Featured Articles

We are thrilled to announce the return of the Unsung Heroes feature for 2025, brought to you by News on the Block in partnership with Jackson Sims Recruitment. Now in its fifth year, this special initiative shines a spotlight on outstanding individuals within the leasehold property industry who go above and beyond in their roles. We are happy to say that nominations for 2025 are now open to continue celebrating the professionals whose dedication and exceptional contributions make a real difference in the

Tosin Odunukan is the latest recruit to the fast-growing Estama team. As an Associate in their Property Management team, Tosin will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of key assets in the Estama portfolio, including Castle Court Shopping Centre in Caerphilly, Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre in Castleford, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and the Cheshunt Industrial portfolio. Tosin has worked in the property market in London and South-East England for 25 years acting for varied private and

Reapit, a leading end-to-end technology provider for the property sector, and Radweb, the PropTech innovator behind Inventory Base and Property Inspect, have entered into a strategic partnership that will help agents deliver exceptional service. The partnership will enhance the existing integration between Reapit and Inventory Base in the UK, while strengthening Property Inspect’s integration with Reapit’s client accounting platform PayProp across the USA, Canada, and South Africa. The companies say the i

Private landlords are currently allowed to request significant sums in advance rent, which has left many Brits without financial reserves or resort to borrowing and potentially forced to take on significant debt. However, new measures in the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill aim to address this by limiting upfront rent payments to a maximum of one month’s rent. Under these proposals, landlords may still request one month’s rent in advance, in addition to a security deposit of up to six weeks’ rent, as outl

A leaseholder looking to extend their lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) will find that they need to have been the registered owner of the leasehold interest at the Land Registry for two years before a section 42 notice can be served.  This particular rule is however shortly to be abolished, as part of one of many planned leasehold reforms over the next year or so, and in this article we look at the implications for leaseholders, purchasers of leasehold

A newly formed right-to-manage company has appointed Principle Estate Management to look after its exclusive apartment blocks worth a total of more than £0.25 billion in central London. Portman Towers is located just off Portman Square and opposite Montagu Square in the highly sought after W1 postcode area, within a short walk of Selfridges and Marylebone High Street. The property hosts a total of 88 apartments across 11 storeys in two blocks, with each residence commanding a value of £3m or more, resulti

Inter-disciplinary property and construction consultancy McBains has appointed Nick Gregory to head up its North-West project management operations. Nick joins McBains as a Director and will be based in the firm’s Manchester office on St James Square in the city’s central business and financial district. A highly experienced project management director with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the property, development and construction industry gained through working in a wide variety of sectors and

From connecting with nature to getting the best from local life, there are certain renter desires that span the generations. JLL’s Global Consumer Experience Survey recently highlighted this, with basics such as safety and affordability understandably being top priorities when it came to cross-generational urban housing preferences. The survey also found that people of all ages were keen for more green space – something that is feeding one of the five key rental trends identified by Quintain Living - the

The HomeOwners Alliance report sheds light on how compliant property listings are and highlights how consumers are not getting the critical information estate agents are legally required to provide about the property upfront.   HOA reviewed 150 leasehold property listings across the 3 main portals - Rightmove, Zoopla and OntheMarket and this is what we found. Too little on leasehold -       94% of listings state whether property was leasehold or freehold, and 78% included the number of years left on the l

There are 265,000 homes in England that have been vacant for over 6 months, and at the same time there are over 123,000 households who are living in expensive temporary accommodation funded through local councils. The letter follows a recent parliamentary roundtable on empty homes chaired by Paula Barker MP. During this, 5 actions were identified that would help to bring long-term empty homes back into use, some of which can be quickly and easily implemented: Increase Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) fl

More than 3,000 council homes and 57 blocks of flats in Newcastle have been identified as having staircases with horizontal guarding, a design now considered a serious safety risk. Newcastle City Council confirmed that these outdated staircases, which do not meet modern building standards, pose a category one hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The horizontal guarding design can endanger children, who may climb the panels and risk falling or becoming trapped. The council has

Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has committed to introducing leasehold reform legislation within the current parliamentary year. Speaking at the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee, Rayner emphasised the government’s aim to make commonhold the default tenure for new-build flats. This system allows flat owners to collectively manage their buildings, offering an alternative to traditional leasehold arrangements