully maintaining the virus?  Aviva Wittenberg-Cox - CEO of 20-first , a global gender-balance consultancy based in the UK - points out that countries with th

PLP Fire are offering free training sessions for ARMA members.  Please read the flyer below for more information.

Harley Haddow has announced the appointment of Ian Chalk as Director to further strengthen their Manchester offering.  The multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy opened the North West base earlier this year as part of its ongoing UK expansion and recruitment strategy.  Chalk joins the firm from construction engineering company Hoare Lea with 20 years’ experience in the industry and region. He has worked on an expansive portfolio across multiple projects around Manchester, the North West, and the Middl

Leading housing association L&Q and award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group have begun work on a significant new project to redevelop the former Citroen garage site in Brentford, West London. Situated on a prime parcel of land at the heart of the Brentford regeneration area and next to the new Brentford FC and London Irish stadium, the development is set to deliver 441 new homes, a residents gym and a new nursery. Fifty percent of the new homes will be affordable and include a mix of Shared Ownership an

When it comes to driving a car, don’t assume that all drivers are good, don’t second guess what other drivers might do or be capable of doing, and be prepared to take appropriate action. And when it comes to fire safety, façade remediation and construction oversight, those of us tasked with policing what actually goes on on-site have to adopt a robust and forensic methodology such that assuming not everyone knows how to drive properly, is probably not a bad thing.  The point I am driving at here of course

PayProp, an automated rental payment provider, has predicted that letting agents will need to focus extra hard on client retention amid growing economic hardship.  Meanwhile, ongoing changes in the lettings industry – including planned reforms to the private rented sector contained in the ‘A fairer private rented sector’ White Paper – are expected to see growing numbers of landlords leaving the sector.  To counteract this, PayProp claims, agents will need to provide a high quality of service to keep clien

Where tenants occupied an unlicensed HMO property, which was in a state of disrepair, and having raised complaints about the conduct of the landlord, how should rent repayment be calculated? Trainee Solicitor Lauren Walker of JB Leitch Solicitors reviews a recent Upper Tribunal case which serves to illustrate that reviewing procedures and obligations is an important part of ensuring compliance with HMO and RRO legislation. The background In Simpson House 3 Ltd v Osserman and others [2022], tenancy of a fl

The case of Martlet Homes Limited -v- Mulalley and Co Limited [2022] is the first since the Grenfell Tower disaster to address liability for fire safety defects (defective cladding, mainly) in high-rise buildings. Martlet Homes Limited were successful in both their primary case against Mulalley in respect of Mulalley’s defective workmanship in the installation of the cladding system as well as their alternative case regarding the specification of the EPS insulation.  The finding made by the Technology and

Leaseholders, Freeholders and Agents can gain an insight into one of the most fundamentally contentious areas of leasehold ownership during a free webinar hosted by legal firm Bishop & Sewell.     The online webinar ‘Leasehold Question Time – Service Charges’ will take place on Tuesday 6 September 2022 at 5pm.     Delivered by Charles Jamieson, from the Dispute Resolution team, the webinar will be a ‘back to basics’ refresher for leaseholders and freeholders on the demand and recoverability of ser