Featured Articles

Get the answers to your questions and stay up to date about apartment building management with our featured articles and NOTB guides, on topics such as service charges, right to manage, buying your freehold, major works, building insurance and other issues about blocks of flats.

Amstone Ventures Submits Plans for Landmark Residential Project at No.1 Knightsbridge in Stockport Town Centre

Amstone Ventures has submitted a planning application for the 3.28 acre (1.33 ha) former Sainsbury’s site in Stockport town centre for a build to rent led residential development.  The site, situated on Warren Street close to the historic Market Place and Underbanks area of the town, was purchased by Amstone in March 2021.                                                    Architect, Leach Rhodes Walker, has drawn up a plan for a landmark scheme of 563 high quality residential homes. There will be a mix o

The Essential Parts of a Property Management Contract

Whether you're a landlord or a leaseholder, securing the correct managing agent is critical. It's also vital that you understand the terms of the contract you're agreeing to. Obtaining a managing agent may be useful since they are in charge of maintenance, repairs, service charge collection, and other factors that contribute to the successful operation of a Residential Block. Before selecting a managing agent to handle your residential block, there are certain key provisions in a property management agree

Irwin Mitchell Boosts Planning and Environment Department with Two New Appointments

National law firm Irwin Mitchell is expanding its Planning and Environment Team with the recruitment of two new members: Tracy Lovejoy as a Senior Associate, based in the Birmingham office and Victoria Tague as an Associate in Manchester. The appointments take the specialist Planning and Environment (P&E) team to nine. P&E sits within Irwin Mitchell’s Property Division which numbers 27 partners and 146 qualified lawyers. Tracy Lovejoy is joining Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office as a senior associate fro

Agents – why easy onboarding can help prevent and reduce rent arrears

A PropTech startup designed to streamline and automate the set-up and management of new tenancies has claimed that faster and easier onboarding is crucial in the fight against rent arrears.  With the new Omicron Covid variant causing worry and consternation around the world, and the potential for further restrictions and lockdowns in the UK during the winter months, RentProfile says rent arrears could become a major problem for agents, landlords and tenants again – especially if the successful but very ex

LEADING HOUSING ASSOCIATION WINS COVETED WHATHOUSE? AWARD

Leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has won a coveted WhatHouse? award. The housing association was crowned ‘Silver’ in the Housing Association of the Year category during this year’s ceremony which took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Friday 19th November. MTVH was commended for its innovative approach to raising awareness of shared ownership and improving its customer experience. The award celebrates housing associations who offer innovative solutions to support b

How Our Homes and Cars are Driving the Green Transition

Electric vehicles are driving the UK’s green transition, helping the nation on its journey towards sustainability and net zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned after 2030, meaning that the future roads are guaranteed to look more electric. But with the increase of electric vehicles comes the issue of charging. Of course, it makes sense that we should all be able to charge our cars at home. Nipping to the petrol station during the rush hour comm

BARRATT BUILDS CAREERS IN GUILDFORD AS MAYOR OPENS HOUSEBUILDER’S NEW OFFICE

Councillor Marsha Moseley, the Mayor of Guildford, has yesterday (Tuesday 16th November) officially opened housebuilder Barratt Southern Counties’ new Head Office in Guildford. The event marks the housebuilder’s continued investment in creating career opportunities in the town. The office opening was attended by a number of representatives from Guildford Borough Council, alongside senior figures from Barratt. The event demonstrated the importance of creating forward-thinking office space in a post-pandemi

HARRODS VILLAGE CHOOSES INTERPHONE TO MAINTAIN AND UPGRADE ONSITE SECURITY SYSTEM

Harrods Village, a prestigious gated development located on the banks of the River Thames, has teamed up with Interphone to implement a comprehensive maintenance solution for onsite security systems. Under the partnership, the security systems and building technology integrator has enabled Harrods Village to complete essential work and ensure door entry, access control and CCTV systems are fit for purpose.   “We have worked closely with Interphone to overcome many of the technology challenges we faced. Ou

FirstPort appoints Phil Tyler as Chief Digital Officer

FirstPort, the UK’s leading residential property services provider, has appointed Phil Tyler as its new Chief Digital Officer. Phil joins FirstPort’s executive team to lead on the company’s digital transformation and IT operations.    Phil brings extensive cross-sector digital transformation experience spanning over 20 years, in roles across energy, finance, telecoms and health. His previous roles include Head of Global Programme Delivery for Gazprom Marketing & Trading, Chief Operating Officer of a digit

HML’s Block Management Partners division signs up another Network!

The Property Franchise Group have chosen B-hive Block Management Partners for its Franchisees that want to be Block Managers. B-hive is the Partners division of HML Group, the block management specialists who manage over 100,000 units in England and Wales. B-hive is an outsourced service provider, that operates independently from HML but benefits from being able to offer all of the service charge accounting, compliance, training and central services to third parties. The TPFG brands are Martin & Co, Ellis

The Ho-Ho-Homebuilding Boom: How is Santa Affected by New-Build Houses?

New-build homes are being cited as an essential part of the UK’s plan to build back better. In fact, 49,470 new homes were completed in the first quarter of 2021. That’s the highest figure in over 20 years and a four per cent increase compared to the last three months of 2020. But as families begin new lives in their new homes, we should consider how this rapid rise in households affects Santa Claus’ Christmas schedule. New data from St. Modwen Homes reveals the true impact of the UK’s housing boom for

Whitley Stimpson ranked as top UK accountancy firm

The Top 50+50 Accountancy Firms 2021 has been revealed and Whitley Stimpson has been officially ranked within the Top 100 firms in the UK for the eighth year running.   The rankings by the prestigious Accountancy Age 50+50 survey collate the top 100 accountancy firms in the UK and identifies Whitley Stimpson as a leading player in the country.   To achieve the national honor, Whitley Stimpson’s revenue and growth were measured against accounting firms throughout the country.   Jonathan Walton, director at

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