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.

Budget 2021 aftermath - did the chancellor target property for tax revenue? 

In the autumn Budget on Wednesday 27 October, very few impending tax hikes were revealed by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak – going against the grain of much of the speculation beforehand.   But there were some tax measures included which will have a direct impact on the property sector.  Here, Maxim Cohen – founder and chief executive of UK Adviser, a digital franchise network for mortgage and finance professionals – looks at what was announced and how it could affect the sector.  New Residential Property Dev

MRI Software Addresses Real Estate Industry’s Sustainability Challenges With eSight Energy Acquisition

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software, announces it has acquired eSight Energy Limited, a UK-based software development company that empowers property owners, operators and occupiers worldwide to better manage their energy consumption and environmental footprint. Deploying eSight Energy® solutions enables organisations to improve energy-related decision-making and savings through off-the-shelf and customisable reporting and analytics. The acquisition enhances MRI’s comprehensive facilities

Rendall & Rittner appoints new CFO

Leading managing agent Rendall & Rittner has appointed Parimal Patel as Group Chief Financial Officer. A highly experienced executive in the global real estate advisory sector, Parimal has previously held senior roles Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle. He has been working with Rendall & Rittner as a consultant over the past year and now joins the group board. With a portfolio of over 80,000 units under management, Rendall & Rittner is one of the UK’s fastest growing property management companies.

Realty Law strengthens leadership team with new senior hire

A Birmingham-based law firm specialising in commercial property debt collection, has announced the appointment of one of the region’s leading property litigators. Realty Law Limited has hired Darren Clegg to lead the commercial property debt collection practice and develop its extensive portfolio of regional and national clients.  A former partner at national firm Shoosmiths, Darren is a property litigator who has specialised in commercial and residential property dispute resolution for almost 25 ye

UK’s tallest Premier Inn officially tops out

Leading London-based property developer, Rockwell, together with Whitbread, has celebrated a landmark moment as the UK’s tallest Premier Inn hotel officially topped out. Located adjacent to Westferry DLR station, the £151m project, comprising a 400-bedroom hotel and 68 new homes, will now mark Westferry as a destination in its own right, rejuvenating a formerly derelict site into a high quality mixed-use scheme just moments from Canary Wharf. Designed by world-renowned architects, Simpson Haugh, and const

Revealed: how top property expert has helped Principle’s success

One of the UK’s most experienced property professionals has been a key ingredient in Principle Estate Management’s successful expansion during the last three years, it can be revealed today. Peter Dening joined Principle as a consultant back in September 2018 following his retirement as a partner at independent chartered surveyors Pennycuick Collins, where he worked for 36 years. Mr Dening was unable to talk about his important role at Principle until now due to a departure clause from Pennycuick Collins.

University of Oxford Chooses MRI Software to Transform Customer Service for Tenants

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, announced the University of Oxford has expanded its use of MRI Software solutions, further streamlining tenant leasing operations and improving the experience for staff and customers. As one of the most famous institutions in Britain and the oldest university in the English-speaking world, the University of Oxford owns and manages a diverse property portfolio, including commercial, residential and student units, as well as land holdings. The

FirstPort appoints Marcus Mossdorf as new Head of Product Management

FirstPort, the UK’s leading residential property services provider, has appointed Marcus Mossdorf as its new Head of Product Management, to support the roll out of its transformational digital programme.     With an extensive background in product management and business analysis, Marcus’ new role will focus on the development and management of FirstPort’s digital products, making sure they are fully aligned to the business’ ongoing digital implementation strategy and meeting the needs of customers, emplo

Lawyer comment - new Resi Prop DT

Following the Chancellor’s budget announcement that a tax levy will be placed on property developers to create a £5bn fund to remove unsafe cladding to help leaseholders trapped in dangerous flats, expert lawyer Elizabeth Small, Partner at Forsters commented: "Rishi answered two key questions about the new Residential Property Development Tax (RPDT) (which will be introduced in April 2022 with an aim to raising at least £2bn in the next 10 years to help pay for remediation of high-rise residential buildin

BUDGET 2021: Irwin Mitchell Calls the Government to Step Up and Finally Settle the Cladding Crisis

Experts at national law firm Irwin Mitchell say the Government still needs a consistent strategy towards how it handles the “cladding crisis” and calls the Chancellor to pledge extra funds in the Budget tomorrow. The Government has already announced £5 billion will be available to redress the issue so far, but experts predict this figure is needed to be three times that. Already over half of the initial £1 billion cladding remediation fund has been claimed, leading to concerns that funds will not be suffi

Tax levy will be placed on property developers to create a £5bn fund to remove unsafe cladding

"Rishi answered two key questions about the new Residential Property Development Tax (RPDT) (which will be introduced in April 2022 with an aim to raising at least £2bn in the next 10 years to help pay for remediation of high-rise residential buildings):   The rate 4%; and Application to substantial property developers where the profits of the company (or if relevant the group) exceed an annual allowance of £25m.   This clarification is welcome but with less than 6 months to go before implementation,

Scanlans comment on the cladding aspect of yesterday's Budget

Commenting on today’s Budget announcement that the £5bn allocated by the government to tackle unsafe cladding at high-rise apartment blocks will be partly funded by a tax on residential property developers with profits of over £25m, Scanlans partner Ian Magenis said: “It’s a shame that, four years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, plans are still being talked about for making buildings safe when the need is immediate and urgent.   “The government is still not addressing buildings under 18 metres in heig

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