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Landlords who have to consider whether to grant consent to works despite there being an absolute prohibition against alterations in a tenant's lease, must take care in future. The Court of Appeal has held that a landlord of a block of flats was not entitled to grant a licence to a lessee to carry out work which would breach an absolute covenant against alterations, where the lessees of other flats could require the landlord to enforce covenants upon request. Facts In Duval v 11-13 Randolph Crescent Ltd [

Deverell Smith hosted a breakfast seminar last week at The Listing, gathering the best in the industry to discuss the recent HMRC guidance on VAT on the supply of on-site staff, a hot topic for block and property managers across the UK. Over 35 people from the Property Management, Development and Build to Rent sectors were in attendance to listen to interpretations of the guidance by the panel and to embark upon a lively debate thereafter! The event was hosted by Directors Emma Timothy and Richard Inglis

Lee Baron, the property managers, are delighted to announce that they have been appointed by Knight Dragon, the entrepreneurial urban regenerator, to provide strategic and day to day property management services and consultancy advice for their Greenwich Peninsula project. Knight Dragon are creating a cultural, art and design destination on the 150-acre site. Eventually this vibrant new neighborhood will have nearly 16,000 homes.   Initially Lee Baron will be working on the Upper Riverside neighbourhood w

Several high-value London properties are part of a major new national contract won by Principle Estate Management. Principle will be looking after  a development of apartments each worth more than £1.5 million on America Street, just off Southwark Bridge Road – near the famous Borough Market, Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Other properties in the portfolio is a mixed use development comprising a restaurant and with apartments above on Poland Street, off Oxford Street in trendy So

Block management employers want the best of both worlds. And who can blame them? The managing agent industry has, of late, been complaining of a shortage of competent and committed block property managers.  At the same time, employers want property managers who can hit the ground running and that means they need to come with block management experience. So when lettings managers are looking for a career change to ‘block’, the tendency is for employers to reject their advances rather than embrace their dif

Residential leasehold expert PM Legal Services has reinforced its commitment to developing tomorrow’s talent with a new appointment and a promotion.  The award-winning firm has taken on Chloe Quinn, a student from Doncaster charity YMCA Training which supports young people to learn the skills they need to achieve their aspirations.  Expanding the team by over 300% since its launch in February 2017, PM Legal Services has also promoted Kirsten Etheridge; another YMCA training student who has clinched the ch

Do you want total peace of mind that your residents are safe from fire risks? NOD is a new proptech solution to life safety aimed at block managers from Future Fire Systems. The topic that got everyone talking at the 2018 ARMA conference was Proptech. Tech solutions to everyday problems are really starting to impact block management, making all our lives easier and better connected and James Dearsley’s presentation showcased the ways in which technology is now changing the way we work. A great example of

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) was proud to present a new-look regional event in Manchester on 7 November 2018.  Presented by ALEP and hosted by law firm, Irwin Mitchell at its city-centre offices in St Peter’s Square, the event brought together more than 60 professionals from Manchester’s property scene including enfranchisement solicitors and valuers, managing agents, portfolio owners and developers.   The common aim for all who attended was to learn more about f

The winners for the Property Management Awards 2018 were announced on Friday 23rd November at our awards ceremony.  Our ‘Christmas in New York’ themed awards were held at Finsbury Square in London and it was truly a night to remember! With 900 people from across the industry in attendance it has once again overtaken the previous year and become our biggest PMAs to date! We would like to thank our wonderful judges Mike Basquill, Richard Berridge, Andrew Bulmer, Ruth Campbell, Ian Fletcher, Noella Lee and B

QUESTION We are leaseholders in a block and the issues we are currently battling are large and numerous and like many others, we find ourselves in a ‘David vs Goliath’ situation. Our immediate issue is as follows: a resident noted a 60% increase in 2014 in the water bill vs. all previous years. The freeholder and managing agent ignored all requests to investigate so the resident followed up and after 3 years, Thames Water admitted to a mis-connection of a new water pipe meaning one part of the estate was

"A paradox, That most ingenious paradox! We've quips, and quibbles heard in flocks, But none to beat that paradox!" Gilbert and Sullivan words could be describing the "Paradox" facing the Law Commission's Terms of Reference which seeks to satisfy opposing interests: "set out the options for reducing the premium payable by existing and future leaseholders to enfranchise, whilst ensuring sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests;" in addition, they have been

Do you manage a block (or blocks) fitted with a fire alarm system?  If so, to remain compliant with British Standard 5839 you should be testing the system every week. In my experience this is simply not happening. It is unrealistic to expect property managers to visit all their sites weekly to test the fire alarm is in good working order.  And paying for a ‘skilled person’ to carry out these tests can prove expensive over the course of a year.  However, these arguments won’t wash if you find yourself invo