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Watsons Property became the newest member of ARMA (The Association of Residential Managing Agents) in January. The Norfolk-based property firm now holds both RICS and ARMA membership as well as membership of IRPM. Watsons becomes one of only two, managing agents to hold ARMA membership in Norwich and is the only agent to hold ARMA, RICS, and IRPM membership. ARMA points out that ‘the residential leasehold sector is unregulated, so anyone can set themselves up as a managing agent and start collecting servi

New regulations governing the fire safety of multi-storey and multi-occupied residential buildings have been welcomed by a leading property professional. Alan Draper, managing director of Common Ground Estate and Property Management, says the PAS 9980:2022 code of practice provides a far more practical approach towards building construction in the light of the Grenfell disaster. Developed by a field of industry experts, the new code of practice offers a standard methodology to assess the fire risk of exte

The future of transport is electric. With plug-in vehicle registrations up by almost 80% in 2021, we are all waking up to the fact that our next car or van may be electric. Responding to this growing market, in 2019 facilities specialists the Future Group launched a new company, Future Fuel, to deliver charging solutions to the block management sector. Driving an electric vehicle means you need easy access to charging facilities and the speed of the charger roll-out to-date is proving a barrier to take-up

We are delighted to announce that Yarden Sharon has been promoted to team leader. Yarden joined us in August 2019 and has demonstrated considerable dedication and talent in nurturing our customers. He started his career as a Service Manager working with a Property Manager, helping to manage a portfolio of 13-14 buildings. Yarden then became a Property Manager in May 2020, managing his own building's portfolio. We would like to give a massive thanks to Yarden for his hard work and progress. We are so proud

Fortem Property was founded in 2021 by merging two already successful real estate businesses – DCBM and Fortem Property Management. Both companies provided different things to the market so today they unite as one strong, multi-disciplinary service. Here’s why they are leading the way in the real estate market for the future…   Darren Bennett and Omar Al Mutawa established Fortem Property early last year when they spotted a gap in the market for bespoke property management service. Fortem Property not onl

One of the leading providers in the build-to-rent market, Sigma Capital Group Limited is working with Countryside, the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer, to build more than1,300 new homes over three sites in the North West. The sites consist of 402 homes for private rent, 649 for open market sale and 297 listed as affordable housing across Manchester, Blackburn and Warrington. Sigma’s private rental brand, Simple Life, has over 4,500 properties across the UK and will extend its portfolio with the delive

Date: Tuesday 1 March 2022 Venue: No.11 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0AN After a much anticpated networking lunch, our lecture, hosted by Damian Greenish, will focus on “Deferment rate – the next debate?”  ALEP events are always specific to our membership and this lecture is no different, providing useful guidance and practical notes for legal and valuation professionals.  We will look in detail at the Upper Tribunal decision in Llangewydd Court, and the possibility of a future challenge to the de

One of Principle Estate Management’s top property managers has been promoted to associate director after qualifying to become the firm’s sixth Chartered Surveyor. The achievement by Danielle Lannon comes after passing her Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Mrs Lannon’s experience of more than ten years, plus the completion of a RICS-accredited degree, enabled her to undertake the professional route to complete the APC. This involved two ye

FirstPort, the UK’s largest residential property manager, has retained its status as a Top Employer in the UK, after being awarded the prestigious certification for the fourth consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute. Being certified as a Top Employer showcases an organisation’s dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent people policies and practices. The Top Employers Institute programme certifies organisations based on the participation and results of their HR Best P

As part of its Tech Insight programme, the IRPM brought together a group of leading industry experts to discuss a range of issues around data use in the property management sector. Published today, Information overload: where to start with data? is a new white paper based on this conversation. It identifies the ways in which we use data, how our understanding of data and its potential is changing, and how this is impacting the property management profession. The paper sets out the key challenges thrown up

Fantastic news! Our Unsung Heroes feature will be back in 2022 in association with Jackson Sims Recruitment to celebrate all those within the leasehold property industry who have gone the extra mile to help others or excel in their position. Once again, we would like to highlight all the positive work provided by the Property Managers, Company Directors, Concierge, Contractors, Estate Managers and Individuals all over the UK within the block management sector.  We will be celebrating the ‘heroes’ who

Implementing the right training and qualifications helps to build trust and transparency across all industries. That is according to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC).       The AIIC claims that the property industry must actively make training and qualifications an integral part of all processes to significantly improve itself and match up to other, more heavily regulated industries, such as law, teaching, medicine and chartered surveying.     Daniel Evans, chair of the AIIC and mana