Featured Articles

PDC Law assisted the appellant in a recent Upper Tribunal decision of Wynee v Yates and Livingstone [2021] UKUT 0278(LC). The case  provides useful guidance on the common scenarios faced by landlords and management companies when undertaking ‘major works’ projects, namely where the scope of works and even the contractor itself may change during course of the works. How do such changes affect the landlord or management company’s compliance with the statutory consultation requirements under Section 20 of th

As the gap in life expectancy for UK adults in deprived areas worsened following COVID, more support is needed to get more people active. Calling for increased collaboration between leading experts in leisure, healthcare and mixed-use development, in a new report with the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, Places for People assess the need for a new health infrastructure within integrated communities such as gyms and walking and cycling routes to level-up the health of more communities. W

Blenheim Estate Homes is awaiting planning permission to build what is believed to be the largest rural development of PassivHaus standard homes in the UK. The new community, in Woodstock, is planned to include in the region of 180 net-zero living homes that require little heating or cooling – resulting in a significant reduction in energy bills for future residents. 50% of the homes provided will be affordable. The scheme is designed around people, and it incorporates large green open spaces, and will fe

AM Surveying & Block Management Company Director Matthew Mackintosh signs up to run the TCL London Marathon 2022 taking place 2nd October 2022, in support of London based charity Intercountry Adoption Centre (IAC) which places children in need from all over the world with loving adoptive families.   In 2005, 50,000 official international adoptions were recorded worldwide. By 2020 this had fallen to less than 10,000 but millions of children continue to wait. IAC believes that children belong in families, n

The Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) has launched its Level 4 Member Course and Exam in leasehold management. The course content builds on the Level 3 Associate course learnings, with enhanced material to equip property management professionals with the right skills and knowledge to advance their professional careers. As with all IRPM qualifications, the course can be assessed online and on-demand before candidates sit a final online exam. Those who pass by achieving 60% or more in the

Trusted property management group Hawk Block Management are delighted with the continued expansion of their portfolio, having recently partnered with new client, urbanlab_. Witnessing rapid growth since their establishment in 2019, Hawk Block Management has doubled in size and with the appointment in 2021 of Becky Wilson as Business Development Manager, and Elaine Higgins as Head of Property Management, the team now comprises a combined 60 years of experience working across residential property and commer

Nearly two-fifths (39%) of commercial landlords are unaware of new standards on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) coming into force in April 2023, new research* from property business experts Handelsbanken shows, underlining the confusion in the market and need for longer-term planning. The study found just one in 10 (9%) commercial landlords has an EPC rating of E or above for all of their properties – new legislation from April next year means all commercial rented properties in England and Wales w

Transaction speed is becoming one of the most serious problems in the property industry. Average property transaction pipelines are getting longer and longer, negatively impacting consumers and businesses (including some of the largest publicly listed companies) alike.   OneDome, a property portal focused on fixing the homebuying process, has created an index to highlight property transaction speeds. The index is called the OneDome HomeBuying Speed Index and is calculated as the average time it takes betw

August was a month that saw the publication of some rather grim economic figures by the Bank of England, the ONS and other notable sources.  The latest BBC report revealed that ‘Inflation drives fastest fall in real pay on record’ with average wages rising but due to the continuing cost of living rising faster than normal, household budgets across the UK are being hit hard – especially when it comes down to the soaring energy bills. The rise in prices has fuelled UK inflation, and we are currently at a 40

Boutique property developer Life Less Ordinary today confirmed that its plan to bring 36 luxury apartments to the centre of Gerrards Cross have taken a step forward having been approved by Buckinghamshire Council.  Work, which will see the conversion and extension of existing office space, is anticipated to start early next year. Located on Station Road just minutes from Gerrards Cross train station, Collins House is currently comprised of four ground-floor retail units and a library, with office space ov

Gleeson Homes, (“Gleeson”)  has appointed Irwin Mitchell to its panel for its property legal work, including the areas of transactional property, planning and environment, real estate disputes, construction, commercial agreements and disputes and regulatory work. This could generate instructions from up to ten regional Land Directors/Heads of Land covering the North and Midlands.   The Irwin Mitchell team was led by Northern property transactional partner Michelle Beaumont (Head of the firm’s Housing Sect

A landlord and managing agent have been criticised by a property tribunal for the way it handled a Section 20 consultation for a £3m repairs project. South Cliff Tower (Eastbourne) Limited – controlled by some leaseholders – and Southdown Surveyors regarded the consultation as “an exercise which would not influence their decision making”, the tribunal said. And it stated that the managing agent and the landlord of the 19-storey South Cliff Tower appeared to think the consultation was “something to be endu