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The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted problems with manuscript signatures and postal delivery of notices for tenants seeking extended leases and collective enfranchisement.  The legislation requires such notices to be “signed” by, or on behalf, of the tenant. It may be difficult to get “wet ink” signatures. Even where a tenant has an agent, it may be difficult to get compliant or duly authorised signatures of a corporate tenants, if located in other jurisdictions.  Since 2014, in England (but not Wales) i

Leaseholders often declare that they would like to “take control” of their building, to get rid of inert managing agents or difficult building owners… or sometimes both! But what this actually means for a particular group of leaseholders can vary depending on the ultimate aim. We set out below a brief comparison of the two most frequently used processes; the right to manage (RTM) and collective enfranchisement. RTM The key qualifying criteria for the RTM is that it requires the participation of half of th

If you are the leaseholder of a flat or house you may have individual and collective rights relating to your property. These rights are based on the concept of “enfranchising” the leaseholder so they have greater rights against their landlord.  A leaseholder can, subject to qualification criteria of the property and the status of the leaseholder, force the landlord to grant a new lease or to force the sale of the freehold to the leaseholder. There are various regimes under which a tenant may have a right

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States. The list, compiled by Inc. Magazine, is regarded as the definitive ranking of the nation’s most successful independent businesses based on revenue growth from 2016 to 2019. MRI Software increased its revenue by 161% during this time. “This honor is a testament to the MRI team’s successful execution of a strategic growth plan underpinned by a renewed fo

As the ban on evictions comes to an end next month, letting agents are being warned to prepare for changes to the repossession process – including a new pre-action protocol, a temporarily extended notice period and potentially longer waiting times for court hearings. According to rental payment automation platform PayProp, agents will play a crucial role in explaining the new system to landlords and helping them to manage rent arrears so the option of eviction remains a last resort. Evictions have been ba

This article was first published on the Winckworth Sherwood website.  The Law Commission have now published their recommendations for the reform of leasehold enfranchisement law, Leasehold Home Ownership: Buying Your Freehold or Extending Your Lease. Background This follows the Government asking the Law Commission to review the law on enfranchisement with a view to making it simpler, easier, quicker and more cost effective and, controversially, to look at ways in which the price payable by leaseholders to

Produced in partnership with JMW Solicitors, Fixflo are offering a free guide for  letting agents and property managers. This guide dissects the recent Court of Appeal’s judgment in the case of Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield using plain English and a simple flowchart to show how it could affect your future claims. With this free guide, Trecarrell House v Rouncefield and Its Implications for Section 21 Possession Claims, you can learn: If the lack of provision of a gas safety record (GSR) when

Kate has over 15 years’ experience within the Property Management market. Her primary focus has been managing large high-end residential developments, but also has experience within the mixed-use market. Having worked within both management companies and client/development side enables Kate to have a full perspective of what is the appropriate customer service requirements and aims not only to provide this high level delivery to all clients and leaseholders but also to ensure that all team members working

We are delighted to have Hilton return to Crabtree, he is an incredibly trusted and valuable team member. A driven, team-focused Senior Manager with 11 years’ experience in the Property and Built Environment Sector, Hilton has a proven ability to achieve performance-based targets and to build, sustain and support successful teams. Hilton has experience across both the private investor, development, and leasehold sectors, and has a distinctive flair for building long-lasting client and customer relationshi

Issue 108 of News on the Block has now been published. This issues includes some of the following articles:  - Radical plans to shake-upleaseholds unveiled - Property sector lends support to Pride month  - Leasehold Group mourns sudden death of MD Louie Burns - Don’t leave RCAs to chance Enfranchisement & Right to Manage feature  - Enfranchisement in a post-Covid world - A question of proportion! Katie Edwards considers the issues around calculating whether a mixed-use property qualifies for right t

IPM announced today that it has appointed Sarah Parkyn as director of Inspired Property Management effective from the 1 st August 2020. The appointment will expand the board of directors from three to four independent directors, bringing valuable experience and insight to the board. This appointment will enable the board of directors to enhance its commercial experience and operational insight, particularly within property industry.   Sarah Parkyn is an award-winning property manager with over 20 years’ e

Residential property lawyer George Cohen of Irwin Mitchell discusses the potential legal issues for the lifting of the stay of residential possession proceedings and advises landlords to enter dialogue with tenants as soon as possible August 10th, 2020 Since 27 March 2020, most residential possession claims and proceedings seeking to enforce an order for possession by a warrant or writ of possession have been stayed (put on hold). On 23 August 2020, Practice Direction 55C will come into force which sets o