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This article was first published on the Winckworth Sherwood website.  If they hold off will the later find themselves driven to do so i.e. as a result of lenders tightening their ground rent requirements or the reforms being considered by the Government? These are some of the questions facing flat owners where their lease is either shortening or contains a significant ground rent. Broadly speaking flat owners have the right to claim an extended lease of their flat after two years of legal ownership. In

An experienced accountant has been recruited to the finance team at Principle Estate Management to support the company’s rapid expansion. Haq Nawaz’s new role as service charge accountant was created after the number of developments the Birmingham-based company is looking after reached more than 200. Mr Nawaz has nearly 20 years of experience working in finance for a variety of property companies, the most recent being as a senior finance officer at Sanctuary Housing. At Principle he will be working on cl

Principle Estate Management, the Birmingham company responsible for the care of nearly 6,000 apartments across 234 developments in England and Wales, has welcomed the launch of the government’s £1 billion Building Safety Fund for the remediation of non-ACM cladding systems. Managing director Brett Williams said: “Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has announced new measures and a fund that provides for the removal of dangerous cladding on residential buildings in both the private and social housing secto

At the start of the year we would never have imagined that so many of us would be having to spend so much more time in our homes.  Whether it’s balancing working from home and keeping the kids entertained, relying on technology to stay in touch with loved ones or finding new ways to stay physically and mentally active, we are all having to adapt the way we live. As a property manager responsible for looking after 196,000 homes, we recognise how challenging this time is for our residents. While our focus w

Applicants wishing to claim grant funding from the £1bn Building Safety Fund (BSF) to replace unsafe cladding, need to act immediately to maximise their chance of success, warns property consultancy SAY Property Consulting LLP. In a call to action Charles Seifert a partner at SAY said: “The Government have today (26th May 2020) launched the Building Safety Fund Registration Prospectus and it imposes strict time limits on making eligibility applications to the fund, the registration process will open in th

The best managed residential buildings are those with a manual that sets out exactly what leaseholders can and cannot do, and ensures property managers know how to respond to applications for alterations. If you are the managing agent of a residential block or development, or director of a share-of-freehold resident management company, the chances are that sooner or later you will have to deal with a licence to alter application.  But you do not have to wait for a leaseholder to apply before thinking abo

Following the government's unveiling of our strategy for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, we can now look further ahead and take a glimpse into the 'unlocked' future. The second webinar in Fixflo's Unlocking Property Management series zooms into the block management sector where a distinguished panel will broadcast a live presentation dedicated to block management companies and block managers operating in these times. Tune in on 4 June for advice on key regulatory changes and essential operational pol

Associate Katie Edwards of specialist property solicitors JB Leitch, asks that where a management order is made in respect of a property and service charge arrears accrued whilst the order is in place, can the arrears be assigned to a maintenance trustee and that trustee then take steps to recover arrears from lessees? The background In Chaun-Hui and others v K Group Holdings Inc [2019], units in a mixed-use block were held by tripartite leases, the parties to which were the head lessor, a maintenance tru

Katie Orr of JB Leitch's litigation department looks at recent case law to ask that where an RTM Company serves notice of its intention to acquire rights to manage, will its claim survive a failure to follow specific elements of procedure? The background In Lexham House RTM Company Ltd v European Investments & Development (Properties) Ltd [2019], the RTM Company served notice to acquire the right to manage a block comprising 24 flats, each of which is held under a long lease. Three flats on the top floor

We all know that during COVID-19 companies, individuals and the world at large has had to adapt to a new way of life & the need for technology has never been so great to offset the effects of restrictions and working from home. One example has been the increasing interest and use of our new Inerro service with its strengths being more apt now and in the coming months whilst its efficiencies will continue to benefit users when we return to a new way of "normal". Inerro (Latin for walk-around) is a 3D virtu

Nowadays, it’s common for the on-site team to be running the show. A capable estate manager with a team of concierge reporting into them, has the opportunity to stay close to the residents, deal with repairs and maintenance, and focus on keeping everyone in the building safe and sound.  We are seeing more activity on-site than ever before, as residential schemes are conceived with a strong sense of community. But with this increased level of interaction comes the opportunity for compromised on-site securi

With the “lockdown” measures and its impact in place for a number of weeks, we are pleased to report most practitioners have successfully overcome the practical difficulties created. The recently published Corona Virus Act 2020 does not consider the method of service and any extensions of time for service of Notices under the enfranchisement legislation. The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) have therefore issued a protocol encouraging parties to accept service of documents by