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The latest RICS and Macdonald & Company Rewards and Attitudes Survey has found that the sectoral gender pay gap has closed during the past year, as more women are attracted to the industry and more attain senior positions. It also found that working in the real estate and built environment industry has many other appealing benefits for a better work/life balance. Last year’s gender pay gap figures (April 2018) showed that the UK’s biggest companies paid men an average of 18.4% more than women. Additionall

Leading managing agent Rendall & Rittner focuses heavily on investing in its employees and creating a company where individuals can flourish regardless of gender. To tie in with International Women’s Day today, female members of Rendall & Rittner’s senior management team comment on gender equality in the property management industry and encouraging women into the sector. Comments from: Catherine Riva – Director (CR), Catherine Orezzi – Head of HR (CO), Karen Gray – Area Director (KG), Joanna Biles – Area

Since Brexit became UK government policy following the referendum in 2016, the effects on house prices have been largely overstated. Prices have not collapsed, instead they have dropped slightly, stabilised and in some areas, particularly outside of London, recovered well. The transactional process in residential property sales has been significantly slower however – people are holding off buying a house, and sellers are holding on to achieve what they perceive to be a fair price. The days of easy wins du

QUESTION What does a flat owner/ leaseholder do when the Management Company refuse to share the Annual Company Accounts with them? (Signed by directors in February 2018 -  Y/end 31/08/17) ANSWER Section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords to provide leaseholders with a summary of the service charge costs incurred. Following that you have the right to see the accounts and supporting documentation. If you have not already done so, you should make a written request for the service char

Digital services are expected by landlords, leaseholders and residents. PropTech needs to be in the palm of a property manager’s hand and at Dwellant, as PropTech pioneers, we would be happy to hear from you. As we get rolling into March, decision makers in the property management market should have a clear digital strategy for their business. And in order to be effective, their digital strategy must be aligned with their business goals. Today, technology is the major driving force when creating a competi

Who knows what the next decade will bring? It’s impossible to tell. But one thing is for sure: technology is here to stay – unless something really drastic goes wrong, but we’ll probably have other concerns in that case! The way that people interact with each other is changing, well, really, it’s already changed. Block management is currently at risk of being left behind. It’s seen by some as a bit old fashioned, unwilling to get its head around new trends, dismissing them as fads. Block management someti

Buyers are already signing up online for details of a new luxury Birmingham residential address which won’t even be launched until Easter 2019. Demand for Assay Lofts, Elevate Property Group’s 32 apartment development in Charlotte Street which overlooks St Paul’s Square in one of Birmingham’s most sought-after locations, has been so strong the developers are expecting to sell out off-plan. The scheme of one and two bedroom apartments was originally designed by Birmingham practice Glenn Howells Architects

Airbnb and other short term letting websites are causing increasing irritation for owners in residential blocks, according to Ian Smallman, a director of Principle Estate Management. “It is becoming a real problem, especially within city centre locations where you often come across owners and even tenants sub-letting via Airbnb and similar services,” he said. “Occupiers of the block often complain about groups, usually younger people, being rowdy and partying until the early hours of the morning, causing

Godwin Developments in Birmingham has announced it has exchanged contracts on a site in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, where it will construct 184 apartments in phase one of a build-to-rent (BTR) scheme. The development on Bletchley View will also include three commercial units and total more than 165,000 sq ft with a gross development value of £50 million for the first phase – part of a total project valued at £125 million. James Mulcare, land director at Godwin Developments, said: “We are delighted to have e

A survey of 1,000 London homeowners has uncovered some stark findings, revealing that many leaseholders are disillusioned with the lack of transparency on fees and service from managing agents and are therefore particularly keen to understand more about Right to Manage. Leasehold properties in London are on the rise, with 98% of all new build properties sold in the capital in 2018 classified as leasehold. While the tenure is particularly prevalent in London, one in every five homes in England is now also

Most people are now used to technology touching virtually every aspect of their lives, usually simplifying complicated tasks into a few simple stages. This is no different when it comes to managing property. The benefits of integrating various tools and the ability to communicate with different users in real time allows property management software to save its users huge  amounts of time and money. More and more property managers are taking up property management software as it has changed the way they wo

Let’s get one thing straight, block managers aren’t going anywhere! Yours are the invisible hands that  keep everything working together – you are indispensable. The age of the internet has changed many industries, and property, for the most part, has been resistant to it.    Yes, there are portals offering solutions for people looking to sell or rent out their properties, but from the portal, customers still end up speaking to an agent and attending a viewing. There are of course, plenty of startups look