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Elevate Property Group has unveiled its plans to bring a derelict site in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter back to life in its latest project in the city. It has submitted plans for 14 townhouses, 42 apartments and 3,500 sq ft of commercial space in a development to be called Heaton House Lofts in Camden Street.  The residential accommodation will include three and four bedroom townhouses and one and two bedroom apartments, but what sets this project apart is the recreation of a part of Birmingham’s history

In mid March, the World Health Organisation announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.  We wrote a blog at the beginning of March detailing how we were dealing with the virus then, but since then the virus has spread rapidly across the globe. As a result, most countries put in place unprecedented and highly restrictive measures to help contain the virus’s further spread. However, during this difficult period, there are front line workers – referred to as ‘key’ or ‘essential’ workers – who are expected

“A great opportunity to re-start 2020”, is the message from organisers of the re-arranged Toolkit for Property Managers conference at the University of Oxford’s St Hugh’s College. The event, which was meant to take place on March 27-29, has a new date of September 4-6 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 September

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, announces the acquisition of Orchard Information Systems, a specialist provider of software solutions for the UK social housing sector. The acquisition adds to MRI’s offering for the UK residential market and provides innovation and scale to extend the reach of Orchard’s solutions to better serve the growing social housing sector.   “We are excited to welcome Orchard into the MRI family,” said Patrick Ghilani, Chief Executive Officer of MRI

Strangford Management Ltd, a specialist block management agency in the City of London, has announced the promotion of Adnan Ahmed to Head of Accounts. Adnan Ahmed joined Strangford Management in 2017 as a Service Charge Accountant, where he was responsible for the accounting function of a portfolio of clients as well as overseeing the internal standards of the accounts department. Adnan has contributed to the success and expansion of the company, introducing new reporting functions, new internal training

In these uncertain times the last thing most people will want is to be embroiled in a legal dispute. Going to court is stressful at the best of times but even more so currently. Jacqui Joyce provides a timely reminder of the benefits of meditation compared to litigation.  What is mediation? Mediation is an assisted negotiation where a third party neutral (the mediator) helps the parties do a deal. It usually involves a day with both sides (and their advisers) present and can be a series of meetings or the

Property Management experts Brady Solicitors have prepared a free advice guide and set of ready-to-use letters and templates to assist with your leaseholder and customer  communications during the coronavirus pandemic. The updated Managing Agent Guide contains practical advice to help you manage cash flow and ensure block management processes and client relationships remain as close as possible to “business as usual” in the changing and unprecedented world of Spring 2020. The guide will help Property Man

As a business, you are likely to be facing a number of challenges as a result of either the COVID-19 coronavirus itself or the preventative measures brought in to control it. In an effort to support our clients and prospective clients, we are pleased to launch our free COVID-19 Information Centre, which can be found here.  Here, you can find all of the relevant information, guidance and resources available on this fast-moving subject matter, including: - - Risk alerts – giving you up-to-date information a

One of the most important things is to prepare properly, however bear in mind you are not preparing for a trial. Preparing effectively for a mediation is completely different.  It involves a great deal of thought and honesty, a suspension of normal hostilities and a different mind-set.  Documents Usually parties agree the contents of a bundle to go to the mediator. Your mediator only needs to see the key documents. A summary of the background to the dispute and of the factual and legal points in issue can

In my previous article, I talked about the possible ways in which the government might prevent landlords from obtaining possession from existing tenants of residential property during the coronavirus lockdown period and the way the law might be changed. The government has now provided amendments to existing legislation in the Coronavirus Act 2020 ("the Act"), section 81. This provides for schedule 29 to have effect and effectively extends notices to be given to obtain possession of various tenancies (assu

Self-isolation ARMA distributed to its members some helpful Covid-19 guidance during the week commencing 16 March, reinforcing government advice such as this.  ARMA’s recommendation to its members is that each block of flats has a plan of action for recording the presence of self-isolating residents. As a result, we have created a bespoke Dwellant process to use for individual blocks or larger developments. It’s available to all Dwellant users.  Our Covid-19 process is designed for use by: - self-isolatin

PM Legal Partner Cassandra Zanelli outlines the new Practice Directions and Guidance put in place for cases in the First Tier Tribunal (and Upper Tribunal) as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.  In light of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the way in which we live and work has changed significantly and, with those changes, the justice system is adapting too.  The Senior President of Tribunals has issued two Practice Directions that will apply in First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribuna