Featured Articles

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

Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her funeral is to be held on Monday 19th September. To help the country pay its respects, the day has been declared a Bank Holiday. To show our own mark of respect, the News on the Block offices will be closed for this day.  If you have an urgent enquiry please email vikki@newsontheblock.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.  Our offices will reopen as normal on Tuesday 20th September 2022.

Residential property prices continue to skyrocket – under 30s are now spending over 30% of their salary on rent, while the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. Rightly, tenants are expecting more bang for their buck than ever.  As disposable incomes feel the squeeze, property managers need to get creative to find a competitive edge. One source of inspiration is the commercial property market, which is still in the midst of a revolution in purpose. New players – particularly those in the flex office ma

Rental Properties in the UK will have to demonstrate their green credentials through higher ratings on energy performance certificates by 2025, increasing from an "E" rating to a "C" rating by the deadline. And older, draftier properties could be hit hardest as improvements to loft and wall insulation, windows and doors and even replacement of some white goods and boilers may be on the cards. Gavin Perrett, Director at Hawkhurst Invest, a property investment consultancy based in Essex said,"In March this