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This article was first published on the Winckworth Sherwood website. The deferment rate may be set to change. How might this play out and why does it matter? The premium payable by residential leaseholders to their landlords is in part a product of the deferment rate and so a change in that could have a big effect on premium payable. There are two moving parts; the deferment rate currently in use under the statutory valuation framework is prone to challenge; it may also be fixed as part of the government’

New legislation being introduced this year is set to present landlords and their tenants with new regulatory and financial challenges on top of the financial burdens of Covid-19, says independent property management agent. There is a mix of new legislation being introduced early in 2022, and confirmation of other regulations that will be introduced over the following few years. Some of the new legislation that is due to introduced will not only add unwelcome costs to landlords' overheads, and subsequently

FirstPort has received a five-star grading from a recent Health and Safety Audit for the sixth consecutive year.  Not stopping there, the organisation’s Health and Safety focus continues with it adding ISO 45001 certification for occupational health and safety for the first time. The Five-Star Audit measures performance against a number of key safety management indicators.  The audit provides organisations with a benchmark of their safety culture and management systems against current worldwide best pract

The Supreme Court has today handed down judgment in the case of FirstPort Property Services Ltd v Settlers Court RTM Company Ltd & Ors [2022] UKSC 1. The appeal concerned the statutory “right to manage” conferred on long leaseholders by Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. The court was asked to answer a single question of construction of the relevant provisions: to what extent (if any) does an RTM company in respect of a single building on a wider estate acquire the right

Strong demand from city dwellers for outside space has fuelled a surge in sales at a luxury apartment development in Ashford, Kent, which is just 36 minutes by train from London St Pancras. Only 11 of the 216 apartments at Victoria Point remain to be sold with developers Elevate Property Group and joint venture partners Investin plc revealing that a decision to upscale the outside space during construction has paid dividends. Elevate sales and marketing director David Hofton said the pandemic had made hom

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has welcomed action taken by the Government to make developers responsible for meeting to cost of removing unsafe cladding for lower height buildings.  Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, announced yesterday (10 January 2022) that leaseholders in buildings 11 to 18 metres in height will no longer have to contribute to replacing cladding, although there is currently no help for those living

The continued strength of the South West property market and the launch of a new division in Central England made 2021 a successful year for Burrington Estates. This puts the company in a robust position moving into 2022 with a wide range of new homes developments due to launch this year. The award-winning housebuilder, headquartered in Exeter, completed 179 homes in 2021 and kickstarted its national expansion with the help of £13.5m investment from BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor. Founded

The start of 2022 is now here, encouraging agents to put in place methods that can help business growth and success throughout the new year.   Openview – Powered by VTUK predicts that automation will be used to change agency for the better next year and beyond.   In recent years, the property market has benefited by making use of automation and technology in everyday processes. Advanced software and applications enable agents to work efficiently, effectively and carry out processes in a fast, efficient, t

A leading property agency has welcomed new government plans that mean flat owners will not have to pay to remove dangerous cladding from lower-height buildings. But Metro PM, a residential property management company with national coverage, said the estimated £4 billion costs may well have to be funded by the Treasury as it was unclear how alternative plans to make developers pay could work. The controversy arose after the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people in 2017, when flammable cladding and other fi

Developers have been given an early March deadline to create a fully funded plan of action to help the cladding crisis, with further measures to be put in place by the Government. The announcement from Michael Gove MP at the House of Commons this afternoon (10 January) said he is giving developers the chance to ‘do the right thing’ or he would ‘impose in law’ ways to make them pay for the cladding crisis. So far residents in blocks 11-18m high haven’t been eligible for government support to remove unsafe

Sheffield property law specialist firm, Mason Thomas Law has secured membership to the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme - the mark of excellence for the home buying process. Mason Thomas Law underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to secure CQS status, which marks the firm out as meeting high standards in the residential conveyancing process. Having the industry-recognised CQS standard assures home buyers that they will receive a reliable, efficient service from Mason Thomas Law

The HML Group are delighted to announce that during 2021, we acquired SDL EM Ltd & CP Bigwood LLP from the SDL Group, a business with circa 7,000 units under management.   In the latter part of 2021, we successfully rebranded and merged both entities into HML Property Management.  We have worked hard to retain as many staff as possible from SDL Property Management as we understand the important role they hold with regards to the delivery of customer care. This is an exciting opportunity, stemming mutual b