Featured Articles

Get the answers to your questions and stay up to date about apartment building management with our featured articles and NOTB guides, on topics such as service charges, right to manage, buying your freehold, major works, building insurance and other issues about blocks of flats.

Why the property industry needs more young women

Attracting and retaining talent is a significant challenge in property management that is replicated across the wider industry. A RICS report on a young leaders summit held at this year’s MIPIM commented: “The industry is currently struggling with a lack of new talent, as technological changes and new skills bring about business transformation. To attract people with emergent skills requires a change of mind and professional adaptation”.   In this context, the absolute necessity of nurturing a diverse i

Montreaux installs high end gym at atmosphere apartments in Maidenhead

Prestigious developers Montreaux Ltd, recently joined forces with Hire Fitness Ltd, to equip their inspiring residential spaces with leading gym equipment for health and fitness. Montreaux is a dedicated property development company, committed to bringing aesthetically outstanding but affordable, highly practical residential and mixed-used buildings to the UK.   Montreaux Ltd is an organisation that strives to stay ahead of the competition in everything they do by producing modern, forward-thinking proper

Block Recruit introduce their new team member

Block Recruit are delighted to announce they have recruited a new member to add to their team, Georgina Bebbington.  Georgina is joining BlockRecruit from an analytical, analysis role dealing with high volumes of data and resourcing, where having a keen eye for detail is key. She has also worked in an Estate Agency advising landlords and other customer focused roles which have equipped her with years of experience in delivering front line customer service.   “My passion is to be able to help people ach

Spring sales surge sees Sold Out signs go up at Tennant Street Lofts

One of Birmingham’s newest residential developments has leapt from 75% sold to Sold Out. The remaining ten apartments at Elevate Property Group’s Tennant Street Lofts development of 40 apartments off Broad Street have now all sold. Elevate sales and marketing director David Hofton said: “There has been a flurry of interest as potential buyers realised they risked missing the boat at Tennant Street Lofts. He added that the quality of finish and the high specification had clearly been a major factor in the

FUTURE PropTech Comes of Age, Celebrating its Fifth Birthday with the Biggest Names in Global PropTech

The world’s number one property technology event, FUTURE PropTech London closed its doors following the fifth rendition of the show with plenty to celebrate. The show, which brings together all facets of the property industry to network, collaborate, debate, and educate, has grown year on year to this year’s over 1800 people through the doors. FUTURE PropTech proudly included a 50/50 female/male speaker split with delegates from over 120 countries the world over. Popular speakers on the day included; Elli

MRI Software Acquires Engage Property Technology to Help Landlords Meet the Evolving Needs of Renters

MRI Software (“MRI”), a global leader in real estate software solutions, announces the acquisition of Engage Property Technology, a leading UK-based provider of self-service online portals used by property organisations of all sizes. The acquisition strengthens MRI’s end-to-end offering for the residential sector and furthers its aim of delivering the industry’s most comprehensive and flexible range of real estate technology solutions. Online resident portals are at the core of Engage’s offering, which in

ALEP members bring their A Game to Warley Park for Annual Golf Day

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has hosted its popular annual Golf Day. 30 seasoned golfers and novices alike enjoyed navigating the 27-hole course of Warley Park Gold Club in Essex.   Golfers enjoyed a sunny day of teeing off in style at the fairways of Warley Park and revelled in some healthy competition, with a selection of prizes and trophies up for grabs.   This year’s competition winners were:   Nearest the Pin: Sean Pugh, Kerry London 

UKAA Roundtable: Building a Workforce for Generation Rent

On Wednesday 15th May, 2019, industry experts and opinion-forming panellists from across the Build to Rent (BTR) sector came together in our London base for the inaugural ‘UKAA Roundtable: Building a Workforce for Generation Rent’ event. With the industry set to more than treble over the next few years, this proved a crucial time to discuss the innovative approaches to building a successful workforce. Andrew Deverell-Smith, deverellsmith’s founder and CEO, kicked off the roundtable by outlining the key is

Four property developments to the north of Birmingham and Lichfield to be looked after by Principle

Principle Estate Management has won the contract to look after a portfolio of four high quality property developments in north Birmingham and Lichfield. The portfolio is spread across luxury flats and houses in Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, and Lichfield. The properties were all built by a reputable local developer around ten years ago to exacting standards with some of the individual flats sold to the developer’s personal contacts, including friends and family members, and others retained for themselves,

Q&A - Extending your lease

QUESTION What rights do I have to extend my lease and what happens if the lease runs out? ANSWER Thank you for your email. In broad terms there are two ways in which a lease of a flat can be extended: (1) by agreeing an informal voluntary deal with the landlord or (2) by pursing a more formal route and serving a statutory lease extension notice under the legislation. Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 tenants of long leases are given the right to extend. The right provided f

Key Handovers Are the Thorn in Letting Agencies’ Side

By sheer numbers, letting agencies are spending a lot of money on the logistics of keys. Or more specifically, key handovers, to all of the people that need access to a property. The model seems really dated in this century where we increasingly expect things on demand and via our phones. Let’s look at a few scenarios:   Airbnb and Short-let Providers In order for these hosts to provide access to their guests, they need to physically be there to open the door and hand over the keys to their properties. Th

Beware the Voluntary Lease Extension

We all know that leases are wasting assets and that the process involved in extending them under the current legislation is expensive and complex. So, is your landlord really throwing you a lifeline if he/she offers you a voluntary lease extension?   Leases granted on a voluntary basis are generally on a “take it or leave it” basis. This means that there is little opportunity for negotiation and, unlike under the legislation, you can’t ask the tribunal to decide which terms are appropriate or force the la

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