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Issue 101 of News on the Block has now been published. This issues includes some of the following articles:  ERMAS Winners Feature Special Women of Influence Feature  Rooftop gardens across London now cover more space than Hyde Park  Grenfell families hit out at ‘disrespect’  IRPM leasehold event of the year  Enfranchisement & Right to Manage Feature including:  Unravelling complexities of tax clearance  Fixing the right to manage  What is the impact of the Upper Tribunal’s recent Queen Court

What is an API anyway?   If you work in the PropTech industry, you may use the abbreviation ‘API’ dozens of times a day. If you work in PropMgt, then you will have increasingly overheard the term and may wonder what the tech geeks are talking about.   A straw poll that we conducted with property managers at a recent event demonstrated that none of those we asked knew what ‘API’ stood for and only a couple knew what one was. ‘Application Programming Interface’ isn’t all that catchy and much like the long

Juggling childcare with a busy workload is often such a problem parents struggle to find jobs that are flexible enough to fit their lifestyle.   According to research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as many as 54,000 women lost their jobs in 2016 due to maternity discrimination. And it discovered one in five mothers experienced harassment or negative comments related to pregnancy or flexible working.   It is why Daisy Chain, an online platform that connects parents with family friendly empl

Consider the following scenarios that routine occurrences for many women in the workplace. The male colleague, with whom she is equally well qualified, is selected to take the podium at a conference, or the lead on a major new client project, or a place on the panel for an industry debate. Professionally they are equals, so why isn’t she receiving the same opportunities? It is most unlikely that any of these situations is premeditated; in fact, they probably haven’t been given a second thought. And that,

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

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 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

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

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 (“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

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 

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