Featured Articles

Radical reforms allowing flats to be sold with freehold title (as part of a commonhold) have been proposed today by the Law Commission.   A raft of changes have been suggested after a two-year probe into leaseholds. The investigation followed furore around the sale of houses on estates with leaseholds which had ground rents that were due to double every 10 years.   Thousands of families say they are stuck in homes that are virtually impossible to sell due to the leaseholds.   The Law Commission proposals,

Katie Orr of JB Leitch's litigation department, looks at recent case law to provide insight into whether a leaseholder was in breach of covenant for allowing short-term lets of a property only to be used as a private dwelling.  This articles was originally published on the JB Leitcch website. BREACH OF COVENANT: APPEAL AS TO WHETHER A SHORT-TERM ‘AIRBNB’-STYLE LET WAS IN BREACH OF LEASE COVENANTS (TRIPLEROSE LTD V BEATTIE & ANOR - 2020) The latest in many cases relating to properties let on a short term b

Associate Kirsten Blower of specialist property solicitors JB Leitch, looks at recent case law on the question of whether a landlord who employed subcontractors to read electricity meters and manage billing processes for electricity, was entitled under the terms of the lease to recover the costs of such subcontractor from leaseholders by way of surcharge on electricity costs… REGULATION OF RESIDENTIAL SERVICE CHARGES UNDER LONG LEASES & IMPACT OF THE ’18-MONTH RULE’ (NO.1 WEST INDIA QUAY (RESIDENTIAL) LIM

Organisers of the re-arranged Toolkit for Property Managers conference at the University of Oxford’s St Hugh’s College have announced a new date for event. The conference, which was originally scheduled for March 2020, has a new date of April 9-11 with a full programme of over 40 different sessions available for attendees. Cassandra Zanelli, partner at PM Legal Services who are organising the conference, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming people to St Hugh’s in April next year so we can all

Those property managers and other colleagues that are working hard to register their clients’ buildings for the Building Safety Fund (BSF) will soon find that the full application process is a whole different ball game altogether.  The full application process requires a different level of detail that those of us who have worked on the ACM fund, know what is coming.  Part of the requirement will of course be the need to assess the façade(s) in question, provide a specification of remedial works, the consi

As TNA Building Services continue expansion across the country we are delighted to welcome Stephen Ogles who heads up our mechanical department. Stephen will be overseeing this new department that deals with Air Conditioning, ventilation, duct work cleaning, pumps and plant rooms, not only in London but also across our other regions of Manchester and Birmingham. As part of this expansion we are also now able to provide our blockmanagement clients with an ever increasing range of services and are now p

The national firm of surveyors Naismiths has appointed Kevin Marshall as a Director of Building Consultancy, as part of a strategic expansion. The firm, which in 2019 achieved annual revenue growth of 26% and expanded its team of chartered surveyors by 37%, is now ramping up its expert witness and dispute resolution capability in response to the rapid growth of the UK’s distressed property market. Kevin Marshall, who is a chartered building surveyor and former board member at Rendall & Rittner, is a well-

Two of Scanlans’ brightest young stars have passed their RICS Assessment of Professional Competence to qualify as chartered surveyors during lockdown.  The successful duo are Laura Jackson, who is based in Scanlans’ Birmingham office, and Lara Linsey, who is based in Manchester. Laura, 36, joined Scanlans in September 2018 as a graduate valuation surveyor.  Single mum Laura combined studying with working full-time and, in the run-up to her APC, also had to juggle home schooling for her five-year-old daugh

Well, here we all are, three months into lockdown and, with some clear relief, the slow release from isolation seems to be coming our way - and just in time for the summer too.  What could be better? Given that lockdown started shortly before the March Quarter Day and we have just passed the June Quarter Day, it is interesting to see two things.  Firstly, that the Government has extended the moratorium on evictions to protect commercial property tenants and tenants of rented residential property. Secondly

High level representatives of the property industry, led by Baroness Hayter, are drawing up a new code of practice for property agents in response to the recommendations of Lord Best’s 2019 RoPA working group. The code aims to drive up standards in the property agency sector, improving transparency and accountability for consumers. The code will go out for consultation in July, to be published and ready to be handed over to the new regulator by the end of 2020 A group of leading industry players, includin

Like all UK industries, property is impacted by COVID-19 and the effect of the lockdown on the way it works. But despite this ‘new normal’, we cannot ignore our sector’s other key issues. For property managers the lockdown has shone a light on the way we use technology as never before. This exponential growth is driving the ethical issues around privacy, data harvesting and function creep further up the agenda. In response, today the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) publishes the third

FirstPort, the UK’s largest residential property manager, has announced a transaction which will see it combining with leading property and asset manager, Mainstay Group. For FirstPort and Mainstay customers, clients, employees, management, and supply partners day-to-day operations will remain unchanged. Completion of the transaction only remains subject to approval by the Financial Conduct Authority. Last year FirstPort welcomed Equistone Partners Europe as its new majority investors to support its conti