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When acting for an RMC or Right to Manage Company, managing agents will often be told by the freeholder to allow them to deal with the service charge arrears. The benefits of such an approach are clear from the ground rent owner’s perspective, but is it in the best interests of the management company, the leaseholders and the block?  With ground rent recovery increasingly in the spotlight, both managing agents and freeholders must take care to ensure recovery procedures are legal, in line with the terms o

When you have a leaseholder who doesn’t pay the obvious thing to do would be to send them a legal letter (letter before action) with the demand and request payment.  However, it is important that you make sure you have complied with the requirements of the Lease in relation to service charge accountability and your statutory obligations as this could be a bar to you being able to issue proceedings for recovery of the debt. Summary of Leaseholder's Rights and Obligations Section 153 of the Commonhold and L

Britain has a long-standing reputation as a nation of animal lovers. In fact in the UK around 1 in 2 households own a pet, with around 20 million pets owned in total. It is no wonder that residential property agents are frequently asked if pets are allowed in flats. Are pets allowed in the flat that I am renting? Landlords are often reluctant to let tenants keep a pet in their rental flat as there are often concerns about potential damage or noise caused by the animal. Dogs Trust found that 78% of pet own

QUESTION My two questions relate to the process leading to a RTM and its ongoing validity. 1. The Notice Inviting Participation - Welsh Statutory Instruments: 2011 No. 2684 (W.287) LANDLORD AND TENANT, WALES The Right to Manage (Prescribed Particulars and Forms) (Wales) Regulations 2011 The following sub paragraphs of the above Instrument were NOT and have still not been complied with. (g) a statement that the RTM company intends or, as the case may be, does not intend, to appoint a managing agent; and—

It’s that time of year again - setting the budget for service charges. Half of the board wants the internal area decorated and the other half wants a more experienced concierge. What are you going to prioritise? You want to meet all of the building demands whilst keeping within budget, but at the same time you don’t want to cut back on quality. Decisions, decisions! But are the two really mutually exclusive? We suggest not. In an independent survey performed by Abbatt Property Services, it was conclude

Everyone who contributes towards estate or service charge expenditure should have an equal and statutory right to demand an accountant’s report prepared under TECH03/11. This was the basis of our response to the recent government consultation, “Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market” What is a TECH03/11 report? A common complaint made by leaseholders is the poor quality of financial information that they receive. Service charge accounts can lack transparency, be difficult to understand and badl

QUESTION 1 Residential Block A” which is circa 10 years old has never had a service charge increase. According to the lease the service charge amount should be determined by 3 things, cost of contracts in place for maintenance, a reasonable amount to go towards building a reserve and a reasonable amount to remunerate the management company’s agents. As there has not been an increase for 10 years an increase is well overdue. Are we required to consult with the leaseholders regarding any increase or can we

Millstream Management Services (MMS), the leading provider of retirement housing management services in the UK, has celebrated a major milestone as it now manages a total of 150 developments nationwide. Following the commencement of services at Sarum Lodge – a new Churchill Retirement Living development in Salisbury – MMS now manages a total of 5,906 apartments in 150 developments, providing its services to around 7,000 people. The company held a special event for staff and Owners at Sarum Lodge on Tuesda

Allsop is delighted to announce the appointment of Kelly Smith and Matt Smith, who have joined the company’s Letting and Management team. The appointments come as Allsop bolsters its full-circle build to rent offering following an instruction by Moorfield Group funds to manage two large schemes in Manchester and Newcastle, The Trilogy and The Forge, totalling 500+ units. These new hires reflect the growth in demand for Allsop’s build to rent letting and management services and reinforces Allsop’s belief i

QUESTION I am seeking advice as to who is responsible for ensuring that the two entrances to our building conform to the standards for disabled access. The building consists of some 30 flats and occupation is limited to those over 55 years of age. There are a number of communal areas including entrances, corridors, the lounge and the laundry. We have a part-time manager/warden. The building was originally built in the 1980s. There are two entrances to the building but it is impossible for a wheelcha

Macdonald & Company, part of Prime People plc has announced the release of The RICS and Macdonald & Company UK Rewards & Attitudes Survey 2018 Final Report. Peter Moore, Managing Director of Macdonald & Company commented: “Once again, it gives me great pleasure to present the key findings for the 2018 RICS and Macdonald & Company Rewards and Attitudes Survey. The annual survey remains the benchmark survey of remuneration and attitudes across the UK property industry with almost seven thousand respondent

The days are getting longer and lighter and winter is finally starting to release its icy grip. This can only mean one thing…Spring is nearly here! While many of us will take the opportunity to get our flats and apartments in order inside, we tend to neglect the important stuff outside. This is especially important for landlords or owners of apartments and flats who have an obligation to tenants and other residents for maintenance. Your roof is vital all year round and it’s taken a battering from the stor