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After carefully reviewing their respective roles and positions at the heart of the rapidly evolving property management sector, the Boards of The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and The Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) proposed a merger of the two organisations last summer. Following a member vote overwhelmingly in favour of the merger proposal, the two bodies and their memberships have now been brought together, under ‘The Property Institute’ (as of 9th March 2022). T

Jordan, Managing Director of Future Group and Jason, operations director, are both taking part in the Tough Mudder Challenge 2022 on the 2nd of April. With just over a week to go, they have smashed their initial target of £1,500 and have now reached their extended target of £2,000! This achievement is amazing, and the money will be donated to their partnered charity: Teens Unite. Teens Unite Supports young people fighting cancer to live their best life, while others search for a cure. We inspire young peo

Keeping up with legislative and regulatory changes are among the challenges faced by Directors of resident managed residential developments. For many, instructing specialist support remains vital, according to research by leading property management company, FirstPort. FirstPort, which works with 1,300 Resident Management Companies, has conducted its second Resident Director Survey, believed to be the biggest ever proprietary research project undertaken with Resident Directors to date.  This report builds

A new apprentice has joined Principle Estate Management’s finance department, taking that specialist team’s staff numbers up to 10. Aneesa Ali joins the company as an accounts apprentice after previous roles waiting at large events, working as a cash and carry shop assistant and volunteering as a nursery nurse. She started her role earlier this month after being recruited via Protocol Consultancy Services, which specialises in training and apprenticeships, and her main role will be processing payments on

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has awarded three new Honorary Memberships in recognition of contributions to the debate around leasehold enfranchisement and reform.    Barristers Tamsin Cox and Anthony Radevsky of Falcon Chambers and Justin Bates of Landmark Chambers have become the Association’s first ever Honorary Members    Mark Chick, ALEP Director, said: “As an organisation founded to spread best practice and foster discourse and debate, ALEP routinely i

In order to manage a Freehold or RTM (Right to Manage) process successfully, leaseholders have to navigate through a number of complex, moving parts.  A freehold acquisition, or RTM process, is not linear, and can sometimes take up to two years depending on the legal complexities involved. But this should not dissuade anyone from trying to purchase the freehold of their building: there are significant benefits to doing so, and thankfully there is invaluable help for those wishing to begin an acquisition

During 2022 there are set to be new rules and regulations introduced into the private buy to let sector that will pile more pressure onto landlords, who already operate in one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the economy outside finance.  There are a number of new regulations incoming this year, including the delayed White Paper for the Renters' Reform Bill that will likely end Section 21 and introduce Lifetime Deposits, Regulation of Property Agents(RoPA), changes to financial reporting, and requ

Build-to-Rent is booming across the UK. There are now hundreds of thousands of apartments up and down the country. Most of these are in very tall towers, with around 10 apartments per floor, and hundreds of apartments per block. Occupancy varies throughout the year. Therefore, it is important that managers have a clear overview of the various dwellings, especially when the risk of serious water damage is ever present.   Whether it is a burst pipe or a left-on tap, water escape is a real concern. Regardles

Associate Jen Hollyoak of specialist property solicitors JB Leitch, comments on a recent High Court matter which provides guidance as to the Courts’ approach to determination of the application and how ‘residential land’ should be defined. This is the first decision of its kind to set down the approach Courts will take to determination of an access order application. The background Prime London Holdings 11 Ltd v Thurloe Lodge Ltd [2022] concerns two super-prime neighbouring properties, situated close to t

MetroPM, the expanding residential property management company with offices in Birmingham and Cheltenham, has recruited an experienced service charge manager. Chris Ballantyne, who has worked in the finance sector for 15 years, with the last three years as a service charge accountant, has been appointed as a service charge manager. He will be responsible for overseeing the timely production of service charge budgets, year-end accounts, credit control and managing MetroPM’s sales and purchase ledger. Ian S

Sixty people were evacuated and a woman was rescued when fire broke out on the 17th floor a block of apartments in east London. The fire broke out at the high-rise block on Whitechapel Hight Street on Monday afternoon.  A total of 125 firefighters helped tackle the blaze and eyewitnesses told reporters that debris fell from the building opposite Aldgate East Underground station.  Some said there were “awful scenes” as large panels of glass fell hundreds of metres to the ground and smoke poured out of the

According to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), the property industry needs to do more to recognise and support those with mental health issues.  Having a firm understanding of the potential situations that increase the chances of someone's mental health worsening can help avoid these from happening at all. Positive steps in the right direction have been made in recent years yet working patterns and practices can be improved to help overcome this problem, the association argues. Indus