Featured Articles

What is a lease, what does the lease entitle you to do and what are you restricted from doing? We moved to new offices exactly a year ago and we have been kept very busy dealing with lease extensions and enfranchisements of flats and houses.   It might be helpful to members of the public to know the ‘basics’;  if these are stating the obvious, we apologise, but if there are ‘snippets’ here you did not know we will be very pleased. Leasehold, as a form of property ownership, has been part of English proper

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) is hosting its annual conference on Tuesday 9 October 2018.   This year's conference will see delegates enjoy practical business advice along with insightful presentations and case studies about leasehold enfranchisement from some of the sector’s elite.   Held at London’s 30 Euston Square, the conference will have a morning session which will focus on the digital world.  Josh Whiten, Google expert and marketing consultant, will discus

Thank-you to everyone who joined us at The Oyster Shed on 4 July 2018 or our Property Management Awards Launch Party, kindly sponsored by ilecs, Realty Law, St Giles, Trinergy and supported by Block Recruit. We hope you had a fantastic evening.  The News on the Block team were delighted to announce this years venue, the fabulous Marquee at Finsbury Square. The theme for 2018 is Christmas in New York! The entry portal is now open and entries will close on 21 September 2018 so you have plenty of time to per

Innovative developers are responsible for the conversion of a terraced four-story Victorian house - in West Hampstead, London - into fourteen mini-apartments just under 194 square feet. Designed by Laura Encinas of architecture and design practice Bicbloc, the 18 square metre micro-apartments were developed and constructed for £600 000; they are estimated to be worth around £371 000. Encinas said: "The property was converted in line with a co-living concept, according to the client’s wish to ‘cater to the

A two-bedroom flat in New Cumnock, East Ayrshire, was put up for auction this June for the head-turning guide price of £4,995. Similar properties in the area would cost £30 000, making the guide price that of a small car and a surprising fraction of the normal cost. However, the property is said to need a complete renovation after a pipe burst in the flat above it, causing water damage. Having recently refurbished it before the incident took place, the owner decided they did not want to take up the projec

Tuesday afternoon in central London, 21 firefighters and four fire engines rushed to deal with a fire outbreak at a block of maisonettes. Startling images show that the fire, in Marylebone, could be seen from miles away. A five-roomed maisonette on the second and third floor were alight, according to the London Fire Brigade. They were called at 3.55 pm, with the fire said to be under control by 5.30. There were several fire station crews at the scene, including Kensington, Kentish Town, Hammersmith and We

Brethertons are thrilled to welcome Bukola Obadun-Craigs as a Senior Associate to the Residential Property Management team, underpinning our strategy to deliver excellence to our customer base within this growing sector.   Bukola brings with her a wealth of residential property litigation expertise and joins Brethertons from the national firm Shoosmiths where she was Head of Housing Management Litigation for the past five years.   With over 12 years of experience in the residential property litigation fie

Kamal Baines, 51, a property manager from Birkby is on trial charged with manslaughter after two children died in a house fire in February 2016. Baines is accused of failing to install smoke alarms, despite repeated requests to do so. The house fire was "eminently avoidable", had the letting agent provided smoke alarms, a court has heard. The deaths of the young brothers, three-year old Logan Taylor and two-year old Jake Casey, may have been prevented if Bains had not allegedly neglected the requests of t

Joyful support for England in the World Cup has been shown by a scaffolding team who have covered a block of flats with a giant flag in Hove, East Sussex. It took a week for ten men, involving staff of Seasons Scaffolding and owner, Steve Easons, to measure and assemble a 120ft by 60ft flag out of white and red safety netting. They then cloaked the staging area around Albany Towers, St Catherine’s Terrace. The display was the ideal way to show England support, Mr Easons said before the game against Colomb

The winners of the annual ARMA (the Association of Residential Managing Agents) ACE Awards were revealed at a glittering ceremony at Tobacco Dock in London’s east end on Friday 6th July 2018.  Attended by more than 500 industry professionals, the Awards celebrate excellence and exceptional achievement by the UK's leading residential managing agents, their suppliers and the work of their people in improving the lives of over a million leaseholders across the country. The 18 winners were announced following

Jackson Sims Recruitment are pleased to announce that John Ward MIRPM AssocRICS will be joining as Consultancy Director.  Stuart Jackson, Director said: "John has worked in the property industry for twelve years, working on the property management side as well as client. He was previously heading up the estate operation department client for the largest London developer, prior to starting his own successful lease and management consultancy business. As a Consultancy Director John understands first hand w

It is estimated that there are more than 300 flags covering a block of flats in Bermondsey, south London. Almost every flat balcony on the Kirby Estate is said to be emblazoned with a St George’s Cross. Excluding the bunting, there are 222 England flags. It all started a few years ago when Geraldine Howard, local resident, erected an England flag which was soon followed by neighbours as more and more added to the sea of flags. The move was said to be ‘embraced’ and welcomed with ‘good community spirit’ by